A dog tied outside a Texas fire station, beside a three-page letter titled “Safe Place,” has led to a wave of support for a disabled veteran in Fort Worth.
The Fort Worth Fire Department said firefighters at Fire Station 8 found Jake outside the station after his owner, Tom, left the dog with a handwritten note explaining he felt forced to make the decision after living homeless for about 20 months.
“I have nothing but my baby Jake,” Tom wrote in the letter. “Please help my baby.”
Fort Worth Fire Lt. Sam Grief said the note had an immediate effect on the crew.
“You could tell it was written out of love,” he said.
As Jake’s story spread online, people began asking about Tom, and the department said its H.O.P.E. Team, short for Home Outreach Prevention Education, started helping him rebuild his life.
According to the fire department, Tom was given an RV camper within days, after Bennett’s Camping Center donated it.
The department said the H.O.P.E. Team has also helped Tom get to medical appointments and meetings, and worked to set up the RV in a safe place. Firefighters said they have worked around the clock to help him secure necessities for himself and his new home.
Tom said he had not expected his story to draw national attention and had been overwhelmed by the kindness shown to him.
“He knows that surrendering Jake was the hardest choice he ever had to make, but ‘it was the right choice,’” the department said in a Facebook update.
Jake has since been officially adopted by firefighters at Station 8, the department said.
According to firefighters, Jake has already claimed a recliner for naps and takes his role as the station’s newest “rookie” very seriously. They said he now brings smiles, laughter and companionship to the station each day while he waits for firefighters to return from calls.
“We are not sure how or when this story ends,” the fire department wrote, “but as for now what we do know is that two lives have been forever changed and millions of hearts have been touched.”
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