Homeless Man In Atlanta Praised After Risking Life To Rescue Animals Caught In Shelter Fire
Keith Walker, a 53-year-old homeless man in Atlanta, is being praised a hero after risking his life to rescue animals caught in an animal shelter fire. On December 18, with God guiding him, Walker ran into the flaming W-Underdogs animal shelter.
Walker says, “I was nervous as hell, I’m not going to lie. 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.” It’s noted that the fire began in the shelter’s kitchen.
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Founder Gracie Hamlin updates that the facility is now left uninhabitable. Fortunately, however, Hamlin was a week away from moving to a newer shelter in the Atlanta area and had moved most of the animals ahead. Hamlin, who’s known Walker to be homeless since he was 13, calls him her “guardian angel,” adding, “Even the firefighters didn’t want to handle the dogs. They called animal control, but Keith was already in the building pulling out the cats and dogs until they were all safe.”
She continues, “I can’t thank him enough. I’m still in disbelief, because I’ve been around a fire and I know how fast they flare up. He is my hero.” A GoFundMe has since been created for Walker with a $5,000 goal. The campaign currently has nearly $25,000 collected.
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