A homeless man's six loyal dogs reportedly spent more than 24 hours waiting outside a Brazilian hospital for their owner after he suffered a stroke.
The man, only identified as Luiz by local media, suffered a stroke last week in the southern city of Cianorte. He was taken to the Santa Cara hospital for treatment, where he was discharged a day later.
His loyal pups followed the ambulance taking their owner away and then spent hours howling outside of the hospital. They kept vigil outside the front door of the hospital, Brazilian newspaper G1 reported.
“The dogs were desperate,” Simone Zilane, a volunteer with the NGO organization Amigos de Patas Cianorte, told G1. “They followed the ambulance, racing after it down the roads and arrived just as Luis was being taken into the hospital. They went mad as they took him and howled non-stop at the entrance.”
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Zilane, who photographed the pups, said Luiz was discharged a day later – the dogs none the wiser as he left with his brother through another exit.
“One of our volunteers from the NGO had to fetch Luiz at his brother’s house and take him to where the dogs were for them to leave the front [of the hospital],” Zilane added. “He hadn’t realized they were outside all this time, but he wasn’t too surprised.”
According to Amigos de Patas, Luiz has been homeless for about 20 years after he was diagnosed with psychiatric problems and did not want to live with his brothers. Zilane said he considers the dogs his family.
“We rented a very simple house for him a while ago, with a big yard for the dogs, but he did not accept or enter the house,” she told G1. “He said that his house is the street.”
She added: “At the time, the dogs were also taken to a kennel, which a volunteer from the NGO created, but they escaped by jumping over the wall and going after Luiz. Where ever he is you can guarantee the dogs are never very far away.”
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After his health scare last week, Luiz reportedly agreed to take a shower and accepted a plate of food while the dogs were also given water and fed. According to the NGO, he was back on the street with his faithful pack by the weekend.