In an attempt to heal not only the ones directly connected to the tragedy at Newtown, CT, this past Friday, but the entire town, retired special education teacher Michael Cragin has decided to offer out hugs — not from him, but from his beloved bulldog Truman.

Knowing full well that hugging man's best friend (or any pet) cannot erase the scars left upon the town, Cragin has claimed that for at least those few seconds people are able to "leave the nightmare."

"That's what I was hoping on, because I don't know what else to do," he added.

Below's the full shot of Cragin and Truman in action:

Bulldog Full
NBC
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