The little town of Criciúma. That town, located in Santa Criciúma, Brazil was the scene of something that most people never would’ve expected in the city. It happened in the month of December when many families were in the town square, the Praca Nereu Ramosand and they were preparing for Christmas. The weather was fairly normal for Brazil during that time of year, and it happened to be a cold and rainy afternoon in December.
Kiko Della Giustinais is a local resident and he was one of the many people who stopped to look at the nativity scene that was in the public square. Most people wouldn’t have thought that it was anything out of the ordinary. It was a run-of-the-mill nativity scene that had Poinciana plants and a ceramic Joseph and Mary who were looking down at a baby lying in a manger. It was what they saw in that scene, however, that really took them by surprise.
Giustina took a look down at the manger and he saw something laying next to the baby. It was a small dog, who had found his way into the manger and curled up to get a little warmth. It seemed to add so much to the story and the nativity scene looked just a little more inviting on that day.
It happened back in 2008 and Giustina took some pictures of the puppy in the manger and they have been circulating online for almost a decade.
The photos remained at a high level of popularity over the years. Some people were even wondering if they had been faked but there was no real reason to do so. Facebook had only been around for a few years and social media was still in its infancy. After the photographer behind the pictures was found, the rumors were put to rest.
Now that Giustina has put the pictures on Facebook, Christmas is never the same unless people online see them once again. They love the image of the dog lying in the manger and wonder what happened to him.
A blogger received an email from Giustina in 2009 and he talked about the event. The dog apparently was actually a stray and shopkeepers in the city square were familiar with him.
“I had the great honor and happiness of having clicked the pictures of the scene this beautiful and abandoned dog in the manger,” Giustina’s email began. “I’ll never forget, it was a cold, rainy day.”
Giustina confessed the sight brought tears to his eyes, but he knew he couldn’t adopt the dog. “Unfortunately, I just did not take him home because I live in an apartment and I already have two street adoptees,” Giustina explained.
Later, he found out that it was adopted and the Internet cheered!
Apparently, this isn’t the only street dog in Brazil that found a unique path to a forever home. He didn’t choose a manger in a nativity scene, he decided to lay his head on the floor-length wedding veil of a bride.
Marília Pieroni and Matheus Gomes Martins live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. They married on Sept. 30, in Laranjal Paulista, Brazil.
They couldn’t help but adopt a dog after what happened at the wedding. They looked for him for a week and within just 10 days, he became a part of their family.