After several weeks apart, a homeless man and his puppy are finally reunited.
In late September, people working for the animal welfare organization Cause Animale Nord bombarded a man living on the streets of Paris with his puppy.
Captured on video, viewers can see how both the man and his puppy were rough handled. The man was restrained and seen crying as the advocates snatched the puppy and ran away with it.
Soon after the video went viral an online petition asking for the return of the dog was posted. Within hours it had received more than 80,000 signatures. The petition stated: “Nowhere [in the group’s rules] is it stated that they have the right to remove without notice any animal or that is what they did by attacking a homeless violently to take his pet [a puppy].”
Related: Simple and Free Way to Help Homeless Dogs on National Mutt Day
After the possibility of the organization’s leader being arrested and the petition’s signature count increasing to more than 240,000, Cause Animale Nord returned the dog this week.
While some people believe that people without homes should not be caring for animals, keep in my mind that often the pet is the only thing they have — and vice versa. As volunteer Jeff Latzer from Collide, a New York City-based grassroots organization, told us in a previous article, “I know how therapeutic pets can be, from a psychological and spiritual perspective,” he says. “Particularly for people facing extreme adversity, that can be an incredibly important, even life-sustaining relationship.”
Related: Nonprofit Collide Steps Up to Help the Dogs of New York City’s Homeless
