Hachiko and His Tales of Loyalty: 10 Myths from Around the World

A dog waits for its owner for years. A cat rushes to its soldier on the battlefield. A pigeon rescues a company from the brink of death. Loyalty is the quietest, deepest gift animals give to humans. Here are 10 stories of loyalty, compiled from the world, spread from word of mouth and legendary.

1Hachiko — Akita who has been waiting for its owner for 9 years.

In 1925, Hidesaburo Ueno, a university professor in Tokyo, died unexpectedly at Shibuya station on his return from work. His faithful dog, Hachiko, went to the station at the same time every day and waited for his master for 9 years, 9 months, 15 days. When he died, Japan mourned; a statue was erected in Shibuya square. Today, millions of visitors still make appointments in front of that statue as a “meeting point”.

2Bead — Turkey’s Hachiko, Sivas.

The dog named Boncuk, who lost his owner in Sivas in 2015, used to go to the cemetery every day and sit at the grave for hours. Turkey cried when the photos spread on social media. Even when the family took her home in the morning, Boncuk was running away again and going to the grave. When she died in 2021, she was buried next to her owner. One of the most touching symbols of loyalty for Turkey.

3Greyfriars Bobby — Edinburgh’s watchdog.

After the death of its owner, John Gray, in 1858 in Scotland, Skye Terrier Bobby stood by his grave for 14 years. A local cook would feed him every day; the neighbour would call him a “holy dog.” Bobby’s statue still stands in front of Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard church; tourists queue up to stroke his nose. However, this is a marbleized monument of loyalty.

4Capitán — Argentina’s grave keeper.

When Miguel Guzmán died in Argentina in 2006, his dog Capitán disappeared. The family thought the animal had gone somewhere else. However, when they went to the cemetery a week after the funeral, they found Capitán at the head of the grave. The dog returned to the family in the evening and went back to the grave in the morning. Until 2018, that is, 12 years, he repeated the same routine every day; he became a legend in the world media.

5Fido- Italy’s loyal well.

In1941, a bricklayer in Italy named Carlo Soriani rescued a dog on his way home and named it Fido. The dog waited for him every evening at the bus stop. In 1943 Soriani died in an air raid; but Fido went to the same stop every evening for 14 years. The town of Borgo San Lorenzo erected a bronze statue to him in 1957; one of Italy’s silent heroes.

6Shep — Montana’s train keeper.

In1936, when a sheepherder died in Montana, USA, his coffin was transported by train. Shep, the sheepdog, watched every train arrive for five years after watching his owner’s funeral, sniffing out passengers and calling his owner, who died in a train crash in 1942. The bronze statue still stands today at Fort Benton train station, one of America’s most emotional stories of loyalty.

7Unsinkable Sam — Black cat from three sinking ships.

The black cat, who lived on the German Bismarck ship in World War II, was one of the only survivors after the ship sank. The British rescued him; his next two ships sank, but each time he survived. Nicknamed “Unsinkable Sam”. He spent his later life in peace at his sailor’s house in Belfast; the character who changed belief in black cats.

8Cher Ami — pigeon hero of the First World War.

In1918, a 500-strong American division on the French front came under fire from its own artillery. Cher Ami, the pigeon sent as a last resort, delivered the message despite being shot in the chest and losing an eye and a leg. 194 soldiers survived. The bird was awarded the French War Medal; today its taxidermized form is on display at the Smithsonian Museum.

9Balto — dog of the 1925 Nome serum race.

In 1925, there was an outbreak of diphtheria in Nome, Alaska. The serum was in Anchorage, 1,000 km away. The only way: dog sleds. The Siberian Husky, named Balto, saved the lives of thousands of children by taking the final stage in a terrible snowstorm. There is a bronze statue in New York’s Central Park; Disney animation was also made in 1995. A symbol where loyalty and courage meet.

10Caramel — the hero of the 2023 earthquake, Hatay.

After the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake, a dog waiting for 15 days at the wreckage in Hatay collected Turkey’s tears. Search and rescue teams called him “Caramel”; he was waiting without eating because he smelled his family under the wreckage. A teenager who was finally rescued was found thanks to him. Today he lives in a family in Istanbul; a recent monument of loyalty.

In the final analysis,

Animals do not need words to tell us about love, loyalty, sacrifice. Their waiting in the cemetery, their patience in the wreckage, their flapping of wings on the frontline summarizes the lessons we will learn from a thousand books. If you have a Caramel, a Cotton, a Bead in your home; give it an extra hug today. They will be there for you — what matters is how much you give them the love they deserve.