GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A dog who was found tied to a building with nothing but a note saying his owner couldn’t take care of him anymore is getting a new home.
Champ was found tied to the Pleasant Hill Animal Hospital in Gwinnett County over the weekend.
Channel 2 obtained body camera footage of a Duluth Police Department officer finding Champ tied to the building on Saturday. Next to Champ, the officer found a note from the former owners saying the family with three kids could no longer take care of him.
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“He’s definitely cold,” the officer can be heard saying in the video.
A woman walking her own dog on Saturday called 911 after seeing Champ chained to the animal hospital. Animal Control officers came and took champ to the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter.
Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson spoke with Champ’s new owner, who says she fell in love with him after seeing Champ’s photo on Channel 2 Action News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Tracie Wood told Johnson that she drove from her home in Cobb County to the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter on Friday morning as soon as he was eligible for adoption.
“That’s right, Champ, you’ve got a new mommy,” she said. “By seeing the news story on the channel, on WSB, here we are. If it hadn’t been for you, then I wouldn’t have Champ.”
Wood says her longtime emotional support dog died over the summer and she has been looking for a new pet for her autistic grandson.
“He’s non-verbal, but he loves animals, so it’s both for me and for him,” she explained.
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Champ and Wood’s grandson are already inseparable, but staff at the animal shelter say abandonment doesn’t always lead to a happy ending.
“There are many other options that you can do, reach out to your shelters, reach to rescues, instead of leaving them there where they can get hurt,” Special Operations Manager Katrina Amaro said.
Just like his name, Champ has a new family and is heading home as a champ.
“I was not going to stop until I got Champ,” Wood told Johnson.
The animal shelter says they still have plenty of dogs available for adoption. If you need to surrender your animal, the animal shelter says you can start with them instead of considering abandoning your pet.
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