Shelley Mamott, Staff Writer

Lao Pan, an unmarried man, lived alone in a small house in the village of Panjiatun. Without much family, he found close companionship with his loyal dog. Pan, 68, died earlier this month, and even though he had no close relatives, he has been visited constantly. His lone visitor: his trusty dog.

His furry friend was found by villagers at Pan’s grave safeguarding the site. The dog went without eating for seven days and only once has he been lured away, just for a quick bite.

“I saw the dog when I was working on the field, and I called him, and wanted to bring him back home, because I also have a dog,” a man said in an interview that ran on the BBC. “I gave him a steamed bun when he came to my home. The dog caught the dog and ran back. I caught him, but he ran even faster to the tomb, and stayed there.”

Fortunately since noticing the dog, villagers have been bringing food and water to the grave site, and are even planning to build a kennel for the dog to sleep in.

This dogs loyalty to his master is reminiscent of Hachiko, Japan’s most faithful dog. Hachiko would greet his master at the train station each evening at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno died at work, never again returning to the train station where Hachiko was waiting. Every day for the next nine years the dog waited at Shibuya station.

And perhaps more so of Greyfriars Bobby, a dog who was reported to have kept a 14-year vigil at his owner’s graveside. The dog now has a statue erected in honor of his loyalty.

Original Article