DENVER (KDVR) — An Army veteran found his four-legged companion just in time for the holidays.
The dog’s name is Baby Girl and she’s 6 years old. She’s on her way to her new home with her new friend, 38-year-old Keith Wade. He said this newfound family member wasn’t the result of love at first sight but love after her story.
“I’m not alone anymore. I’m not alone anymore,” the 10-year disabled veteran said when he arrived to pick up his dog from MaxFund Animal Adoption Center in Denver.
The organization worked alongside Black Ops Rescue in order to make this Christmas miracle happen. It’s a process that usually takes several months, but due to the urgency of Christmas, this adoption process took only a matter of weeks.
“I fell in love with her when I heard her story,” Wade told FOX31’s Joshua Short late Friday afternoon.
Baby Girl’s story is filled with ephemeral housing, injuries, arthritis and uncertainty. She was adopted in March and then brought back to the shelter not long after.
Wade’s story is just as uncertain. While on his way to see the birth of his daughter last year, he ended up in a fight for his life.
“I was on the highway on 64 going eastbound,” he explained. “A Z71 Silverado came and hit me head-on at 70 mph and simultaneously a semi hit me at 60 [mph].”
He said his heart stopped, but now he’s on the mend alongside his new friend.
“Our veteran client Keith reached out to us and was looking for a companion and really wanted to have somebody for Christmas and we reached out to MaxFund which has been a wonderful partner to us and they suggested baby girl,” Kelley Forrester, executive director of Black Ops Rescue said.
Black Ops has been around since 2018 and started as a small rescue in order to pair veterans with shelter pets. They are a total volunteer organization and all of our services are free to the veteran.
“We’re making all of this happen on Christmas so Keith will have a new battle buddy for the holidays,” Forrester told FOX31.
MaxFund is a no-kill animal shelter and adoption center that challenges the traditional methods of animal sheltering by leading the no-kill movement in Colorado.