An unmarried, 68 year old man in Panjiatun, China, died earlier this month. Yet even though Lao Pan had no close family, his grave has been frequented constantly by a friend – his trusty yellow dog.
Holding vigil over Pan’s grave, the dog went seven days without eating. Luckily, villagers have started bringing food and water right to the dog, as the dog has only been lured away from the grave once recently.
"I saw the dog when I was working on the field, and I called him, and wanted to bring him back home, because I also have a dog," said a local man in an interview on BBC. "I gave him a steamed bun when he came to my house. The dog caught the bun and ran back. I caught him, but he ran even faster to the tomb, and stayed there."
Villagers are planning to build the dog a kennel at the grave site for it to sleep in, as it doesn’t seem like the dog wants to be adopted anytime soon.
The dog’s loyalty is drawing parallels to another devoted dog – Greyfriars Bobby – an Edinburgh pooch that remained by his master’s grave every day for 14 years, and now has a statue erected in his honor.
Image: BBC