Both dogs came from nightmarish situations. But at a veterinary clinic this week, it took only an instant for them to understand each other.

Simon, a 1-year-old border collie, still recovering from his own harrowing experience at the hands of his former owner, gently lifted his paw to the operating table – and rested it on Sammie’s.

A barely 4-month-old puppy, Sammie had also been brutalized in his past life – dragged by a car, spray-painted, shot.

But on that day, despite a barrage of medical procedures, Sammie took comfort from a fellow survivor.

“The compassion and understanding between animals is beyond me,” Jackie O’Sullivan, cofounder of Rescue Dogs Rock NYC, tells The Dodo.

Maybe it was the pain they shared. Or maybe it was the future they now share – thanks to the efforts of Rescue Dogs Rock NYC, which hauled these dogs out of nearby shelters and gave them the treatment they desperately needed.

After undergoing extensive emergency treatment, both dogs will survive their ordeals.

Sammie may still end up losing a leg – he was shot with a .22 caliber rifle – but he has gained the kind of friends who count.

Like a fellow survivor who is standing by him every step of the way.

At the veterinary clinic, Simon won’t leave Sammie’s side.

Maybe he knows the little boxer mix needs all the compassion he can get. While Simon is regaining his strength quickly and will be available for adoption soon, Sammie still has a ways to go on his road to recovery.

O’Sullivan says he “will likely need more surgeries, physical therapy, laser therapy and daily bandage changes. Being a puppy, behavioral therapy is also possible as he has been robbed of a ‘normal’ puppyhood.”

Don’t worry, Sammie. You’re in just the right hands now. And paws.

Want to help these dogs, and so many others like them, on their journey to a happy ending? Consider making a donation to Rescue Dogs Rock NYC.