HOMELESS MAN SAVED 16 ANIMALS FROM BURNING ATLANTA SHELTER

A homeless man went into an Atlanta shelter fire and got every dog and cat out.

Keith Walker, 53, rescued six dogs and ten cats from W-Underdogs, an animal shelter in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 18, 2020. The fire broke out in the shelter kitchen.

The rescue was covered by People and CNN.

Walker was on his way to pick up his pit bull, Bravo, for a walk when he saw the flames. Bravo stayed at the shelter at night, CNN reported.

“I was nervous as hell, I’m not going to lie,” Walker said. “I was really scared to go in there with all that smoke. But God put me there to save those animals.”

Inside the burning building

Walker went into the burning building and brought the animals out until they were all safe.

W-Underdogs founder Gracie Hamlin said firefighters had called animal control, but Walker was already inside. “Even the firefighters were hesitant to manage the dogs,” she said. “They contacted animal control, but Keith was already inside, rescuing the cats and dogs until they were all out of danger.”

CNN reported that Walker had experienced homelessness since he was 13.

Hamlin did not hold back when she described what he had done. “He is my guardian angel,” she said.

What happened next

The building was not destroyed, but Hamlin said the fire left it unlivable. KIRO 7 reported that investigators said an electrical fire in the kitchen started the blaze.

The shelter had already been planning a move to a new facility in Atlanta. After the fire, the animals were moved there ahead of schedule.

W-Underdogs said the animals were “happy, safe and warm” in their new home.

A crowdfunding account was set up to help the group recover, KIRO 7 reported.