Temperatures have been dropping to all time lows in New York City, but that didn’t stop one Manhattanite from doing a good deed.
40-year-old Denise Lauffer risked her own life by sleeping in a makeshift shelter for two days straight in temperatures that dropped to a record-low in order to save a stray dog from freezing to death at Highbridge Park, according to the NY Post.
Lauffer ultimately gained the trust of Charlie, the stray that had been born to a wild pack of around a dozen dogs, by allowing him a safe haven in her little shelter.
“He needs to associate me with food and companionship and heat and warmth.” Lauffer explained.
The Washington Heights resident told DNAinfo.com, “[Charlie] had coats and blankets and [he was] sleeping on pillows and hand warmers and hot water bottles. You name it, he had it.”
This stray dog owes his life to a kind woman who stayed with him all night in a freezing park: https://t.co/stATzdAHNq pic.twitter.com/uZS9TjzjEf
— Wamiz UK (@WamizUK) February 19, 2015
During the two nights Lauffer and Charlie shared the shelter, she reportedly fed him hot meals and cuddled up close to him to keep him warm throughout the night.
“I was able to line the bottom of his bed with hand warmers. He loved it,” stated Lauffer.
Charlie is fairly well-known among the residents of New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
“A lot of people were going out, like 10, 11, 12, 1 o’clock in the morning,” Tina Imlet, who eventually adopted Charlie, stated.
Imlet continued, “There was a whole series of people going to visit him, just to make sure. And everybody was like, ‘Have you seen him? Has anybody seen hm?’”
On February 15, Charlie was taken to BluePearl veterinary center and has since been vaccinated, according to Yahoo News. He will reportedly be neutered when he is stable enough.
Lauffer reportedly started a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover the veterinarian costs to help get Charlie back on his feet. In just four days, $14,368 has been raised.
“He unfortunately is doing about the same as when he came in,” stated Blue Pearl’s Dr. Elizabeth Wolf.
He added, “Maybe a slight improvement in that he’s more hydrated now.”
