Action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme has come to the rescue of a three-month-old chihuahua, saving her from euthanasia on Monday after a legal tussle between Norway and Bulgaria.
The dog named Raya was sold to new owners in Norway in September but officials there would not register her because she had travelled on a fake Bulgarian passport.
Norway tried to repatriate the animal but Bulgaria refused to take her back because of European Union rules about transport of live animals, leaving the dog facing euthanasia — until the Belgian film legend got involved.
Van Damme launched an emotive campaign on social media, posting selfies of him hugging his chihuahua, which eventually persuaded the Bulgarian Food Safety Authority to accept the dog back.