Tragically, the three-month-old pitbull Chunk hasn’t exactly had an easy life. The poor puppy was abandoned and tied to a tree shortly after she was born – she was simply left behind by his owner as if she was a piece of trash.

On their way to an emergency call, a crew of the fire department in Sacramento spotted the poor pup tied to the tree.

Of course, the firefighters couldn’t make a stop because they needed to respond to an urgent call, but they never forgot about the poor pup. After the emergency situation was resolved, the No. 14 crew of the department made their way back to the street and rescued the freezing malnourished pup. Chunk was extremely cold, terrified of humans and had a bad case of mange.

Firefighter Mike Thawley decided to take Chunk under his wings.

He cared for her on the way to the station and made sure to spend plenty of time with his new best friend over there are well. To warm her up, Mike and some of his colleagues gave her a warm bath as well as some tender loving care.

“We all just kind of fell in love with her,” the firefighter said to Sacremento Bee.

Of course, Chunk needed to be patched up as well, because she wasn’t doing great. Her fur was covered in scabs, she almost didn’t have any hair left because of the mange, and her legs were completely swollen. The firefighters decided to take her to the Front Street Animal Shelter nearby, where they were more suited to treat her. They also hoped that the shelter would be able to find her a loving forever home.

It would take a while before Chunk would be back to a hundred percent, but she started improving.

The shelter staff took good care of her and made sure that her hair started growing back. The mange wasn’t too severe and wasn’t contagious either – but the recovery process, both physically and emotionally, was going to take a while.

Sadly, you could tell that Chunk wasn’t exactly happy in the shelter, as she was constantly sad and didn’t want to eat.

However, firefighter Mike hadn’t forgotten about Chunk and went to visit her at the shelter.

It looks like the four-footer hadn’t forgotten about her rescuer either, because this reunion is just incredibly adorable! The two spend some time together and the enthusiasm is off the charts.

The following day, Mike returned to the shelter yet again. This time, he brought his wife and three daughters.

“Although Mike denies it, it appears by a vote of four to one that Chunk might wind up with a permanent home!” the Sacramento Fire Department posted on Facebook.

Chunk found her loving forever home with the Thawley family, and both of them wouldn’t have it any other way.

The adorable four-footer had to stay at the shelter for four months to complete her mange treatment, but as soon as she was medically cleared, Chunk came home with her rescuer and his loving family. Everyone welcomed Chunk to the family home with open arms!

“I think what’s great about this whole story is that not only did this dog find its forever home, but had the opportunity to go to a foster home, which we’re always looking for at our shelter, to get happy and healthy,” spokesperson Bobby Mann of the animal shelter told.

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Source: World News (YouTube), Sacramento FD, Sacramento Bee