Modern Day Hachiko? Loyal Dog ‘Masha’ Visits Hospital Everyday Looking For Her Dead Master!

Remember Hachiko? The story of the Japanese Akita dog that waited for years at Shibuya station waiting for his (dead) master garnered worldwide attention. It was also the basis for the 2010 movie starring Richard Gere. While Hachiko has been immortalized with a statue and his remains stuffed, there are several other modern day Hachiko’s who deserve to be mentioned in the same breath.

Take the case of a dog from the Russian town of Novosibirsk. Residents of this small town have been witness to another Hachiko for the past year, reports BT. Central to this story is a little dog named Masha. Masha’s master, an old gentleman, had been visiting the Novosibirsk District Hospital Number One over the past two years. The man, who presumably lived alone, always came to the hospital with Masha. When his health deteriorated, Masha would go back home and come back the next day and meet her master. It was clear that the dog loved her master very much and that there was no one else that took care of her. Last year, however, the man, unfortunately, passed away. Masha, unaware of the fact that her master is now dead, continues to visit the hospital each day. She has been doing that every day for the past year since the man died.

According to The Siberian Times, Masha has become a well-known and much loved figure in the town, especially to doctors and employees of the hospital. Even patients are amazed at the story of the dog that comes looking for her master every day. They ensure that she has a warm bed to rest and ample food to eat. Masha apparently lived alone with her master, and she had no other caretaker. People in the town are hopeful that someone would come forward to adopt her and love her as much as her original owner did.

Chief doctor Vladimir Bespalov, in an interview with Novosibirsk Vesti TV, said,

“You see her eyes, how sad they are – it’s not the usual shiny eyes for when a dog is happy. You can see this in animals in the same way as with people. There is nothing medicine can do for her here, but we are still hoping that Masha will be able to find another owner. One day, and we very much want this day to come soon, our Masha will trust somebody.”

That said, Masha seems to be in no mood to let go of her past. An attempt to adopt her was made by an animal lover from the town. Masha, however, escaped the very next day and turned up at the hospital as usual.

Another staff at the hospital, nurse Alla Vorontsova, commented,

“She is waiting for him, for her owner. Just recently a family tried to adopt her, but Masha ran away and returned to the hospital. She was taken on Friday evening, and at 3am on Saturday she was back here.”

The news about Masha, the loyal dog, comes just days after the Inquisitr had reported about the story of another faithful dog that hitched ride aboard an ambulance – just to be with its owner!

[Images Via Svyatoslav Odarenko/ Siberian Times]