El Paso Firefighter Rescues Dog, Adopts Her After No One Claims Her

Firefighters are at times tasked with rescuing animals while on duty, but one El Paso Firefighter went beyond his call of duty after rescuing a dog from a canal in Socorro, Texas.

Eric Gonzalez is an El Paso fireman for Station 12 and he also serves as a volunteer firefighter for the Socorro Fire Department.

While on shift in Socorro, Eric and his team got called to rescue a canine that was stuck in a canal.

“She was in a canal and she was in about two feet of water and you could tell she was very tired and lethargic,” said Eric.

The firefighters contacted Animal Services to see if they could take in the dog, which the firefighters named “Hope.”

Animal Services told Eric that they would be able to take in Hope but they could not ensure what would happen with her if she did not get adopted.

It was then that Eric decided that he would take Hope home to care for her until they attempted to find her rightful owners.

Photos of Hope were shared on social media, but no owner ever came forward so Eric decided he would adopt Hope and give her the care and attention she deserved.

“When I saw her I just fell in love with her and I said, hey we can’t get rid of this dog,” said Eric.

Eric and his mom have been caring for Hope ever since but recently discovered that Hope would need surgery on her back leg.

“It was a little expensive. Me and my mom decided hey this is what's best for her so we can worry about that later,” said Eric.

His team at the Socorro Fire Department decided to create a GoFundMe account to help Eric and his mom pay for Hope’s medical expenses.

So far the GoFundMe has collected over $3,000 but Hope’s medical expenses total up to $7,000.

This isn’t the first rescue dog for Eric and he hopes that others in the community will think twice when looking for a dog to join their family.

“These dogs are just like us, i believe they deserve opportunity and at the end of the day these dogs just wanna be loved,” said Eric.

If you would like to donate to Hope’s GoFundMe page Click Here.