Saying “he gave the shirt off his back” has become a common idiom, meaning someone gave everything they have to someone else. But one man took the expression literally.

It’s always inspiring to see strangers doing what they can to help stray dogs who need a little help, whether by providing food, shelter or warmth.

Recently, a man named Felipe, from São Paulo, Brazil, was in the subway station with his brother when he spotted a dog in distress.

“He saw a dog shivering in the cold,” his brother Fernando Gabriel told The Dodo. “It was the coldest day of the year.”

While in line to buy the tickets, Felipe got up close to the dog and knew he had to help the shivering animal somehow.

So he gave him the shirt off his back, literally:

Felipe took off his shirt to give to the dog. He was wearing another layer to put back on over it, but the undershirt was all for the stray.

He wrapped the shirt around the dog, who was clearly grateful for the gift.

Fernando watched the whole scene unfold, and caught it on video. While you can hear him laugh when he sees his brother take off the shirt, he was touched by the sudden gesture of generosity.

“He did it spontaneously. It was very moving.”

Fernando posted the video on social media, where people praised Felipe as a hero.

The brothers say they later tried to return to the scene and take the dog home with them, but could not find the stray.

Still, Felipe’s gesture means the dog will at least be more warm and comfortable on the streets. In the video, you can see it wag its tail and look up at Felipe with gratitude.

Later, Felipe commented on the moment on his own Instagram account.

He said the shirt was actually a uniform, “the one I liked most,” he wrote, but knew he had to do something for the dog.

“It looks better on him,” he joked. “Help with that you have.”

What an inspiring thing to do! It goes to show the impact you can have on a dog’s life with a simple act of generosity.

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Brindle the dog had no home or family of his own a few years ago. But that was before he met JD Aument and his wife, Rachel.

Once a sad, lonely shelter dog, Brindle’s life turned around when the Pennsylvania couple brought him home for good. While he couldn’t be happier with either of his new owners, he bonded instantly with JD. Rachel says JD is his favorite, while she’s their other dog, Xander’s.

That’s why Brindle had an especially difficult time dealing with his dad’s deployment beginning in 2018. JD spent close to a year overseas serving as a firefighter in the Army Reserves. The whole family felt his absence, but for Brindle, it became unbearable.

“He’s so sad without him here,” Rachel said back in March. At that point, JD had been gone for nine months. “He has days where he just sits at the front window, crying.”

JD couldn’t stand the thought of his best friend feeling abandoned. That’s when he came up with a brilliant idea. If he couldn’t be there physically for his buddy, he could give him the next best thing — his scent!

JD rooted through his clothes and picked out a special present to send his pup — a stinky, unwashed shirt. When Rachel received it in the mail and presented it to Brindle, he caught his dad’s scent immediately.

The somber, depressed attitude Rachel described disappeared as Brindle flopped onto the floor and rolled all over JD’s token of love, sniffing furiously as his tail beat the air.

“He immediately knew that it was JD’s shirt. There was no doubt about it,” Rachel said. “I was crying so hard while recording his reaction.”

After Brindle spent the next day carrying the shirt everywhere with him and even sleeping with it, Rachel ended up dressing him in it to makes things easier. And, she says, he wasn’t the only one who found immense comfort and reassurance in the piece of clothing.

“I miss JD so much and it was the first time any of us had smelled him in almost 10 months,” she said. “I had to take a minute with the shirt for myself before I could share with Brindle.”

Fortunately, neither she or Brindle had to wait much longer for the real thing. JD came home about a month later in what we’re sure was a very joyous and tear-filled reunion. We weren’t surprised to hear Brindle hasn’t left his dad’s side since!

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