This is the story of Officer Kareem Garibaldi. He works for the Lakeland Police Department. A recent rescue that he made while in the line of duty has gone viral. Once you see why, you will not be able to contain your joy. There was a boxer/pitbull mix wandering the streets early one morning. Kareem just so happened to be on patrol at the time.

He wanted to make sure that the animal was going to be okay. He also tried his absolute best to find the dog’s owner. When he could not locate them, Kareem elected to take the dog with him to the police station. He would figure out what to do with the animal once his shift had concluded. The selfless officer even held onto the dog for three days, waiting and hoping to hear from the owner.

At this time, Kareem decided to provide the dog with a necessary checkup. He took the animal to the good folks at the SPCA Florida animal shelter. Connie Johnson is the shelter manager. She says that the two looked totally exhausted when they arrived. Her heart was touched by the officer’s efforts. “He was so determined to get her help,” said Connie.

She decided that she would capture the moment on camera. Once she shared their connection on Facebook and Twitter, they went viral almost immediately. We are swooning ourselves. This is one officer who was not going to rest until his job was done….literally. Kareem did not care about getting home to his own bed. He just wanted to make sure that his new friend was okay.

The dog is now named Hope and she’s been adopted by a dispatcher who could not bear to see her go without a forever home. The Lakeland Police Department was thrilled with the officer’s actions as well. Stories like these are indicative of the type of assistance that they are willing to provide. These are not your regular, everyday officers.

“On Saturday in the early morning hours, Ofc. Kareem Garibaldi almost hit this small pit bull/boxer mix puppy. The puppy was running around loose in the neighborhood. The 8 to 10 week old puppy had no collar or dog tag so Officer Garibaldi was unable to locate the owner after searching around the neighborhood.

Ofc. Garibaldi took the puppy to LPD to feed it and shelter it for the night prior to taking it home at the end of his shift. On Sunday, Officer Garibaldi brought the puppy back to LPD and posted pictures on social media sites and returned to the neighborhood looking for the owner.

At the end of his third day, 12 hour shift, Officer Garibaldi, on his own time, transported the dog to the SPCA to be checked out. He sat there from 8:45am to 12:00 p.m. as the vet checked the puppy out when this picture was taken and posted to Twitter. Later that day, the puppy found a new home.

It’s the kind-hearted officers like this that makes the Lakeland Police Department truly unique. Having worked a long weekend, Officer Garibaldi still found the energy at the end of his shift to help man’s best friend.” –Lakeland Police Department

They are willing to go above and beyond, even when it is time to clock out and go to sleep. Kareem’s actions certainly deserve a great deal of recognition. Kudos to him for putting his own life to the side, just to make sure that one special dog found their way back home. Without his helpful assistance, who knows what would have happened to this poor pup? Please take time out to share away, everyone!