Even if you didn’t watch last weekend’s Royal Wedding (Philistine!), you may have seen the photograph beamed around the world of the family’s newest member, with sparkling eyes and flashing smile.

And what a good boy he is.

While it was first reported that the dog photographed riding with the Queen was en route to the Royal Wedding, we now know that while the Queen is a life-long dog lover, this is the same woman whose household rules dictate that Meghan Markle will never be seen in public with bare legs, so it’s easy to assume bringing a dog to church would simply be a nonstarter. But what is true is that Guy now resides firmly at Kensington Palace.

This is less a story about the newfound fame of Guy the Beagle that belongs to the newly minted Duchess of Sussex, and more about the dogged (pun most intended) effort and lengths of love that everyday people are willing to go to save an animal.

But how did he get there from Kentucky?

Guy sat, unclaimed, at Montgomery County Animal Shelter, having been found in the woods. When no one stepped forward to adopt him, his fate was grim and he was placed on death row, facing euthanasia. His first guardian angel was a Canadian named Dolores Doherty who found that once again, she couldn’t say no.

As she stated, “I’m a sucker.”

Dolores, who runs A Dog’s Dream Rescue, was putting on their 2015 adoption event and had often worked with Kentucky shelters to rescue beagles and find them homes. Having been approached by the Kentucky shelter, Dolores put the wheels quite literally in motion to save Guy. A further team of angels each volunteered to drive one hour, turning the dog over to the next volunteer, until his 500-mile journey to the Canadian border was completed.

The somewhat confused, and as Dolores described him, sad eyed and depressed beagle, hadn’t even been in Canada for a full day when he was whisked to the adoption event. He remained passed by until a young woman who just happened to be working in Toronto at the time, Meghan Markle, set eyes upon his defeated countenance and chose him.

Dolores, who had never watched the television show “Suits” and hadn’t a clue who Ms. Markle was, asked her to fill out the required forms and agree to a home visit to confirm she had adequate surroundings for the dog. When Meghan replied that wouldn’t be a problem, but said that for security reasons, an appointment would have to be scheduled, Dolores twigged this might not be an average adopter.

Little did Guy know his life was about to change. Little did he know that it took a team of committed animal lovers to save his life and put him in the situation where he would become the cherished pet of a beautiful actress who would afford him a life of luxury.

And little did Meghan know she would soon be set up on a blind date that would result in her marrying Prince Harry and taking her treasured dogs to live at Kensington Palace.

Good dog.

Good duchess.

Great volunteers.