A faithful canine named Capitan has persisted in sleeping at his master's graveside every night for 11 years.
The black Alsatian was around four years old when Miguel Guzman, who had given the canine as a gift to his son, Damian, passed away in 2006 in Villa Carlos Paz, near Cordoba, Argentina's second-largest city.
The canine didn't fade away shortly after, and the family assumed he had found a new home or had been killed.
However, several months later, during one of their visits to the cemetery in 2007, there was Capitan. To their astonishment, neighbors informed them that they had started to feed him when they realized he slept by the grave each night.
And so the grieving hound continued his sad vigilance until he passed away himself many days ago, at about 15 years of age, as reported by the daily newspaper La Voz.
What amazed the family the most was that the cemetery was a long way from where they lived, and Capitan had never accompanied them there before he passed away.
Six days ago, Mr. Guzman's widow, Veronica, reflecting on the pet's graveside vigil, told Argentina's Cordoba review, "We searched for him, but he had disappeared. We assumed he must have been run over and died."
The following Sunday, we went to the cemetery, and Damian recognized his pet. Capitan came up to us, barking and howling, as if he were crying."
She added, "We had never taken him to the cemetery, so it's a mystery how he managed to find the place.
We went back the following Sunday, and he was there again. This time, he followed us home and spent some time with us, but then he went back to the cemetery before it started getting dark."
"I don't suppose he wanted to leave Miguel on his own at night."
The cemetery's director, Hector Baccega, added, "He turned up one day, all on his own, and started wandering around the cemetery until he ultimately found the grave of his master.
During the day, he occasionally takes a walk around the cemetery, but he always rushes back to the grave. And every day, at six o'clock sharp, he lies down on top of the grave and stays there all night."
The staff at the cemetery fed and took care of the faithful doggy.
Mr. Guzman's son Damian said he had tried to bring Capitan home several times, but he always went straight back to the cemetery.
Poignantly, he added, "I suppose he is going to be there until he dies too. He is looking after my father."
The story is analogous to that of Hachiko, an Akita who is said to have waited at a Tokyo train station for his master to return each day for nine years starting from May 1925, following the death of his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, at work.
