A dog who survived horrific animal cruelty saved the life of a 3-year-old girl, according to an animal shelter in Escanaba, Michigan, which shared information about the dog’s heroics in a Facebook post titled “Former Abused Shelter Dog Now Local Hero.”

The pup, formerly named Petunia, arrived at the Delta Animal Shelter last April with two broken legs, a belly full of carpet and broken ribs. Her former owner was recently convicted of animal abuse, according to a post shared on Monday.

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No one could have predicted back then that the abused pooch, now renamed Peanut, would save a life one day.

“About 11am this morning, Peanut started going crazy at our house,” reads the text of a letter written by her new owner and shared in the post. “She was running up and down the stairs, barking and yelping. She then went and got my husband, who was in the garage working on some projects, and alerted him that she wanted to go outside. He said he could hear her running around upstairs but didn’t understand why.”

It turns out there was a very good reason for Peanut’s behavior, the dog apparently sensed something was amiss outside.

“He let her outside where she went barreling into the field behind our house at full speed,” the letter says. “My husband followed her and to his surprise, he found a naked, shivering, 3 year old girl curled up in a ball. He scooped her up, wrapped her in his sweatshirt, and brought her inside. He called 911 and reported the incident.”

What happened next was even more heartbreaking. “By the time the ambulance and police arrived, the little girl could only say one thing – ‘doggie,'” the letter says. “Thanks to Peanut, a little girl’s life was saved today.”

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FOX’s TV 6 spoke to Deputy Steve Kositzky, one of the officers who responded to the scene in Rapid River, Michigan, on Friday. The story said action was taken by child protective services to remove the child and a sibling from their home.

“The child is fine and is well and is in good hands as we speak,” he said. “There was one other child that was located in the home and that child was removed as well and to my knowledge both those children are together in a foster care type home.”

Peanut’s owner ended the letter with powerful words about how shelter dogs matter.