Ailing homeless man rescued after attaching help note to his dog

A homeless man in Thurston County, Washington state, who suffered a medical emergency has his dog, an Australian Shepherd mix named Buddy, to thank for saving his life. On Wednesday afternoon, a woman was walking her dog along railway tracks in Tumwater when she spotted another dog with a note attached to its harness.

The desperate note said: “Help. Send help. No joke, cannot walk. Medicine not working. Need doctor.” The woman who found the note dialed 911, but the note wasn’t signed, and police did not know where the note came from. Police heard a homeless man with a dog was living in the area, and eventually found him in an elaborate camp in the woods.

“He was absolutely immobile. He was in his camp and couldn’t move from his location. He didn’t have a phone to call anybody. No way to reach out to anybody for help, and he was afraid he was going to die,” said Detective Jen Kolb of the Tumwater Police Department.

YouTube link.  Original video link.

Police said the note was a desperate, last-ditch effort to survive, and the homeless man attached it to his dog’s harness and sent him off. The man was treated and later released from hospital and reunited with Buddy.