It’s not uncommon for those who work at an animal shelter to walk into work to find animals on their doorstep.
Humans sometimes abandon their pets during off hours to avoid shame or having to answer any questions.
But they rarely find sleeping humans on their doorstep when they walk into work. But that’s what employees found when they came into work at a shelter in Decatur, Georgia.
“Our kennel tech woke him up, and the man said his dog had gone missing,” Karen Hirsch, spokesperson for the shelter, told The Dodo.
The homeless man slept outside the shelter in hopes that they had his Chihuahua named Tita. The two somehow became separated. So, the man used all of his money to pay for an Uber to get to the shelter.
“I guess he just slept outside and we’re actually closed to the public there and his dog was actually here in Chamblee,” Andie Peart, the rescue coordinator at the DeKalb County Animal Services Shelter in Chamblee, told FOX 5 Atlanta.
“It’s obvious he loved the dog and the dog loved him.”
Seeing how much he really loved his dog, an employee at that shelter gave him enough money for bus fare to get to the new shelter in Chamblee. When he arrived, he begged the director to give him his dog back.
“He looked at her and he and he said my dog is my life. Please I need to have her and she said, ‘Of course, how can we help.'” Peart explained.
He told them what Tita looked like and when they took him to a dog who had those features, Tita couldn’t have been happier.
“You see a reunion like that and you can tell that the dog really cares about the people and vice a versa. It’s really touching and it’s a really rewarding experience,” said Peart.
Not only did the man get his dog back but they also gave him a leash and money to get back to Atlanta.
They also offered him future veterinary care so that Tita can stay happy and healthy for a long time.
The shelter said they were happy to have successfully reunited Tita with her owner.
“We haven’t had one this successful before so I think everyone is happy to see her go back to her dad,” said Peart.
The DeKalb County Animal Services has launched a program to help homeless people care for their pets.
“Some people don’t understand giving a pet back to a homeless person, but some of those people take better care of their pets than some of us with homes,” Hirsch said. “If you see a homeless person with a pet, and are hesitant to give them money, you can give them dog food, or even flea medicine. They also need bottles of water. Just basic supplies that humans and dogs can use. Their pet is sometimes the only thing they have in their lives.”
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