Updated at 11:35 p.m. Tuesday: Revised to show the dog has had a leg amputated.

Erica Cruz broke her back in two places Tuesday in a pileup on the Bush Turnpike, but it's her lost puppy that broke her heart.

A rescue group recovered 11-month-old Daisy Mae on Sunday in a ravine near the site of the wreck, where the white Labrador had gone missing. Her left leg was broken in several places and she could no longer walk, but she was alert and panting as a rescuer cradled her while others hatched a plan to gently get her out of there.

Cruz was catching a ride to work Tuesday morning with friend Trenton Ray when they were struck from behind by an 18-wheeler near the exit for Central Expressway. Daisy Mae had insisted on tagging along and was also in the car, her owner said.

Cruz suffered two fractures in her back, a sprained ankle and whiplash. Ray has injuries to his head and neck, pulled muscles and bruising.

State troopers searched the wreckage and along the tollway on the boundary between Plano and Richardson, but they found no sign of Daisy Mae.

Cruz enlisted help on Facebook to find her white Lab.

"Due to our injuries it makes it very hard for us to go looking for our baby girl," Cruz wrote. "So if you could share my post and get the word out around the Richardson/Plano/McKinney surrounding areas that would be so so greatly appreciated."

Volunteers with Mutts and Mayhem discovered Daisy Mae on Sunday morning near railroad tracks in the southwest corner of the Bush Turnpike and Alma Road.

"Hi, baby girl!" one of the rescuers said as another woman held Daisy Mae and patted her on the side.

Cruz got the news and broke down in tears.

"MY BABY IS COMING HOME," she wrote on Facebook.

The group of rescuers wrapped a blanket around the 75-pound dog, whose left leg was swollen, and carried her to a pickup truck. Daisy Mae was rushed to an emergency hospital, which determined her femur was broken and would require surgery.

"She should be good as new," her vet said in a Facebook live video.

During the surgery Tuesday, Daisy Mae had her back left leg amputated because of the extent of the damage. She was out of surgery and doing well later in the day.

"There was no way that any of her bones were going to be able to be put back together," Dr. Sable Murry with Summertree Animal and Bird Clinic said on Facebook. "It was a very extensive surgery but Daisy did great. She is awake but on a lot of pain medications."