Where Dogs Get The News

Hachiko

The ParksByNature Network, creator of the must-have parks navigation app – Pocket Ranger® has announced their list of the top five animal companions in celebration of how much our four-legged friends love the outdoors. And of course, the number one greatest companion is an Akita. (I am part Akita!)

#1 Hachiko (dramatized in the film “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” starring Richard Gere.

Unlike the other four animals on our list, Hachiko actually existed. He has become something of a legend, though, inspiring books and movies, all of which serve as a testament to the enduring power of this true story. Born on a farm near Odate, Akita Prefecture, Hachiko was an Akita dog known for his remarkable loyalty. In 1924, a Tokyo university professor named Hidesaburo Ueno took in Hachiko as a pet, and the pair subsequently developed a routine in which Professor Ueno left for work in the mornings, and in the afternoons Hachiko went to the train station to greet his owner upon his return. This routine continued until May 1925 when Professor Ueno suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where Hachiko obediently waited for him. Amazingly, each day for the next nine years Hachiko continued to appear at the train station precisely when his dead owner’s train was due to arrive. After one of Professor Ueno’s graduate students noticed Hachiko waiting at the station, word of the dog’s loyalty spread throughout Japan and became legendary. In 1934, admirers erected a bronze statue of Hachiko’s likeness at Shibuya Station.

The other animal companions include: [click to continue…]

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