Help a Homeless Veteran and His Dog in need

An American Veteran and his best friend are in desperate need.  As others in the community, my family and I have seen a homeless veteran and his dog wandering around a shopping area for over a month.  This area is not known to see homeless, so the unusual sight had brought attention to his desperation.  He stayed close to PetSmart to make sure his dog had food.  He also stayed close to Sheetz, located off the highway, in hopes to catch a ride south to warmer weather.  With freezing temperatures in the North East, We had to help them find shelter.  They had been staying in the woods but the "canopy has fallen" as he said.  My family and I put them up in a dog friendly hotel for four nights.  After four nights we drove around for hours making contacts for temporary housing.  The Salvation Army helped us by putting him up for two more nights in a hotel over the Veteran's Day Holiday.  We are still trying to find temporary housing, but it is difficult over a holiday weekend with a homeless person with a dog, no money, and no transportation.  

              He has a goal and we have a plan, but time and money are major issues.  He has been homeless for 14 years carrying around a 100lb camouflage U.S. backpack, and is starting to weigh him down as he is up in age as well as his dog.   He wants help and is so grateful for what we have done so far (roof, food, clothing, and transportation).  He has lost all documentation.  He needs an I.D./drivers license, but he is unable to get one without an address.  We went to the V.A. hospital, but he is two months short of being eligible for benefits. 

            We need your help to keep them in a warm place in the time being until we can help him obtain legal I.D./drivers license.  We can not continue to pay nightly dog friendly hotel rates and need to find them a place to start over with his best friend.  The two can not be separated.   The help that we wanted to give them has become bigger than we had anticipated.  The realization for how hard it is to get a homeless person who has nothing, but his best friend, a new beginning is unimaginable.  He wants the help and has no clue how to get out of it on his own.  Please help us to help them.  We are desperate, we have to pick them up from the hotel tomorrow and have no clue where we are taking them from there, but we know it will be warmer with everyone's help.   With Veteran's Day tomorrow please keep this rescue going by sharing with everyone. Beyond grateful for any generosity!