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Friend Of Tabernacle Shooting Victim Adopts Family Dog

By Syma Chowdhry

TABERNACLE, N.J. (CBS) - Patrick Hines lost his best friend – 14-year-old Nicholas Harriman -- in last week's Tabernacle shooting.

"We had so many good times together, it's really hard to see him go," Patrick says.

But he is honoring his friend's memory by adopting Bumbles, the family dog.

"I thought about Bumbles a little bit. Like where is he, what's happening to him?"

Last week, Tabernacle Police were called upon a disturbing scene. A mother shot her three children and then turned the gun on herself.

The Mother, Jeanine LePage, eight-year-old Nadia, eleven-year-old Alexandar and Nicholas were found shot – all in the same bed.

Bumbles, the family dog, saw it happen.

"What a horrible thing for this dog to lose his three best friends, and then my thoughts went to, I guess, I'm glad she spared him," says Sue Coculo from the Burlington County Animal Alliance.

Bumbles had been taken to a shelter until Sue stepped in.

"If this guy has any inkling as to what happened, and we don't know for sure, but if he does, he had to be very, very stressed."

Bumbles was taken out of the shelter and into a foster home.

"It was so traumatic losing his family," says Lori McShane, who fostered Bumbles "and then to be in a shelter where you are in a cage on the concrete floor, alone, he didn't do anything to deserve that. He needed to be in a home, where people could pet him and care for him and help him to heal."

It didn't take long before many folks started to reach out to the Burlington County Animal Alliance asking to adopt Bumbles.

"Everybody wants to help, there are a lot of really good people out there," Coculo said.

Among those people was the Hines Family.

"We are a small community," Deirdre Hines says. "We all just wished we would've known we could've done something and prevented the tragedy."

When Patrick found out that Bumbles was looking to be adopted - he just knew he wanted to take in his best friend's dog.

Patrick and Bumbles will now help each other heal after they both lost a friend.

"Really lovable dog, he just wants to be loved too," Patrick says.

He will be. Just with a new family.

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