The dog refused to leave its 60-year-old homeless owner’s side after he died on a bench outside the Rio Piedras Medical Center in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan
Image: CEN)
These images show a loyal dog sitting on the spot where its homeless owner died on a bench outside a hospital.
The moving scene took place outside Rio Piedras Medical Center in the Puerto Rican capital San Juan on the morning of February 1.
According to the news site El Universal, the 60-year-old homeless man passed away in the night and the dog stayed by his side.
The loyal pooch even stayed on the bench as personnel from the Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF) took the body away, gazing at the morgue vehicle as it disappeared from view.
However, medical staff took a liking to the dog, and Dr Jose Antonio Herrera Dalmau reportedly decided to adopt the ownerless animal.
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Image:
CEN)
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CEN)
He told the newspaper El Nuevo Dia: “I have already made an appointment to see a vet because the dog has a leg injury. It is not broken, but it has an injury.”
The hospital doctor added that he was thinking of calling the pooch Leo.
He said he was told about the dog by a colleague and went outside to take a look.
The doctor, who says he is a dog lover, explained that Leo looks a lot like a pet pooch he had several years ago called Reina.
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Image:
CEN)
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Dr Herrera Dalmau also said that he tried to make the dog follow him onto the bus, but he refused to leave the bench, apparently waiting for its dead owner, so he had to carry the animal home in his arms.
It comes just weeks after a hero dog saved his owner’s life by keeping him warm for 13 hours after he fell 500ft down a mountain slope.
Grga Brkic was with two other hikers in Croatia’s Velebit mountain range when he slipped down the slope and was unresponsive.
The two other hikers alerted the mountain rescue and 27 responders found Brkic with North curled tightly around him for warmth.
In a statement on Facebook, the Croatian mountain rescue service said: “Friendship and love between man and dog know no boundaries.
“North passed without injuries, but his friend, a young mountaineer, was not so lucky. He curled up with him and warmed him with his body.
“His loyalty did not stop even from the arrival of the savior, he was one of us guarding his man for 13 hours.”
Velebit is the largest mountain range in Croatia at nearly 1,800 meters above sea level.
Mountain rescue have warned against taking dogs for hikes in poor conditions particularly during the winter months.
Mr Brkic described his dog as a “real miracle”, reports the express.
The rescue team shared a poignant picture of the eight-month-old Alaskan Malamute lying on top of Brik even as he laid on the rescue stretcher.
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