Heroes are among us. In the USA, an animal shelter caught fire and a homeless man spotted the smoke in time to save all its wards. The staff later called him their “guardian angel”. And it’s true, if it hadn’t been for him, things could have ended very sadly.
The W-Underdogs shelter in Atlanta, Georgia, caught fire on 18 December. Upon noticing the smoke, a homeless man who happened to be nearby rushed into the building. Keith Walker, 53, did not hesitate to carry the shelter’s wards out of the burning building in his arms.
He managed to save all the inhabitants of the small shelter – six dogs and ten cats. Then the fire brigade arrived at the burning building, but when they called animal rescuers and started extinguishing the fire, Walker was already carrying the fluffy animals out one by one.
“I was very worried and afraid to go in there through the smoke. But God sent me there to save the animals. If you love your dog, for example, then you love other dogs too. I have a dog and it is my best friend, so I just knew I had to help the other animals too,” says the man.
The staff personally thanked Walker and also wrote about him in their Facebook group, calling him a “guardian angel”:
“I can’t find the words to thank you. We still can’t believe what happened because we know how animals could have suffered if not for Kit… He is my hero,” says the shelter’s owner, Gracie Hamlin.
Although the fire did not completely destroy the shelter, it left it uninhabitable and unfit for animals. Luckily, a week after the fire, the owner found new premises where all the animals were moved.
Shelter after the fire
Rescued shelter wards in new building
Thanks to this kind man for a truly heroic act!