California Firefighter Adopts Sick, Shivering Puppy After Crew Rescues It

Firefighter Mike Thawley and his crew were finishing up a job on 12th Street in Sacramento, California, when they noticed a sick puppy in distress, shivering in the rain.

“We looked across the street and there was this little dog tied up to this chain-link fence,” firefighter Peter Vandersluis told KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

It was a pit bull named Chunkie and, as it happens, Thawley has a soft spot in his heart for pit bulls.

“The crew at Engine 14, we went over, picked her up, untied her, brought her back to the firehouse, gave her a bath,” Thawley told the station. “Tried to figure out what to do with her.”

The crew took the dog, which was suffering from mange — a contagious skin disease — to the Front Street Animal Center so it could be checked out and treated.

“It’s sad,” Thawley told KCRA-TV. “These dogs are abused; not just pit bulls, but others. If someone can’t take care of them there’s other resources out there, instead of just tying it up on a street corner leaving it for dead.”

As Thawley formed a relationship with the pup, it occurred to him that he should finish the job and take Chunkie home!

When he initially told his wife, Carla, that he’d like to adopt the pit bull, she was admittedly a bit hesitant and taken aback. Carla and Mike had three kids and two dogs already, and the former also suffers from multiple sclerosis, so the thought of adding Chunkie to the mix was, understandably, a bit daunting for her.

But when Carla and the kids met Chunkie and witnessed the bond between man and dog, they simply couldn’t say no and embraced it.

“It’s like finding a little baby on the street,” Thawley said. “You’ve gotta pick ’em up and take care of ’em and get ’em where she has to go.”

Make sure to SHARE this wonderful story with all of your animal-loving friends!