Actor van Damme (archive image)
Photo: Mick Tsikas / dpa
Known for action films with tough fight scenes, actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is known to have a soft side for animals - and small dogs in particular.
As reported by the AFP news agency, among others, the Belgian with the nickname "The Muscles from Brussels" has now saved the life of a three-month-old Chihuahua.
On the weekend of his 60th birthday, Van Damme launched a call on social media to save the dog Raya from being put to sleep.
The Belgian film star posed for it with his own bitch, also a Chihuahua.
"Please Norway, Bulgaria, everyone - sign a petition and politely ask the authorities if the dog can be re-accepted in Bulgaria," Van Damme appealed.
From Bulgaria to Norway - and back
The animal, which came from Bulgaria, was stranded in Norway with false papers.
There, the authorities refused to register the owner because of forged entry documents and tried to deport the animal back to Bulgaria.
The competent authority there again refused to take them back, citing EU rules for the transport of live animals - Raya was threatened with death.
According to the reports, Bulgaria wants to take back Raya after all - although the 15,000 signatures required in the petition have not yet been reached.
After arriving in the country, according to AFP, she should be given a medical examination and given up for adoption.
According to Norwegian law, Raya should have been put to sleep on Tuesday without Bulgaria giving in.
According to the animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten, pedigree dogs are often bred in Central and Eastern Europe and sold in Western Europe.
For criminal animal dealers this is a "lucrative business".
For example, the price for Chihuahuas in Norway is ten times higher than in Bulgaria.
The organization called for stricter measures against illegal breeders and animal traders.
Icon: The mirror
fek / AFP