A homeless man biking across the country to crash at a friend’s house received an unexpected gift after one woman saw him and his dogs on the side of the road.
In 2001, Steve fell on hard times and lost his home in California. Since then, he has found companionship in stray dogs. Although he himself has very little, Steve has tried to care for every stray dog he has encountered. In fact, Steve has taken care of over 150 dogs in the past 14 years.
Steve began biking across America when a friend in Indiana offered him help. Unwilling to leave his friends behind and without a car, Steve manufactured a carrying cart from a wagon and attached it to his bike.
Steve then began towing 11 dogs across a 2,000 mile journey.
Steve was biking through West Memphis, Arkansas, when Alicia Edrington saw him. She put on her flashers and pulled off of the road. When she introduced herself, Steve immediately began telling her about his dogs without even introducing himself.
“God must have put this man on that road at the time for a reason because as I was returning to town I saw him,” Edrington wrote on Facebook.
Edrington reached out to her mother, who then reached out to her friends. Within a few hours, hundreds of people had offered assistance to Steve and his dogs. When it became apparent that a terrible storm was coming, Edrington’s family even booked Steve a hotel room for the night.
When the West Memphis Animal Shelter heard about Steve, they donated 100 pounds of dog food to him. Others also donated leashes and collars.
Word continued to spread about Steve when Tennessee woman and animal lover Kelley Seaton heard about him. Seaton generously offered to drive Steve and his pets to his final destination in Indianapolis.
In a final gesture of kindness, one person even donated a trailer to Steve so that he and his dogs could live together in their own home.
Since Steve’s story has gone viral, his dogs have been sprayed, neutered and vaccinated. A GoFundMe page has also been created for Steve that has raised over $18,000. A Facebook page has also been created for Steve and his journey, called "Steve's Strays united across the Usa." So far, it has garnered over 2,000 likes.
Check out these pictures of Steve and his adorable stray dogs:
No comments:
Post a Comment