Homeless man saves dozens of cats and canine after animal shelter catches hearth

A homeless man has saved greater than a dozen rescue animals from almost-certain loss of life after a shelter caught hearth simply earlier than Christmas.

Keith Walker, 53, rushed into the burning property after seeing smoke billowing from beneath the door on the animal house in Atlanta on December 18.

Dozens of helpless animals have been trapped in cages contained in the W-underdogs constructing within the southwest of town.

“The house was on fire, and all the dogs were in the house,” Walker advised Fox 5. “I just popped the door open, went in, and started letting the dogs out.”

Walker, who has been homeless because the age of 13, rescued ten cats and 6 canine from the inferno.

“I was nervous as hell, I’m not going to lie,” he advised CNN. “I was really scared to go in there with all that smoke. But God put me there to save those animals … If you love a dog, you can love anyone in the world. My dog is my best friend, and I wouldn’t be here without him, so I knew I had to save all those other dogs.”

Shelter founder Gracie Hamli, stated she was racing to the scene in a panic and feared the worst.

“Animal control is talking to us on the phone and they’re saying he’s just rushing in getting one dog at a time,” she stated. “Animal control was able to grab a couple from him.”

Hamlin has since arrange a GoFundMe web page in an effort to elevate funds to revive the constructing and change provides misplaced within the hearth.

“Yesterday afternoon while out picking up supply donations I received a call that my home, and W-Underdogs headquarters, had caught fire,” she wrote in a Facebook put up. “We are so lucky all the animals were able to be evacuated and no lives – animal or human – were lost. Our animals and youth are scared and confused and we are pouring love into them to help them recover.”

Hamlin, who lets Walker preserve his canine Bravo on the shelter, described him as her “guardian angel.”

“Even the firefighters didn’t want to handle the dogs,” she stated. “They called animal control, but Keith was already in the building pulling out the cats and dogs until they were all safe.”

Hamlin says the shelter is in touch with Walker and is working to help him after an outpouring of neighborhood help sought to ship donations to the homeless man.

“He is refusing all offers of help but we are determined,” she wrote in an replace to the GoFundMe marketing campaign web page on Monday. “He is a vital part of our community and we will continue to work with him so he is appropriately rewarded for his selfless efforts.”

The Atlanta Fire Department has since decided the fireplace was attributable to {an electrical} fault.

Walker is aware of how necessary the animals are, counting on his pitbull sidekick Bravo for help.

“Hey, I love my dog and my dog’s my best friend, for real,” he advised Fox 5. “If god wakes me up and I got my dog, I’m good.”

Newsweek has contacted W-underdogs Atlanta and Gracie Hamlin for remark.