New York firefighter adopts three-legged puppy he helped save after it was hit by a car

A New York firefighter has adopted a three-legged puppy he helped to save after she was hit by a car. 

Buffalo Fire Department first responder Anthony Pulvino, 30, took in the vulnerable canine called Auburn after two teenagers found her injured on the street. 

The teens brought her to Pulvino's station at Engine Co.19 last month. They said she'd been hit by a vehicle one block away near the intersection of Forest Ave and Grant. 

Pulvino was the first firefighter they spoke with, and he quickly alerted the lieutenant and the other responders in his crew. 

Auburn did not have a collar, and she suffered a leg injury along with grazing on her body. 

Buffalo Fire Department first responder Anthony Pulvino, 30, took in the vulnerable canine called Auburn after two teenagers found her injured on the street

'She's great with kids. Great with other dogs. I have cats, too, and she's even good with them, but they don't really like her,' Pulvino said 

The firefighters placed her inside a box with a pillow and took her to the emergency vet. 

'One of her rear legs was a little messed up, but she didn't seem [to be] in too much pain,' Pulvino, who has been a firefighter for 2.5 years, told Fox News Digital.

'She did have a lot of road rash, so we treated her, kind of cleaned up her cuts.' 

Pulvino said he had been considering getting a puppy for a while, and he felt an immediate bond with the rescued dog. 

'I had told the guys, "I really want a puppy." And they said, "Yeah, you could bring her to the house any time",' he told Fox.

'I left my phone number (with the vet) and said if nobody claims her, I'd love to take her.'

A week later the puppy still had not been claimed, so the vets gave Pulvino the call he had been hoping for.  

'She just kind of fell right into my hands,' he said.

Auburn was missing a leg when he picked her up. 'She fractured her back right leg,' Pulvino told Fox. 

'But you'd never know it. She's doing great.' 

'I may have adopted her, but my whole crew helped save her,' Anthony Pulvino said

The teens brought her to Pulvino's station at Engine Co.19 last month. They said she'd been hit by a vehicle one block away near the intersection of Forest and Grant

Pulvino revealed that he named the puppy Auburn because his crew had attended a fire on Auburn and West during the same shift that they saved her. 

He brings Auburn to work and the teenagers who found her also came back to check on her. 

Along with gaining the affections of the firefighters, Auburn has also become somewhat of a local celebrity.   

'When I'm walking down the street, everybody recognizes her now,' Pulvino said.

'She's great with kids. Great with other dogs. I have cats, too, and she's even good with them, but they don't really like her.' 

'I may have adopted her, but my whole crew helped save her,' he added. 

'The fire department's there to help people, and we love it,' he said.

'If an animal is hurt, people should call animal control. But if they don't have anywhere else to go at that moment, we'll help them figure it out from there.'