In Spain, we have Canelo. This dog from Cádiz waited 12 years at the door of the Puerta del Mar University Hospital (Cádiz), where his owner had been admitted for kidney disease, until he was run over and killed. The animal, which throughout that time lived on the street thanks to the help of neighbors, He died without ever seeing the man who had cared for him again..
Canelo got his badge and Cádiz named a street after him so as not to forget him, parallel to the hospital where he spent his last days waiting. Lovers of these domestic animals can surely quickly relate this story to that of Hachiko, the most famous dog in all of Japan.
This Japanese Akita breed ended up in the hands of Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo, and the relationship between animal and human began to become popular in Japan in 1987, with the film Hachikō Monogatari directed by Seijiro Koyama. The story of the dog reached the rest of the world in 2009, with the premiere of the American adaptation Always by your side, Hachikostarring actor Richard Gere.
What happened to Hachiko?
Hachikō was born on a farm near the city of Ōdate, around 1923. A year later, Professor Hidesaburō Ueno decided to adopt him. They soon began to establish a close relationship: every day, the dog accompanied the owner to the train station from Shibuya to say goodbye when he went to work and, at the end of the day, returned to the station to greet him.
This became routine for both of them until on May 21, 1925, Professor Ueno suffered a brain hemorrhage while teaching at the university and died suddenly. Hachiko demonstrated the loyalty of dogs, because He continued going to the station every day for almost 10 yearswaiting for the return of its owner.
The residents of Shibuya knew the animal perfectly well from seeing it hanging around the station, tirelessly waiting to be reunited with its owner. The admiration of the city was so great that the The city council decided to put up a bronze statue in the shape of Hachiko near the station.
This was inaugurated in April 1934, when the dog was still alive. Hachiko died on March 8 of the following year, and today his statue continues to attract thousands of tourists who make long lines to take a photo in front of the tribute one of the most famous dogs in the world.
