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Heartwarming photo shows officer napping with rescued puppy

Posted at 8:25 PM, May 27, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-27 20:27:49-04

LAKELAND, Fl. -- A heartwarming photo of a Florida police officer and a puppy he recently rescued is gaining praise from people across the country.

The photo shows Officer Kareem Garibaldi napping next to a curled up puppy, which he named Hope, while waiting to get checked out at the SPCA medical center in Florida.

Officer Garibaldi found the pitbull-boxer mix underneath his patrol car Saturday morning after almost running over the puppy.

officer and dog

Hope is believed to be eight to 10 weeks old and didn’t have a collar or dog tag.

The officer searched the neighborhood unsuccessfully for Hope’s owner, so he decided to take the puppy home at the end of his shift. On Sunday, he returned to the neighborhood and posted pictures on social, media hoping to return the dog to its owner.

He didn’t have any luck.

In the photo you see Garibaldi, who just finished working a 12-hour shift, waiting hours to get Hope checked out and vaccinated.

Someone snapped the photo of the pair napping and it has now gone viral. The photo was posted on the City of Lakeland, Florida’s Facebook page on Monday.

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

It didn’t take long for Hope to find a new home. Later that day, the puppy found a new home.