SALINAS, Calif.- We're talking about a sight many of you may have walked right by. On Monday a picture of two dogs, cuddling to stay warm, made a Salinas police officer take notice. So what's his message? For a city that sees so many horrible acts of violence, it symbolizes what Salinas needs most-compassion for one another.
So we went to the sidewalk where the officer took the picture outside of FoodMaxx in Salinas. The police officer who took the picture said it may have been cold but the two were definitely trying to keep each other warm.
"Just thinking that we'd all be lucky enough to have a friend that would lay on the cold so that we could stay warm," said Salinas Police Officer Gabriel Carvey.
Carvey said in his 13 year career he's seen many horrifying crime scenes. But on a routine patrol on Saturday morning, near the FoodMaxx at North Main and Boronda, he saw something very different that made him pay attention. Two dogs were curled up on the sidewalk, the big one protecting the little one from the cold hard ground.
"At first it was kind of shocking. When I turned around to see if I really saw what I saw, as I pulled around the little dog was just comfortably resting on top of the big dog," Carvey said.
He said he took picture of them because he's a dog lover and shared it with his boss Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillan, to lighten spirits. Officer Carvey said he figures these dogs represent something more meaningful in a city that's being crippled by crime.
"Salinas can be a rough and tumble place and its neat to see animals demonstrating what we should be doing, helping each other out, when its cold, offering to keep somebody else warm," Carvey said.
Soon after he took the picture, Officer Carvey said their owner came out to greet them.
"It's a beautiful thing when you see people with their dogs and animals and they're well kept and cared for and obviously this gentleman cared for his dogs and he knew them very well," Carvey said.
I tried to find the dogs' owner through Facebook tonight but wasn't able to figure out where he lives. Some people have said he's homeless while others say he's not.
