For six years, Dr. Cem Baykal has passed the same furniture store every day on his way to work. Every whenever he passes by, it’s difficult to miss the pair of stray dogs hanging out in front.
The two pups are the greatest of friends and are usually together.
The shop, dubbed Istikbal Mobile, sells household furnishings such as bedding, couches, curtains and mattresses. The owner has a soft heart for the strays that dwell in the vicinity — and decided to do something to make their lives a little bit better.
“The owner of this shop places one of the mattresses (with a plastic cover over it) in front of the shop,” Baykal told The Dodo. “This bed may be the one they sell that day or it may be one of the incoming ones.”
“They don’t put the bed on its side, they let it stay flat, and these two stray dogs lay and sleep there every time,” Baykal added. “If it is winter, the shop gives a bed every day. And if it is summer, they provide them shade and water.”
Due to the shop owner, the strays no longer had to find warmth on frigid cement sidewalks. The dogs are well-known in the region and depend on neighbors to care for them, but one business takes it one step further.
“This neighborhood is recognized as a prosperous area and everyone offers food or water to the local dog and cats, but no one supplies decent bedding to them normally,” Baykal remarked. “This shop does.”
On a chilly, wet day, Baykal saw the strays dozing on the mattress and decided to snap a picture of the drowsy pups and upload it on Twitter, thanking the owner of the shop. While some individuals doubt the hygiene of the beds — even with a plastic cover — most have commended the humanitarian effort.
Recently, Baykal came by the shop to check on the strays and found that they were doing well, despite the harsh weather.
“This morning we had really strong rain in Istanbul, and I saluted my friends on my way to the hospital in the early morning,” Baykal stated. “The shop was closed but the bedding was still there. The lazy one was still sleeping, but his companion was up and accompanied me to the pedestrian crossing for my safety.”
Evidently the pups want to pay the good deed forward.
