Yalta Mukhtar and other stories of canine love and devotion

In Yalta in August, a dog named Mukhtar, who had been waiting 12 years for his master’s return, died. The dog came to the embankment every day and looked sadly at the sea. The owner of the sheepdog Mukhtar was an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who tragically died in 2011. The dog suffered a great loss and every day “went on duty” in the hope of seeing his beloved master again.

All attempts to take the dog home were unsuccessful. Mukhtar refused to eat even in the first months. The dog became a kind of unspoken symbol of Yalta, and the story of his fate traveled around the world.

Mukhtar

There are many similar examples of four-legged devotion. But not all of them are known to us and information has been preserved. At the same time, some stories were very heartwarming and became ideas for fiction books and movies. We collected the most striking examples of dog loyalty to once again draw attention to the need to cherish and love their pets.

The story of Bobby the Scottish Sky Terrier

This small dog from Edinburgh has become a real symbol of the city. The story of loyalty and sincere love for the owner was recorded and written down by eyewitnesses back in the XIX century. According to the sources, to the old shepherd John Gray in 1850, a dog of Skyterrier breed came to him. The dog became attached to his master and never took a step away from him. John named the dog Bobby. The pet helped shepherd the sheep flocks, went to church with the owner and went to the market in the city.

After eight years of a long friendship, the old shepherd died. The dog that had been sent to the farm escaped from there and found his master’s grave in Greyfriars Cemetery. Bobby settled there. Every day you could see the dog near his master’s grave. Bobby lived in Greyfriars for 14 years. After the dog’s death, the people of Edinburgh, touched by his devotion, raised funds and erected a monument to the little Sky Terrier. The pedestal can still be seen at the entrance to the cemetery.

Monument to Bobby

The story of sheepdog Palma from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport

The dog became the hero of journalistic reports, documentary and feature films. She was talked about all over Russia, and thousands of people who cared about her wanted to take her home. A sheepdog named Palma was left on the runway of Vnukovo airport in 1976. She followed the takeoffs and arrivals of Il-18 airplanes. As eyewitnesses noted, Palma accurately identified the modifications of aircraft.

Journalist Yuri Rost gave great publicity to the story of the sheepdog on the runway. He told in his essay about an unusual dog that refused to leave the airport for two months, probably waiting for its owner. As it turned out afterward, Palm was not allowed on board the IL-18 airplane because of the lack of a health certificate from a veterinarian. The owner had to leave the dog on the runway.

Palm did not go to the airport staff and ran away from them. Only the great-granddaughter of the writer Ivan Kotlyarevsky managed to tame him and gain his trust. She spent a month and a half with Palma before they managed to take her away from the airport.

Palma

The story of German Shepherd Captain from Argentina

A dog named Captain came to his master’s grave for six years and whined pitifully in hopes of seeing him again. The dog was bought by the family of Argentinean Miguel Guzman as a gift for his 13-year-old son in 2005. A year later, the father of the family died, and the pet ran away from home.

Captain was found a week later at the owner’s grave. The dog with his head down was lying near the monument. Since then, the dog could be seen every day in the cemetery of the town of Villa Carlos Paz. Captain only occasionally went home to spend time with his family.

Captain

The story of Naida from Komsomolsk-on-Amur

Another example of a Russian Hachikō has remained in the memory of eyewitnesses from a town in the Khabarovsk region. Naida, a pedigree dog, came for 12 years to the place where his owner was hit to death by a car. At the time of the accident, the dog was close to its owner, but managed to survive. However, after the tragedy, Naida did not want to leave the sidewalk where the accident happened.

Naida tried to take home concerned citizens of the city, but she flatly refused to leave the place where she was last near the owner. Volunteers built a box for the dog and brought her food. Naida’s life was cut short just as tragically. In 2017, the dog was hit by a car. Residents of Komsomolsk-on-Amur made a proposal to erect a monument to the loyal and faithful animal.

Naida

The story of the German shepherd dog Tommy from Italy

In 2018, a dog named Tommy ran to the service in the church, where a memorial service for his deceased mistress was held. The dog ran inside the church and waited patiently for his owner to return. The seven-year-old German Shepherd belonged to 57-year-old Maria Margarita Lokey. Their friendship began after the woman found Tommy abandoned by his previous owners in a field. “Maria Margarita was a volunteer and often rescued homeless animals. But it was this particular dog that she loved more than any other, often taking him to church with her,” the woman’s friends shared their memories.

During the funeral of his mistress, Tommy was allowed to attend the funeral service in the church. After that, the dog ran there every time he heard the bells ringing, hoping to see his owner again.

Tommy