Homeless man sleeping outside with his dog gets helping hand

DETROIT (WJBK) - In the bitter cold pets and humans can get in trouble if either is outside too long.

But what if they have no place to go? That can not only be devastating - it can be deadly.  

A Detroit homeless man loves his dog so much; he was sleeping outside in the cold to stay with him. 

The owner, Julian Terrance, had no idea about what he was about to see - not knowing he was going to see his canine buddy today. 

"'Max, come here. You miss me, you miss me?'" he said. "That's my boy."

Thursday night was the first time the two have been separated since Max was a little puppy.

"I'm ecstatic," he said. "Me and Max had a rough life. I found him in this exact block in this exact neighborhood (E. Grand Blvd and Lafayette) about six months ago. He was about a month old when I found him. 

"I have been loving him ever since."

Julian's son died.

"This was the next best thing," he said. "It helped me get over my son's death. This is my dog; this is my baby. Anything he ever needed I always made sure he had it.  I go above and beyond the call of duty because I know he would do it for me."

He lost his home and he just lost his job. When he found this puppy in the cold he couldn't just leave him out there.

"Neither of us asked to be here," Julian said. "He didn't have anybody like I didn't have anybody. He watched my back and I watched his back."

Julian was sleeping in the elements with Max to stay with him. That was until 313 K9 and Kitty Rescue saw them walking.

"It just didn't feel right," said Jennesse Gray-Swan. "So I stopped at the gas station and turned around just to check on him."

They realized the pair were homeless so they took the dog in Thursday night so Julian can get back on his feet, get a home, get a job and be reunited permanently with his best bud.

"I can't help to imagine how lovely that'll be," Julian said. "We're a family, we're all we got."

If you would like to donate to the 313 K9 and Kitty Rescue, CLICK HERE.

To watch the reunion of Julian and Max: CLICK HERE.