#hidesaburō ueno

In 1935, Hachikō died in Shibuya, Japan.  Hachikō was an eleven-year-old Akita Inu.  He was taken in by one Hidesaburō Ueno, an agriculture professor at the University of Tokyo.  For over a year, Hachikō would meet Ueno at the Shibuya train station when the professor arrived home from work.  Hachikō would be there right when the train was to arrive.

In May 1925, the professor had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage while at work and died; clearly, he didn’t make his train home that day.  Hachikō was at the station waiting, and was certainly confused.  But because Hachikō was a dog, and dogs are fucking amazing, he didn’t let that deter him.  Hachikō came back to the station at the same time every afternoon for the following nine years, nine months, and fourteen days right when the professor’s train would have arrived.  

While humans have dogs, we certainly don’t deserve them.

The grave in the background is Professor Ueno’s; Hachikō is commemorated with the stele in the foreground.

(image via Wikimedia)