Jake the German Shepherd Leads Sacramento Woman to Dead Owner in Woods: 'He Made This Yelp'

Catherine DeFazio followed the dog after she spotted it walking solo in a residential area

A German Shepherd called Jake has shown just how loyal dogs can be.

On Monday, Catherine DeFazio from Sacramento, California told KRCA how she followed the dog after she saw it repeatedly walking alone near her property. After a short while the dog led her into some nearby woods and directly to the body of a man who it's believed was Jake's owner.

“It ran right by the street there … and he went right there in the bushes about three feet from the walkway. I can’t believe it,” DeFazio told KRCA.

“So he went in this and he looked up. And he made this yelp, and he just, like, looked me like that in my eyes … And I looked over, and I’m like, there’s no way there’s a dead body. So I walked here and there he was.”

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DeFazio quickly worked out that the man was the dog’s owner. “I started putting 2 and 2 together. I knew I’d never seen that dog before, and I realized it was his,” she continued. “... When you’re out there lonely and or you’re by yourself, an animal’s everything to you.”

DeFazio called the police as soon as she found the body. According to the coroner’s examination, per KRCA, the man had been dead for over a week at the time of discovery.

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PEOPLE has contacted the Sacramento County Coroner's Office for further comment. 

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DeFazio looked for the German shepherd for the next two weeks as she tried to find a rescue shelter for the dog. “I propped up with dark clothes on in the bushes and literally with the flashlights. And I’m like, I can do this. If anyone can do it, I could do it,” she said.

Nicole Hartman, who works with local dog rescues, and another woman called Claudia Cardoza then joined DeFazio in helping to wrangle the grieving pooch into a place of safety.

“Jake is in a temporary foster home while we look for a 501c Rescue that can help Jake get to the point of adoption,“ Hartman posted on Facebook on Dec.31. alongside details of the dog's capture.

"You can see it in his eyes how confused and lost he feels," added Cardoza in a separate Facebook post. "He would not survive the shelter, and he doesn't deserve to be let down again. Please, this boy needs foster and rescue."

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