Homeless man's dog 'attacks' stranger to protect him on the street, curls up after realizing why he's there

In a touching video, an alert pet dog attacked a stranger to protect a man sleeping on the street. William was driving home at 05:45 AM when he caught "a glimpse of something." What unfolded next has the internet in a chokehold. The video was shared by a photographer from Los Angeles who goes by @william.captures on Instagram, which was published on July 11.

William is an avid sports car enthusiast who loves to capture luxury cars for his Instagram audience. During one of his travels, he found a shelterless man sleeping on the roadside. At first, he moved on, trying to mind his own business, only to make a solid U-turn when he saw a dog accompanying the poor soul. While the man was covered under a blanket, the dog was bereft of any warmth in the bleak weather. It was freezing, and the one blanket seemed inadequate for either of the two. That's when William recalled having a blanket in his trunk and moved to retrieve it. As he tried to inch closer to the duo, the dog promptly attacked him, barking at him viciously to fend off a possible attack. But stern William stood his ground and managed to fold a blanket onto the man and his dog. 

The dog, upon noticing his thoughtful gesture, immediately curled up, shivering. “The homeless man is knocked out cold, but the dog receives you as if he has known you forever!” William captioned the video. He further shared, the dog, upon realizing his intentions, whimpered and wagged his tail. In order to thank William, the happy dog jumped on him, though now in a very different way than before. The kind act caught the attention of many viewers, and they decided to leave thoughtful comments on the video. “I love the fact he ain’t forced to be with him, he’s on a leash but not tied to the man, but he doesn’t stray from his side, dog is man's best friend because of their loyalty,” @_toon_2d shared. “Love how he said 'have a good day, ' like the dog understood him,” said @qxeen2020_.

Nearly 25% of the homeless people have pet animals in Los Angeles, USA. A study by NIH, titled, Pet Ownership among Homeless Youth: Associations with Mental Health, Service Utilization and Housing Status, surveyed 398 homeless people in the state and found the statistics. Around 2 million people in the country experience homelessness. The study associated the state of being shelterless with pet ownership and found that having a furry animal by your side in hard times visibly reduced stress. Of the people surveyed, the majority highlighted having a pet kept them company, and some of them highlighted that their pets made it hard to leave them at an animal care center.

The study also marked that the pet ownership among the homeless was also associated with decreased utilization of housing and lower needs for job and financial security. Pet owners, as compared to non-pet owners in this study, were mostly females and less likely to have even completed high school. The study primarily focused on how having a pet can reduce signs of loneliness and depression in homeless youth. 84.5% of the homeless population who owned a pet cited that they make them feel loved. The video stands true to the statistics, as this asleep homeless man also got a partner who had his back no matter what. Williams urged his audience to "never put people down because of certain situations. Instead, understand why it is that they are in that position and see if anything can be done for you to help."