He’s dying and didn’t want to leave his dog alone. The solution left him in tears

When Walter Hollier learned over the summer that he had just a few months to live, his biggest worry wasn’t for himself.

Hollier, of Round Rock, Texas, knew he would need to find new homes for his two dogs, Doc and Diego, he told KEYE. Doc would go to family, but Diego was a trickier situation. “And I thought, well, I can’t die and have him in limbo,” he told the station.

So Hollier posted some photos of Diego and a short message to Facebook, relaying the news that he’d been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer six months ago.

“I was given three to six months to live,” he wrote early Friday. “So in all likelihood, I will be leaving this world soon. I must find Diego a caring and loving home.”

Hollier wrote that Diego is eight years old but in great health and loves to run, play, swim and ride in trucks.

“It tears me heart out to lose him,” his post continues. “But it would bring me great comfort when I die that he is well taken care of.”

Hollier hit post on his message at 3:53 a.m. Friday. By 3 p.m., it had blown up the internet.

“It went viral and pffft,” Hollier told KEYE. “Now it crashed my computer and my phone yesterday.”

By Monday morning, nearly 75,000 people had shared his original post. Hollier told KEYE he’d received more than 10,000 messages.

Along with all those clicks and shares came a solution. The Last Resort Recovery Center near Smithville, Texas, offered to take in Diego. The center serves men recovering from addiction, and Diego will play a role in their recovery.

Hollier dropped Diego off at his new home Sunday, he told KEYE.

“I cried down the dirt road,” he told the station. “It was like cutting a cord, you know he's like my child.”

Despite his grief at losing Diego, Hollier wrote on Facebook that the overwhelming response “restored my faith in humanity.”

“God bless each and every one of you for the kindness you have bestowed me,” he wrote. “And I hope (there) is a special place in heaven for all of you.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect spelling of Walter Hollier’s name.

This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 10:42 AM with the headline "He’s dying and didn’t want to leave his dog alone. The solution left him in tears."