Hi all...

For you dog lovers out there...here is a great video with a wonderful story behind it. I have a very sentimental attachment to this, as my dog is part Akita and exhibits many of the traits of his Hachiko ancestors. You can see his picture in my first posted thread....at the bottom of the page.
http://psychcafe.ca/eve/forums...080736#3301080736%5B
I cannot express what this dog has done for me...he has literally kept me alive. I don't know what I would do without him...and don't know if he would survive without me. It is a bond like no other...he loves me...no matter what and he never judges me. His purpose in life is to be with me in my journey...in a way that no person would ever be able to replicate.

SD


Hachiko monogatari

In 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life Hachikō saw him off in the morning, and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno didn't return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.

Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. After time, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn't see his friend among the commuters at the station.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. Realizing that Hachikō waited in vigil for his dead master, their hearts were touched. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.
This continued for 10 years, with Hachikō appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station. He died on the very spot where he last saw his master and a statue honoring his loyalty was commissioned to commemorate his undying love. It remains on that spot to this day.

Each year on April 8th, Hachikō's devotion is honored with a solemn ceremony of remembrance at Tokyo's Shibuya railroad station. Hundreds of dog lovers often turn out to honor his memory and loyalty.