Jean-Claude Van Damme is partially responsible for saving a 3-month-old Chihuahua from certain death due to a passport snafu.
According to Agence France-Presse, a Bulgarian puppy named Raya was sold to new owners in Norway, but the dog was essentially stuck in limbo because it didn't have the correct passport.
An online petition site detailed the ordeal.
"The dog puppy has a Bulgarian passport with vaccines and parasites treatment given by a Bulgarian veterinarian," the petition said. "The Norwegian Food Safety Authority, however, does not validate the vaccines she got in Bulgaria. Here in Norway, the dog also got additional vaccines (DHPPi and Rabies vaccines among others). On September 23. The Norwegian Food Authority took the dog from us and put her in quarantine. I have to pay for every day she is in quarantine, which I accept, as I only care for the puppy's life and well-being."
While Norway said that dog was transported "illegally," Bulgaria said the passport is invalid, preventing the pup from going there.
With the dog in no-man's land, euthanasia was the next move. That's when Jean-Claude stepped in.
"I beg, please, for my birthday, the food safety authority, change your decision," he wrote on the petition. "They made a mistake, the people who didn't do the paper correctly … But they cannot kill that little Chihuahua."
Jean-Claude brought further awareness to the cause by tweeting out the petition to his nearly 350,000 Twitter followers.
The petition seemed to work. Media reports state the Bulgarian food safety authority have decided to allow Raya to return. She will receive a medical checkup and be put up for adoption.