FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) — The story of a little brown dog who stayed by his owner's side after he passed away in Fresno is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking, says the woman who rescued the faithful puppy. Mel Garcia is the founder of Mel's Mutts, a local rescue that aims to help stray, unwanted, and homeless dogs - and offer education and assistance with spay or neuter services. ‘Either talk about euthanasia or keep watching dogs die in the streets,’ Fresno dog rescuer warns Garcia says she frequently receives emails and messages from other shelters about dogs who are at risk or have issues; that's how she heard the story of Canelo. "[Canelo] was found in a car with his owner," Garcia said. "His deceased owner." According to Garcia, Canelo's owner was an unhoused undocumented immigrant known to park his van outside the O'Reily's Auto Parts on Ventura Avenue in Fresno. One day, workers at the shop noticed the van hadn't moved all day and called for a wellness check. That's when police found the man's body with Canelo by his side. "He was, not very friendly. He was trying to bite everybody," Garcia said. "It wasn't until we actually got him to our vet's office that we saw how shut down he was and how very scared he was." Garcia says Canelo was in shock and was visibly devastated at the loss of his owner. Garcia says, based on how healthy Canelo was, his owner clearly gave him loving and attentive care. "The owner has to have been a kind person that cared for him, to have had him for so long," Garcia said. "For somebody to go and reclaim their dog, microchip them and all that, they cared for him." According to Garcia, the owner suffered a heart attack and no next of kin could be found for the man. That left Canelo all alone. Garcia says she needed to help find Canelo a home. After Canelo had some time to decompress, she says he showed himself to be a loveable dog and deserving of a loving home. "We don't know how long he was unhoused, but he kept his dog with him to the end and his dog stayed with him until the end," Garcia said. "If that happened to me with my dogs, I would want somebody to treat my dogs just as kind and understand what they had been through." Garcia says Canelo will soon be available for adoption and on his way to find his forever home. "He does need to get fixed, and he needs to decompress a little bit," Garcia said. "Once all of that is done we will definitely be placing him up for adoption."