A dog, possibly a Great Dane or similar large breed with a black and white coat pattern, lying down outdoors. A red garment draped over the dog's back is visible. 2:33
WLFITV channel icon WLFITVOriginal creator 36K views Save

Neighbors step up for a homeless man's dog

Winter was on its way to West Lafayette, Indiana, and Timothy Lucas had a hard choice to make. He could take a warm bed, or he could stay with his dog, Moe. more

Lucas had lived in West Lafayette all his life. He and Moe had been homeless for about two weeks, and finding work was hard, because he had nowhere to leave Moe during the day. The Lafayette Transitional Housing Center offered him a place to stay, but the center has no room for dogs. Saying yes would mean leaving Moe on the street.

A black-and-white dog in a red harness stands on pavement, looking up with head tilted slightly to one side. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Moe, the dog Lucas would have had to leave on the street to take a bed at the shelter.

The choice was tearing him apart. He wanted another way, one where both of them would be safe and warm when the snow came. So he asked his community for help, and a local TV station, WLFI, agreed to share his request.

He wasn't asking for forever. "As long as I know it's just for a while and that he's safe, and that I can find my stability while he's stable, and we'd be back together, that gives us hope," he said.

Moe is all he has left. "He's my therapy dog," Lucas said. "He keeps me from being unstable and getting depressed." Everybody loves Moe, he added, and if someone took him in, Lucas would return the favor. His case worker, Lisa Yates, called the two of them her favorite clients.

The answer was better than he had hoped. Offers to keep Moe for the winter came rolling in, and it was soon clear the dog would be safe and well looked after.

A dog, possibly a Great Dane or similar large breed with a black and white coat pattern, lying down outdoors. A red garment draped over the dog's back is visible. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Winter was on its way to West Lafayette, Indiana, and Timothy Lucas had a hard choice to make.

Then came help with his other problem. Several people reached out to offer Lucas a job. He had gone on TV for his dog, and the town answered for both of them.