Hotdogs change life

A food truck owner has helped one of Auckland's homeless get back on his feet, allowing him to sell hotdogs in the streets he used to live in.

Give a man a hot dog and you feed him for a day. Give him an entire hot dog cart and you change his life forever.

Brad had been down on his luck, living rough in Auckland's central city parks with only faithful hound Codey as company when one night the dog's nose lead them to Steve Coppard and his Rock Dogs food truck.

It was a meeting that has transformed the lives of both men.

Brad and Codey became regular visitors to the cart and finally, impressed by Brad, Coppard bought him a van to live in and has given him his own hot dog cart so he can sell hot dogs in the same streets and parks in which he used to sleep.

"It's hard to explain what this means really," said Brad, who despite his problems, retains his pride and doesn't want his last name used. But he does want to pay tribute to his , Coppard.

After getting to know Brad and Codey, Coppard initially let the pair sleep in his hot dog truck.

But last week Coppard bought a campervan from some Irish tourists for $1000 and gave it to Brad.

He also gave him the loan of a mobile Rock Dog cart from which he could sell hot dogs and start making some money.

Friday was Brad's first day on the job selling hot dogs at Victoria Park; a place he used to sleep in.

He said he will be forever grateful to Coppard.