“I have nothing but my baby Jake,” the note said. “If you have a soul and really care about helping babies, please help my baby.”
FORT WORTH, Texas — Firefighters at Fort Worth Fire Station 8 walked outside Saturday morning to find a dog tied to the flagpole outside the station.
“They went out to the front door and there was a dog tied to the flagpole and there was a note on him, and that was Jake,” firefighter Jeremy Goad said.
The station at West Rosedale Street and 12th Avenue, like most fire stations, is designated as a “safe place” for mothers in crisis to surrender newborns.
In the note, the dog’s owner, identified only as Tom, said he was a 65-year-old homeless veteran who had been living on the streets for 20 months. His landlord would not renew his lease so he set up camp in Fort Worth along with his beloved dog, Jake. He wrote that he wanted a better life for Jake and didn’t now what else to do.
“I have nothing but my baby Jake,” the note said. “If you have a soul and really care about helping babies, please help my baby.”
The firefighters took Jake in and adopted him as the station dog.
“It’s great. He’s being showered with love,” Goad said. “Definitely a boost in morale. Everybody just loves having him.”
After learning about the note, Fort Worth’s homeless outreach HOPE Team began searching for Tom.
“We have about 528 (homeless) camps that we actively monitor,” said Sam Greif of the Fort Worth Fire Department HOPE Team. The homeless population in the City of Fort Worth is estimated at more than 5,000. Formed in 2019, the HOPE Team — Homeless Outreach Programs and Enforcement — seeks out the homeless to provide medical and mental help, drug and alcohol treatment, housing and job placement.
The outreach team found Tom at his camp and took him for medical checkups on Tuesday.
Operation Texas Strong, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans and people in crisis, then stepped in. The organization provided Tom with an RV and arranged for a space at an RV park in east Fort Worth, where he will be able to live.
“No veteran should ever be homeless anywhere in the United States,” said Bobby Crutsinger of Operation Texas Strong. “We’re not government funded, we’re privately funded,” he said. “We’re not rich, but we’re blessed.”
Greif said Tom, who wants to remain anonymous to the public for now, was overwhelmed by the support he received after surrendering Jake.
“He is still extremely sad he had to give us his pup,” Greif said. “All in all, he is very overwhelmed and very blessed by the outpouring he is getting for help, and he’s trying to better himself.”
Tom is expected to move into his new home Wednesday, while Jake has settled into life at the fire station: a home for both, because of the selfless act of a veteran and a community dedicated to helping them both.