Every night, the owners of the “Hott Spott” cafe in Mytilene, a port city on the Greek island of Lesbos, open their doors to stray dogs.
Once the cafe closes at 3 AM and there are no more visitors, local mongrels are welcome to sleep on any sofa. A photo of several dogs comfortably sleeping on one of the soft sofas was posted on Facebook by one of the cafe’s regulars and quickly went viral, receiving over half a million likes and 300,000 shares.
Despite Lesbos being at the center of a global refugee crisis, the cafe remains popular among residents and visitors, thanks in part to its animal welfare project.
The cafe’s clients do not mind the presence of the dogs, and many even come specifically to take photos with them. According to Antonis, an employee of the establishment, the project started in July and has been ongoing since then, with the dogs spending every night at the cafe.
