For years, Eros has done the same thing every afternoon in the Robledo Tulipanes neighborhood of Medellín: carry his little basket and deliver orders from the El Porvenir market.
During the pandemic, that Labrador became indispensable to older neighbors who preferred not to leave home. They gave him treats as tips. They waited for him at the door.
On Tuesday July 14, 2020, while he was on his way to a delivery, someone intercepted him and took what he was carrying in the basket. According to his owner, Mauricio López, no one laid a hand on Eros, but that does not make what happened any less outrageous: robbing a dog who was only doing his job, while helping others avoid risking their health.
There was no physical violence, but one question lingered among the residents of Robledo Tulipanes: how do you rob someone who is least able to defend himself?
Eros returned to the store that afternoon without his load. The neighbors, they say, did not take it well.