Homeless Man Says Goodbye To The 31 Stray Dogs He’s Been Caring For In The Woods

A homeless man living deep in the woods of Natchez Trace State Park in Tennessee along with 31 dogs, has accepted the help of animal rescuers after he fell sick and could no longer look after the dogs.

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

The man, who has not named for sake of his privacy, had been living outdoors in the wilderness for sixteen years.

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

Animal Rescue Corps assisted with the rescue and wrote on Facebook, “After recent health issues, he accepted the help of community members and ARC to find homes for himself and the dogs he has been caring for in the woods.”

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

The man and his friends in the community had been desperately looking for a solution when Animal Rescue Corps stepped in to help.

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

The rescue group wrote, “His greatest wish and the only thing keeping him from accepting the physical and medical help being offered to him was that he would not leave until he knew the dogs would have a home. He was aware that he could not provide the care or attention that more than 30 dogs deserve and require.”

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

The dogs are all sizes and breeds and were running loose in a pack. None of the dogs had been vaccinated and all had some form of internal or external parasites.




Three of the dogs had serious leg injuries, but all were cared for as best as possible given the man’s means.

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

“Members of the community have been working with this man to improve his way of life and this rescue is part of it,” said ARC President Scotlund Haisley. “He wasn’t going to abandon the dogs and accept the help for himself without first finding a group to take the dogs. We are very glad to be able to assist.”

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

With the help of the man, ARC put the dogs in kennels and transported them to an emergency shelter to be examined by a vet team.

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

“ARC will provide daily care until the animals are placed with shelter and rescue organizations that will ultimately adopt them into loving homes,” the rescue group wrote on Facebook. “For people wishing to foster or adopt, ARC will publish its list of shelter and rescue placement partners on its Facebook page once the dogs are transferred to these groups.”

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps




ANIMAL RESCUE CORPS RESCUES 31 DOGS LIVING WITH A MAN IN NATCHEZ TRACE STATE PARK

Wildersville, TN – Animal Rescue…

Posted by Animal Rescue Corps on Saturday, January 9, 2016

As for the homeless man, ARC commented that: “He is reportedly going to be now living in the home of a man he has known for many years and getting necessary medical attention. He is very relieved that the dogs will be well taken care of.” They added that he cried when he saw the dogs been taken away but that they were tears of happiness. ARC recounted, “His words: ‘my tears are tears of joy that each will have a home’.”

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Photo credit: Animal Rescue Corps

To find out more about ARC and the work they do, visit their website.

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