Sacramento Firefighter Mike Thawley found Chunk abandoned on the side of the road at the weekend.
The three-month-old pup had been tied to a tree and left out in the rain on Sunday.
Thawley picked up the dog and took her to the Front Street Animal Shelter, who took ‘Chunky’ in and cared for her. She was found to have a strange skin condition, likely caused from prior neglect.
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Happy reunion: Sacramento City Firefighter Mike Thawley found Chunk abandoned on the side on the road on Sunday, and visited her in the animal shelter on Monday (pictured)
Thawley says he couldn’t get the pup off his mind, so he checked up on her the next day and then proposed fostering her to his family
Chunk was found to have a strange skin condition, likely caused from prior neglect
In a video posted to the shelter’s Facebook page, Chunk is seen showering Thawley in licks, with her tail wagging wildly, when he came back to visit her on Monday.
‘As you can see from the video, she is very grateful!’ the shelter wrote alongside the clip.
Then, on Thursday, Thawley and his family made a decision – they would take Chunk back to their home in a foster situation, until another home for her can be found.
After asking the wife and kids, we decided to foster her for a bit,’ Thawley told FOX40.
The moment Thawley and his three daughters went to pick up their dog was also captured on video and posted to Facebook.
New home: Thawley returned to Front Street Thursday with his family to pick up Chunk, where she had been rehabilitating since her rescue
Firefighter introduces foster pup he rescued to new family
‘He’s rescuing her again by fostering her until she’s recovered from her skin condition!’ the shelter wrote in the video caption.
‘We’ll provide all the medicine and food the puppy needs, and he and his family will provide the love!’
Chunk still technically belongs to the shelter, however Thawley’s daughters want to officially adopt her. The family already have a few dogs at home.
According to the shelter’s spokesperson Bobby Mann, the type of mange that Chunk has will be cleared up with medication.
‘She’ll be looking like a regular dog really soon,’ Mann said.
Sacramento City Firefighter Mike Thawley says he and his crew noticed the three-month-old pit pup Sunday on a medical call