Friends Reuniting Dog with Homeless Man

A community is coming together for a man who understands better than many that a dig can be man's best friend.

Pudge is actually a she. The dog spent the last week at Detroit Animal Control. She was not lost or abandoned. The dog is owned by a homeless man named Tim, and the two were often spotted around Livernois and I-94. Tim and Pudge were inseparable, in spite of their unorthodox living conditions.

"He had a nice dog, a chocolate lab dog named Pudge, but no matter if it was five degrees below zero or if it was really hot, he had water for the dog and he took care of that dog before he took care of himself. So, I started giving him some dog food and a few bucks here and there," said Cheryl Munro.

For whatever reason, a Detroit police officer notified Animal Control and Pudge was picked up. Tim didn't have the money nor resources to get his dog back with the required license and inoculations. When people who often saw Pudge and Tim learned of the dog's fate, they pitched in to help.

"My co-workers and I, we work at Detroit Edison, and we went around and collected some money... to get this dog out of the pound for him," Munro said.

Animal Control is a division of the Detroit Health Department and because there were complications, for one Tim doesn't have a permanent address, the Health Department helped facilitate the dog's return.

"That's his only companion. That's his friend for life, and when you're out here in the cold, you need some comfort," said Detroit Health Department Spokesperson Mike McElrath. "We understand that at the Health Department, and what we've done, at this point, is we're trying to reunite them. But because the gentleman is homeless, we know there has to be a legal residency, and so, we're going to transfer it over to a friend."

His friends had trouble locating Tim or his wife, Rene, to retrieve the dog, but one offered her home and took custody of Pudge.

"I'm going to take ownership of this dog because she's a beautiful chocolate lab, and this dog loves Tim and Rene so much and Tim, especially. I can't imagine what this dog is going through with not being with Tim right now," said Sharon Maceri.

Concerned friends and an understanding government work together and got Pudge back where she belongs.