A homeless man is thankful for his dog saving his life and he told his story to KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

On Wednesday, a woman was walking along with her dog and spotted another dog with a “help” note attached.

The note said in big letters, “Help.” Then on one side said, “Send help. No joke. Cannot walk,” and on the other side it said, “Medicine not working. Need doctor.”

Police then found the man who wrote the note and he was treated at an Olympia hospital.

KIRO 7 reporter Gary Horcher spoke with the man, Tim, and he said he chooses to be homeless with his dog, Buddy. The only reason he is alive is because of the heroic actions of his loyal dog.

“I know some people probably won’t believe it, but it’s the truth,” said Tim.

Tim said Buddy was his only lifeline when he suffered from a life-threatening leg infection. He lives in an extremely remote camp in the woods.

“If this keeps getting any worse, you know, I’m not going to make it out,” Tim said.

Conditions got so bad that Tim’s pain-ravaged legs gave out. He was stuck and the closest people were far away.

“I was thinking, ‘Boy, there’s no way out of this.’ You know? I can’t get a hold of anybody because I didn’t have a cellphone, so it came to me. You know, write it on paper,” said Tim.

Tim wrote a note because he was desperate for help. He attached it to Buddy’s harness with a bright red string.

“Oh yeah, I said, ‘Yeah Buddy, you have to do this for me.’ I said, ‘You have to go get help because I can’t get it myself,” said Tim.

Tim said Buddy immediately understood the order.

“Go get help, and boom, he was down the trail,” Tim said.

Buddy immediately went to a trail where people walk their dogs and that’s when the woman found Buddy and called 911.

“This is really weird, but there’s some kind of a homeless dog  that I see around lately, and I found this piece of paper attached to him, and it says, ‘Help -– Medicine not working – Need doctor,’” said the caller.

Within an hour, paramedics searched and found Tim in his camp. They rescued him and raced him to the hospital.

“Boy I, I love this dog, man,” said Tim.

Tim is currently recovering at a friend’s home with Buddy by his side.

“He’s my hero! He would never leave my side. He loves me. I mean, it’s two ways,” said Tim.

Tim said he’s been off his feet and on medication for at least a week. He is still in a lot of pain, but he credits prayers and a dog’s intuition for being alive.

A fund called the Buddy Rescue Fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank to help with veterinary expenses for Buddy.