'Hugging Dog' Gets Nearly $70K In Donations From Well-Wishers

CHELSEA, NY — Thousands of well-wishers have donated nearly $70,000 to Loubie, the "hugging dog" of Instagram, and her owner after a devastating Christmas Day fire in Chelsea left the two homeless.

The fire broke out on West 19th Street at about 3:35 p.m. on Monday, authorities said. The fire left one civilian and one firefighter with minor injuries, authorities said. The blaze was started by unattended candles in a neighboring apartment, fire officials said.

Loubie, who is famous on Instagram and throughout the streets of Chelsea for "hugging" people who stop to pet her, was out for a walk with her owner Cesar Fernandez-Chavez when the blaze broke out.

Since then, thousands of Loubie's Instagram fans have donated $68,587 to the dog and her owner as they begin to rebuild their lives.

The top official at Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital, Jeremy Boal, donated $5,000 to the cause. Fernandez-Chavez works at the hospital, where Boal is the president.

"He is such a special person and our entire Beth Israel family is praying for Cesar and Loubie," Boal said in an email to Patch. "They are an incredible part of our hospital community and the entire Downtown community."

Boal added that Fernandez-Chavez and Loubie will move into a furnished apartment within the the hospital's system while searching for a more permanent place.

The highest donation for Loubie and her owner came from a complete stranger: Jennifer Fritz, a dog-lover in Pittsburgh, donated $10,000 to the campaign.

"I just thought it sounded like the most awful thing in the world," Jennifer Fritz told the New York Daily News. "This poor guy and his sweet dog — I just can't imagine."

Image credit: GoFundMe