An Atlanta homeless man has been hailed a hero after rescuing all of the animals at a shelter after it caught fire.
Keith Walker, 53, has been living on the streets since the age of 13, but he is kept company by his loyal dog Bravo.
To stay safe, Bravo spends his nights at a local animal shelter, W-Underdogs, which was founded by Gracie Hamlin.
However, when Keith turned up to take Bravo a walk on December 18, he discovered that the shelter was on fire. And rather than stand by and wait for authorities to secure the area, Kieth put his own life at risk and went in to save all of the animals, including Bravo.
Watch a news report about the heartwarming incident below:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YHSdDv5zM0]]
In an interview with CNN, Keith said: "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."
Animal control was called by firefighters at the scene to help with the situation, but Walker was not prepared to wait for them to arrive and potentially let any of the animals perish.
Despite the risk to his own life, he pulled every animal in the building to safety - ten cats and six dogs.
"He is my guardian angel… I can't thank him enough for saving my animals," Hamlin said. "I'm still in disbelief… I've been around a fire and I know how fast they flare up."
The fire, which began in the kitchen, ultimately left the facility unusable.
Thankfully, however, all of the animals, who are doing well, will be moved to W-Underdog's new Atlanta-based facility.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: GoFundMe]]
When news of Walker's bravery began to spread, people decided to set up a GoFundMe campaign to help out the "The Atlanta Animal Shelter Hero" and his trusty sidekick, Bravo.
"…Mr. Walker, you're an extraordinary gentleman, risking life and limb to save not only dogs, but the cats in the shelter as well, which would have been far more difficult," commented a donor who made a $50 contribution. "I can’t wait to see you on the news in a fresh apartment with a new start. You've earned it, man."
At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $55,973.
The campaign's founder acknowledged that while it is "complicated" to help a person dealing with long term homelessness, they have vowed to use the money to create the best possible future for the heroic Walker.