A Truck Driver’s Side Project Has Given More Than 1,700 Animals a Place to Sleep

Leomar Aparecido Miguel spends his days off building houses nobody asked him to build.

Brazilian outlet Metropoles confirms the 45-year-old truck driver, based in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, has used his free time and his own money to construct wooden shelters for stray dogs and cats with nowhere safe to sleep. According to Leomar, his project, Semeadores do Bem Pets, has now provided more than 1,700 shelters to homeless animals, rescue groups, and low-income families who care for them.

A Cold, Rainy Day Changed Everything

The idea came to him on the road. While driving one particularly cold and rainy day, Leomar noticed dogs and cats on the street, soaked through and shivering.

He had been listening to worship music at the time. “I truly felt God touch my heart, urging me to do something to change that situation,” he told Bored Panda. That was the moment the idea of building simple wooden houses first occurred to him.

He didn’t expect the project to grow the way it has. “Deep down, I believed it could become something meaningful because of what God had placed in my heart, but even so, I continue to be amazed by how much the project has grown,” he said.

A Dog That Wouldn’t Let Go

One of his earliest deliveries has stayed with him. As soon as he set the shelter down, a small dog approached and asked to be picked up.

“When I held him, he wrapped his paws around me in what felt like a heartfelt hug and didn’t want to get down, almost as if he was thanking me,” Leomar recalled. When he finally put the dog down, it ran straight inside its new house.

No Roof of His Own

ANDA’s reporting details that the scale of the project hasn’t come with the infrastructure to match it. Leomar and his team build the shelters on an open piece of land, with no covered workspace to protect materials or finished houses from the weather.

“Whenever it starts raining, we have to rush to cover everything with tarps so the dog houses don’t get damaged,” he said. The people building shelter for homeless animals have spent much of their own time working without shelter themselves.

Paying Out of Pocket

Running the project costs around R$4,000 a month, roughly US$700, according to Leomar. Community donations help, but they don’t cover everything.

“We do receive donations from kind people who support our mission, but most of the expenses still come from our own pockets,” he said. Leomar keeps working as a truck driver during the week to help fund it.

Start Small, He Says

After helping more than a thousand animals, Leomar doesn’t want people to think they need money or resources to make a difference.

“Don’t wait until you have a lot to give before you begin,” he said. “The most important things are love and the willingness to make a difference.” For people who can’t build a shelter themselves, he suggests something simpler: leaving out water, sharing an adoption post, or supporting a local rescue.

What started with a few shivering animals seen from a truck window has become something much bigger. But for Leomar, it still comes down to the same basic idea: giving an animal a dry, safe place to rest.