When abandoned dogs had nowhere to sleep in a neighborhood of Mytilene, Lesbos, a cafe called Hott Spott open their doors to give them a warm place to rest their heads.
The cafe is located in the island’s main port and capital city in Greece, and it closes to customers at 3 each morning, and, in turn, opens its doors to dogs.
A man named Eustratios Papanis, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of the Aegean shared a beautiful photo of the dogs sleeping on soft couches at Hott Spott on Facebook:
Atonis, a waiter at the cafe told i100.co.uk that the project has been going on since the summer:
“In the city there are many dogs. When the bar closes each night, the dogs come and sleep here. We don’t have a problem. From July, every night there is a dog on the couch.”
Besides stray dogs, the island of Lesbos has been at the center of the international refugee crisis this year. It has affected tourism, but Hott Spott has maintained its popularity, in part because of its project with the dogs.
“Customers have no problems. It is a bit of a thing now – lots of people come with their cell phones,” says Atonis.
There are reportedly over one million stray dogs in the country, due to people not being able to care for them, so they let them go.
But Eustratios Papuans says that since the refugee crisis, there seems to be a shift in the way people are treating others, including stray dogs. “The locals have increased levels of solidarity towards environmental and humanistic issues. The new generation is more sensitive and well informed.”
And we hope that this continues, as well as many more kind gestures towards abandoned dogs!
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[Featured Image Credit: Facebook- Eustratios Papanis]