His name used to be Carmelo but now that the schnauzer has embraced the holy life he goes by the name Friar Bigotón a.k.a. Friar Moustache. Carmelo was adopted as a stray by a Franciscan monastery in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Which is fitting since their patron, St. Francis of Assisi, is the patron saint of animals.
Instead of just living as the monastery’s pet, Carmelo decided that he would serve as a friar. So he was given the name Friar Moustache and is now the cutest member of the Franciscan monastery. He even has his own habit.
Before Carmelo came to the monastery he was living as a stray dog.
But now he had a comfortable life among friends.
“His life is all about playing and running,” Friar Jorge Fernandez told The Dodo. “Here, all of the brothers love him very much. He is a creature of God.”
Friar Moustache also has his own chores at the monastery.
“[Here’s] Brother Carmelo preaching to the fish,” wrote Franciscan Kasper Mariusz Kaproń in the caption of one of his photos of Friar Moustache that went viral after he posted them online.
Friar Moustache also likes to help other stray dogs like himself. His adoption was made possible by Proyecto Narices Frias (Cold Nose Project). They hope that Friar Moustache’s story will inspire other monasteries to open their doors to needy animals.
“We present to you Friar Moustache, a part of the fraternity of brothers in San Francisco Cochabamba Bolivia,” a Facebook post roughly translates. “If all the churches in our country adopt just a little dog and make it like Friar Bigotón , we are sure that the parishioners would follow their example.”
And people are going crazy over how adorable Friar Moustache. Especially in his cute little robes.
“He looks damned good in his Friar uniform!” said one commenter on Facebook.
“What a wonderful story. Bless you all I bet Mr. Mustache gets as much love as he gives a real joy to read,” said another.
“What a beautiful story! A lucky dog and hopefully others will follow and open their hearts to pets!” said another commenter.
There are so many different types of institutions that could be able to take on a dog. Not only would it improve the lives of the dogs but those involved in the institutions as well, just as it has at this monastery.
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