Meet Scarper, the dog who refused to leave homeless man's side 12 hours after he died

A dog, who stayed by her owner’s side 12 hours after he died, helped police to identify the homeless man.

Nick, 53, who slept on the streets, was found in South London on 23 February, Metro reports.

A day before his body was found, Nick reportedly went for a stroll in central London without his belongings, which meant he had no identification on him when he died.

But his dog, Scarper, didn’t leave his side for 12 hours, which helped local police identify him, according to the Evening Standard.

Michelle Clark, who runs the charity Dogs on the Streets (Dots), was contacted by authorities and able to identify Nick and Scarper, who was registered on their database.

"Literally within five seconds, I was able to bring up who the owner was," Clark said.

"She didn’t leave his side, literally sat by his side.

"I think what’s absolutely devastating is that we had to identify him via the dog tag." 

In a recent Twitter post, Clark revealed that Scarper would now be living with Nick’s mother.

"I’ve just said goodbye to Scarper who’s now gone to live with the mum of our homeless friend who died on our streets and we identified him via his dog's dog tag!

"Yes I got very emotional as I’ve known them for 6 years. I’m so pleased his family will have a part of him with them," she tweeted.

The charity has also started a fundraiser to help Nick’s family with funeral costs.

"These dogs are their life, their family, their child . . . it's everything to them," Michelle said.

Sources: Metro, Evening Standard, Twitter