Jeffrey “Boe” Sievers, 67, lost his home to a fire several months ago. He had no insurance and no savings to rebuild, but he refused to go to a shelter.

Why?

“You have to take care of your baby. He’s my baby. He’s a good baby,” Sievers told WYFF. (You can see the news story via this link.)

Sievers’ baby is his dog, Manse Jolly.

He told reporters he doesn’t mind sleeping outdoors, but worries about the upcoming winter.

“Cold don’t really bother me,” he said. “I don’t like to have to sit out in it without being able to move around.”

Siever’s neighbor, Christine Hiatt, has become so concerned about his well-being, she started a GoFundMe site entitled “Help Boe Rebuild His Home.”

“…he found this sweet dog as a puppy,” Hiatt wrote on the fundraising page, “starving, covered in fleas and terrified of people. He nursed him back to health and has gone without so much just to make sure his dog has what he needs. He has been trying to gather enough money to get a small camper for him to live in.”

Hiatt says she’d like to get her neighbor and his dog some shelter. “I would also like to make sure he has food on the table. I think as Americans, everyone has that right.”

Sievers, in the meantime, is looking for silver linings and keeping a positive attitude.

“[My dog] crawls up into my sleeping bag. I tell you what, he’s a little heater,” Sievers said.