He is very friendly! Jean-Claude Van Damme saves chihuahua from euthanasia after his row of fake passports

Action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme has come to the rescue of a three-month-old Chihuahua puppy who was destined for euthanasia after being caught in line by a fake passport.

The Hollywood tough campaigned on behalf of the poor dog who was sold to new owners in Norway in September.

Officials refused to register her because she had traveled to the country on a false Bulgarian passport.

Norway tried to repatriate the puppy, named Reya, but Bulgaria refused to accept her due to European Union regulations on the transport of live animals, which left the dog facing euthanasia, until the movie legend got involved. Belgian.

Action film star Jean-Claude Van Damme helped save the life of a Chihuahua puppy destined for euthanasia after being caught in a legal fight between Norway and Bulgaria over a false passport. Van Damme is pictured above making an emotional plea to the Bulgarian authorities with his own Chihuahua sitting on his knee

Van Damme, who turned 60 on Monday, said saving the dog’s life would be the best possible birthday present. In the photo above making the plea with his own chihuahua

The star, known as the ‘Muscles of Brussels’, shared an emotional video on his Facebook, after urging fans on Twitter and Instagram to sign a petition to save Reya’s life.

In the video, Van Damme, sitting with his own Chihuahua on his lap, emphasizes his ties to Bulgaria, saying that he has made many films there and loves the country.

“I beg, on my birthday, the Food Safety Authority change their decision,” Van Damme wrote over the weekend, launching a petition to save the dog.

“They were wrong, the people who did not play the role correctly … But they can’t kill that little chihuahua.”

The star added, without elaborating, that killing the dog would be bad luck for the future and ‘for Covid’.

A petition to save Reya, the puppy, was shared on Van Damme’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. He also recorded an emotional appeal to the Bulgarian authorities in a Facebook video.

His efforts paid off, and the Bulgarian Food Safety Authority finally agreed on Monday, Van Damme’s 60th birthday, to accept the dog back.

The food safety authority says Raya will undergo medical checks when she returns to Bulgaria and will be put up for adoption.

Yavor Gechev of the animal rights organization Four Paws told the AFP news agency on Monday that Bulgaria should be congratulated for showing flexibility, but called for stricter control on illegal animal breeders and traffickers.

“Exporting pets from East to West and North Europe is a lucrative business,” he said.

The dog’s fake passport meant she would have been left on October 20 under Norwegian law, Gechev said.

An animal lover, Van Damme is photographed with a Chihuahua puppy in 2011 to promote a documentary about his life. [File photo]

The action star, known as the ‘Muscles of Brussels’ has helped animals in the past, supporting an Animals Australia fundraiser and appearing in their campaign urging people to adopt greyhounds. In the photo: Van Damme poses with a chihuahua in 2011 to promote a documentary. [File photo]

Van Damme’s softer side often comes to the fore in animal themes. In 2016, she attended a fundraiser in Sydney to support Animals Australia, a charity close to her heart.

He also posed with a Chihuahua puppy in 2011 to promote a documentary about his life.

Raya’s misadventures resemble the story of the cow Penka, who also faced a death sentence after wandering along Bulgaria’s border with Serbia in May 2018.

Penka was saved thanks to an international campaign in his defense along with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.