Devoted Dog Waits Outside Dead Owner's Home For Five Years

Remember the heartbreaking tale of Hachiko? Well, another devoted dog is breaking the hearts of the Internet.

A dog in Malu Mare, Romania has been spending each day sitting outside the former house of his master who died five years ago.

According to reports, the dog, who has been waiting patiently for his master to return, has been doing this since 2011.

Local residents told newspaper that the dog guards over the main entrance of the now abandoned house.
And while the animal occasionally accepts food from locals, it refuses to let anyone inside the property.

Sad story: faithful Romanian dog waits for return of owner who's been dead for 5 years. https://t.co/d9vmCebkyC

— AVMAvets (@AVMAvets) May 4, 2016

"The dog is not aggressive, but won't let anyone in, it just guards the property," the mayor of the village, Alexandru Dicu, said in a report.

"The dog is waiting for its master. It looks sad. You rarely find this sort of attachment in a person. Someone who would love you so much that they wouldn't leave the place where you spent your time with them," he added.

The residents have also tried to find the pooch a new home, but the dog refuses to leave

According to express UK, the residents do not know anything about the dog nor its former owner, as the owner has been "notoriously private" about his life.

The phenomenon of grieving dogs is not an entirely unsual thing.

In an attempt to explain their loyalty, scientists conducted a study, explaining that dogs are loyal to whoever feed them.

In another explanation, Cesar Millan, Mexican-American self-taught dog behaviorist, said dogs have a sense of belongingness which is why losing someone from their group is saddening for them.

"When you see how dogs react when their humans and canine friends come back after they've been gone for a long time or when they don't come back at all, you know it's about more than food," he writes on his blog.

"Dogs are pack animals. They want to belong to a pack, whether it's made up of dogs or humans, or pretty much any animal. You can look at these Unlikely Animal Friends videos to see all the different kinds of friends that dogs will make. Dogs aren't loners. When they lose a member of a pack, even temporarily, they feel that a part of them is missing."