A once-homeless man whose life has now been turned around owes it all to a husky.
Bruno Zvaigzne was living rough on the streets of Paris last summer when a good Samaritan, Thibault Laurent, was out walking with his dog, Sora.
Bruno with Sora. (Courtesy of Thibault Laurent)
After a few seconds, Sora wanted to jump into Bruno’s arms but being “full of preconceptions” Laurent restrained his dog, asking him to sit. Politely greeting the homeless man, Laurent commanded his dog to follow him. But, Laurent said, Sora did not move.
It was this instant and most unusual bond that led to the sequence of events that altered the course of Bruno’s life.
Every morning after that first day, Laurent, who works as a sports coach, went to visit Bruno with a coffee, a croissant, and a husky hug.
Many subscribers commented, asking if something couldn’t be done to help Bruno. Deciding that this was a small window of opportunity to use social media for good, Laurent set up a donations page for Bruno.
Further struggles were to follow, though, because after the funds were transferred into Bruno’s account, an administrative problem blocked access, preventing him from accessing any money. It took several weeks for Laurent to resolve the situation and by then the freezing cold weather had arrived.
According to Laurent, what made Sora’s reaction to Bruno so surprising is that despite never having met him before, Sora’s excitement in his presence verged on hysterical.
For Laurent, meeting Bruno via his dog presented an unexpected chance to help change a life—though it wasn’t easy. A huge number of people were moved by Bruno and Sora’s story, with the videos attracting tens of thousands of views.