This is an incredibly touching dog story and it immediately reminded me of the ultimate version of this sort of dog loyalty: the Japanese Akita dog Hachiko, who was born in Odate, Japan in 1923. His owner, Ueno Hidesaburo died in 1925. Hachiko returned to the train station the next day and every day for the next nine years until he died himself in 1935. That’s the ultimate story of loyalty but this has a similar flavour. The vigil of Boncuk waiting for her owner Cemal Senturk, 68, might also have been nine years if he had died in hospital and Boncuk was unaware of it.
I’m not sure that people would allow it to happen nowadays. But the immense loyalty that we see in these videos is something that we don’t really see in people. I hope I’m being fair to people. Boncuk followed her owner’s ambulance to hospital and then waited outside. She became quite well known and was reunited with her owner last Wednesday after his treatment in Trabzon province for a brain injury. Boncuk was repeatedly taken home by Cemal’s daughter but ran back to the hospital to sit outside again.
A hospital guard said that she would regularly poke ahead inside the door when it opened. Cemal became unwell on 14th January. Boncuk went to the hospital every day at around 9am and waited until nightfall. But she never went into the hospital. Cemal said, “She’s very used to me. And I miss her, too, constantly.”
I think that’s an understatement! It’s also very cute that she never went inside the hospital. It looks like she was trained not to go in indicating a very obedient and lovable dog.
I have including 2 videos in case one of them fails as they often do in my experience. Videos tell these stories so much better than words.
