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.”
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.”
Here’s that moment on video: