When an animal shelter went up in flames, it could have very well ended in tragedy. But, when a 53-year-old homeless man saw the building go up in smoke, he didn’t hesitate to risk his life.

“God put me there to save those animals.”

It only took a few moments for the unthinkable to happen at the W-Underdogs rescue in Atlanta, Georgia that cold December night.

Gracie Hamlin, the non-profit’s founder, had stepped outside that evening to pick up some donations for the organization.

She had no idea an electrical fire was quickly burning the shelter’s headquarters, which also happened to be her home, straight to the ground!

Thankfully, Gracie had an angel on her side in the form of a homeless man named Keith Walker.

Keith, who had been doing odd jobs for the rescue for several years, kept his own doggy there during the night.

He was on his way to pick up his pittie, Bravo, for their usual evening walk when he saw the smoke and flames billowing into the air.

Keith was actually pretty scared to go inside the burning building and told CNN he was “nervous as hell, I’m not going to lie.”

In the end, it was bravery – and the love he had for his dog – that won the day.

“If you love a dog, you can love anyone in the world. My dog is my best friend, and I wouldn’t be here without him, so I knew I had to save all those other dogs.”

Keith found himself in one of those situations where he happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Another homeless man named Mike called 911 while Keith risked his life to retrieve the trapped 16 dogs and cats, one by one.

Had it not been for them, the fates of those animals would be much different.

It was a good thing that Keith was there, because “even the firefighters didn’t want to handle the dogs,” Gracie told CNN.

She continued, “They called animal control, but Keith was already in the building pulling out the cats and dogs until they were all safe.”

The building was deemed uninhabitable, but as fate would have it, the organization had just leased a new facility that was going to be the new home of W-Underdogs’ headquarters.

The fire unexpectedly accelerated the move-in date, but with the community’s help, all the doggies and kitties had a warm place to stay for the night.

As for Keith, he was in good hands, too. In a gesture of gratitude, the community banded together to raise $92,000 on GoFundMe to help Keith get off the streets.

As of the last update, Keith was living in a rental home and learning how to do things like shop for food and pay the bills.

“All of this is new to Keith and it is gratifying to know that he is trying hard and is making progress,” Frank Cote, the fundraiser’s organizer, wrote.

Watch the video below to find out more about Keith’s bravery.

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Source: CNN, WSB-TV, KHON-2 News, W-Underdogs, GoFundMe