No one imagined that that schnauzer puppy would end up becoming one of the most beloved members of a Franciscan convent in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
The dog was adopted by the Franciscan community when he was still a puppy, after a family from Quillacollo gave him to the Polish priest Kasper Kapron. The friars welcomed him as part of the community and named him Carmelo, in honor of a former Franciscan parish priest from Cochabamba. Over time, he came to be known as Friar Carmelo or Friar Whiskers because of the distinctive hair on his snout.
One of the friars, Jorge Fernández, had the idea to dress him in a small brown habit, similar to the one worn by the Franciscans. The gesture sought to convey the respect for life, nature, and animals championed by Saint Francis of Assisi.
Photographs of the little dog walking through the convent’s corridors, wearing his tiny habit and distinctive whiskers, went viral within days. Carmelo even had his own place to sleep inside the convent and became another member of the Franciscan community.
