In a video posted Thursday, Sheriff Vern Warnke explained a dog named Chunk was surrendered by his owner during a traffic stop.
Warnke says Chunk's owner had recently lost his home and is getting ready to move into a trailer.
The owner was not able to keep Chunk at the trailer and made the heartbreaking decision to surrender him to animal services.
Merced Co. Sheriff offers to pay adoption fees for dog after previous owner loses home
Between Thursday and Saturday, Warnke says he will be paying for all of the fees included with adopting Chunk.
"This is a loving, loving buddy," said Warnke. "He loves people, he loves dogs. I gotta tell you, the guy likes to chew!"
Chunk is an almost 5-year-old pitbull and has been neutered.
He is available for adoption at Merced County Animal Services.
For more information on how to adopt Chunk, call (209) 385-7436.