Veteran's heartbreaking letter leads pit bull to new home at North Texas fire station: "Please help my baby"

A pit bull named Jake put a group of Fort Worth firefighters to the test.

Over the weekend, Jake's owner was forced to make the hardest decision of his life: give up his best friend so he could work to get his own life back together.

Fire Station 8 in Fort Worth found Jake outside the station with a three-page letter, handwritten by Jake's owner, known only as Tom. In it, Tom describes how the property manager at his former apartment would not renew his lease because Jake is a pit bull. 

Tom said he is a 65-year-old disabled veteran and that he and Jake had been hiding in a homeless camp for the past 20 months. He said he has been married five times and been to jail four times, but giving Jake up is the hardest decision he's ever had to make. When he walked by the fire station, he saw a sign reading "Safe Place."

"Jake was raised to love everyone," the letter reads. "Jake is nothing but love ... please help my baby."

Fire Station 8 said the decision to adopt was easy.  

The firefighters said that Jake has a bed, has taken a recliner, has toys in the backyard and acts like he's been there all along. 

"You can't help but just love being around Jake. Who doesn't have a better day when you have a good dog around?" said Captain Dusty Sides, with the Fort Worth Fire Department. "He really shows everybody love. He doesn't stick by one person over another. He doesn't really play favorites. He goes around and makes sure he spends time with all of us."

The firefighters hope the story can end in a full circle, with Tom finding a place to live and getting healthy enough to reunite with Jake.