NYC's famous 'hugging dog' homeless after Xmas fire

[samhexum]

An internet-famous golden retriever is homeless after a Christmas Day fire in New York.

 

Louboutina, known on Instagram as the "Hugging Dog," makes strangers on the street smile with her acts of affection. She has nearly 200,000 followers. [ https://www.rover.com/blog/louboutina-hugging-dog-manhattan-nyc/ ]

 

But now she and her owner, Cesar Fernandez Chavez, are the ones in need of kindness.

 

WCBS reports that the duo's apartment building was destroyed by a Christmas Day fire. Two people were left with minor injuries.

 

Fernandez and Louboutina lived next to the unit where the flames began.

 

“I can sense that she’s sad,” Fernandez said. “I’m numb. I’m numb. I lost everything.”

 

Louboutina and her owner were saved from the fire thanks to the timing of their afternoon walk.

 

“That’s not usually the time I walk her, but I was like, ‘Hey girl, let’s go for a walk to CVS. And thank God I did,” Fernandez said. “I just went around the corner and voila, the flames were coming out of the windows.”

 

A fellow Instagram sensation has started a GoFundMe page to help Fernandez and Louboutina get back on their feet.

 

So far, they have raised more than $53,000 -- double the initial goal of $20,000.

 

“It really means a lot,” Fernandez said.

 

It's been a bad week for fires in NYC... early this morning 12 people (4 of them kids 7 and younger) died in a fire started by a 3 year old playing with a stove. It was the deadliest fire in NYC since the infamous Happy Land inferno killed 87. (Kathleen Turner's then-hubby was the landlord).

[Njgymnerd]

I heard about Louboutina a few months back, and just thought she was precious. Golden retrievers are such sweethearts, but I'm a big dog and cat lover anyway. So sorry to hear about this, but glad folks are helping out both owner and dog. These things make you appreciate and be grateful for all the things we have in life. Thank you for sharing this.