Homeless teen living under a bridge gets his beloved dog back and a place to live thanks to strangers

A teen who was homeless gets his beloved dog back and a place to live thanks to strangers

Homeless teen living under a bridge gets his beloved dog back and a place to live thanks to strangers

Our dogs mean the world to us, and the thought of letting them go to be cared for by someone else is unimaginable.

Sadly, that’s what a young man in Tate County, Mississippi, was forced to do when he found himself and his pup in a dire situation, living under a bridge and running out of food.

The 17-year-old’s dog was a four-month-old Rottweiler/German shepherd mix named Jada, and the teen was trying his best to make ends meet. However, doing so proved to be too difficult.

He has a tent and left the dog there while he looked for a job, but Jada escaped. With no source of income and quickly using up their rations, the owner was compelled to make the tough decision.

The teen walked Jada to Senatobia-Tate County Animal Shelter and asked them if he could leave his dog there.

“I was just sitting up here in the office and had just finished some cleaning and saw a young man walking across the field with what looked like a dog in tow,” recalled Interim Shelter Director Kris Robinson.

Robinson told him they were “so full.” But after telling her that he couldn’t take care of the dog anymore and that they lived under a bridge, she was moved to grant his request.

While there, Jada kept herself pinned to her owner’s legs. Clearly, the pair have formed a special bond.

The teen further explained that they were running out of food, so Robinson determined to make space for Jada.

Jada’s owner left her in the shelter with a plastic bag containing her dog food and blanket. She sadly laid on the floor of the receiving area, probably wondering why her dad didn’t take her with him.

“For this young man to just be 17 and down on is luck, and no matter what problems he’s facing, he still took the time to walk her over her and make sure somebody was going to take care of her, I think that says a lot about his character,” Robinson said.

She doesn’t know exactly which bridge the homeless teen claims to be living under. Robinson also didn’t reveal his name to keep his privacy intact.

The shelter was ultimately concerned about the young man and wanted to get him off the street. After he filled out a surrender form with a bit of information about himself, they passed it along to people who could help him.

The shelter then posted the photo of Jada online, and it went viral. Many people were touched by the young man’s kindness and wanted to help him out. They began offering to donate money and a room where he and his dog could get back on their feet.

Community members reached out to provide any help they could to the teen. Adoption requests also began pouring in for Jada, but the shelter clarified that she would stay there until her owner had decided he could work out his personal issues.

A few days later, the shelter shared an update on social media.

“[T]he homeless teenager who brought this baby to the shelter to surrender her because he couldn’t give her what she needs is getting the help he needs,” they wrote on Facebook. “He has a place to stay and will be soon getting his dog back.”

The animal shelter would like to get the dog spayed and get her flea/tick and heart prevention good for a year, and they shared details of how people could help.

“If you’d like to donate please do so through PayPal and use fosasenatobia@gmail.com — you can also donate for the young man — monetarily or Walmart gift cards — I know he would appreciate the help, both for him and for his dog,” they posted.

WREG recently reported that the homeless teen and his dog have reunited and are staying with a local family who offered to take them in while he sorts things out.

The Senatobia Police Department said they safely located him with the help of several community members.

“I hope his selfless actions have made people think about the animals in this community- they deserve a chance, they don’t deserve to be dumped anywhere,” the shelter wrote.

“Please consider donating to your local shelters to help them spay and neuter all the animals in their care- for their health and so that there are not as many unwanted litters of babies.”

It’s a tragedy that a young person and his dog found themselves in such a desperate situation, but it’s encouraging to see the number of good people willing to help them in their great time of need.

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