A TN family says they let their 8 year old dog outside after she gave birth to a litter of five. Someone apparently stole her and dumped her in a pit filled with oil, trash and stagnant water. She cried for help and a homeless Vietnam veteran, James Beavers, heard and located her from her whimpering. He yelled for help but nobody came so he got a rope and rescued the dog himself. He then went to a pay phone and called a lady he knows who rescues pets. From there, the dog received veterinary treatment and her owners have come forward to claim her.
Mr. Beavers has a prosthetic leg (see news video) and is living in an abandoned car wash in East Memphis, TN. The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby Co offered Mr. Beavers “some tokens of appreciation” for rescuing the dog. I’m not in any way disparaging what the shelter did but can we do more?
I don’t know how exactly we would go about it or what specifically could be done for Mr. Beavers but gosh, this gentleman served his country and apparently fell on hard times. He seems like a good guy. Could we put our heads together and do something to offer him a hand up in appreciation for his service to his country and community?
what a kind, brave soul.
are there organizations local to him that we can reach out to? i’m going to google…
Contacting local organizations would be where I’d start to, the trouble is, he may not be amenable to receiving help from them. If he’s not, would it be too weird to set up a way to get donations directly to him via Paypal or something? Paypal actually has a debit card that can draw on funds from your online account….
I have a message in to the news station. I’m guessing we aren’t the only ones who thought of offering assistance. They may have received similar inquiries from others. Will update if I get any info.
If he is looking for work, I would hope the shelter would employ him. He is definitely the type of person that should be working with animals. We need to do more for those who have risked their lives to protect us.
On America’s Got Talent last night (or it could have been earlier, it may have been from the DVR) there was an acapella group consisting entirely of formerly homeless veterans, both male and female. The oldest gentleman in the group had been homeless for 25 YEARS.
Their message? That even warriors need help sometimes, and they shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it. Seeing the group of them, all previously homeless, on stage performing – there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.