An animal shelter in Fayetteville, North Carolina, received quite a shock after a recent storm: A "nameless man" had dropped off an orphaned litter of puppies at the shelter's door.
"In the wake of a recent storm that swept through our area, we experienced a moment that simultaneously broke and uplifted our hearts," the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society wrote in a Jan. 15 post on its Facebook page.
The five puppies, estimated to be under two months old, were "left with a note that tore at our heartstrings," said the shelter.
"The note was from a kind soul, a homeless man who, despite his own hardships, took it upon himself to rescue these innocent lives after their mother, a local stray he cared for, tragically passed away," said the shelter.
The shelter included an image of the note, which said that their mother had been hit by a car and had died on the side of the road.
"I knew from feeding her that she had puppies somewhere and after searching where I would usually see her I found them," said the note, signed by "Nameless Man."
The man apologized for leaving them at the shelter, but said he is "homeless and cannot afford to care for them."
"My heart shatters for them and for their mother," wrote the man.
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He added, "I just want them to be given the chance their mother, like myself, was never given."
The man asked that the shelter "not think poorly" of him for leaving the puppies — but said that "it felt wrong leaving them alone in the cold waiting on a mother that would not be coming home."
The shelter thanked the "Nameless Man," saying that his "act of kindness has not gone unnoticed" — and that his actions "give us hope and inspiration."
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"We promise to honor your selfless gesture by providing these puppies with the love and care they deserve," wrote the shelter, who invited the man to visit the puppies if he so wanted.
In follow-up posts, the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society said that it still had not heard from the man, but noted that many people have offered to help get him back on his feet if he comes forward.
The puppies were named "Chance, Fate, Serendipity, Kismet, and Fortune," in a nod to the lucky circumstances of their rescue, the shelter told Fox News Digital.
Their breed cannot yet be determined, the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society told Fox News Digital, as the dogs "were malnourished coming in, so they could just be small."
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"We’re guessing they are lab mixes and will grow to be about 30 to 40 pounds, but again that’s a guess," said the shelter.
Applications to adopt the "lucky puppies" will open on Feb. 1, said the shelter, but they will only be adoptable within Cumberland County, North Carolina.
This is because the puppies will be "foster-to-adopt" until they are old enough and large enough to be spayed or neutered, said the shelter.
In the meantime, the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society is accepting donations and has a "wish list" available for anyone who seeks to assist with caring for the puppies.
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