6 Utterly loyal dogs

Faithful, loyal, devoted, steadfast—that’s a good dog. It’s part of what they are. Here are six who give a new meaning to the word loyalty.

1. Hachiko

In the article 7 Heroic Dogs, we met Hachiko, an Akita who waited for his master every day for ten years, even though the man died at work. Hachiko is honored as a paragon of loyalty, but he is not the only dog who became known for extreme faithfulness to his master.

2. Ruswarp

Graham Nuttall and his border collie Ruswarp were an inseparable pair. Ruswarp was 14 years old when he and Nuttall went on a hike in the Welsh Mountains in January of 1990. They did not return as scheduled. 11 weeks later, another hiker found Nuttall’s body, and a cold and starving Ruswarp standing guard. The dog had to be carried off the mountain, and was cared for by a vet paid by the RSPCA. Ruswarp survived long enough to attend Nuttall’s funeral. Graham Nuttall was an activist involved with saving the scenic British railway line from Settle to Carlisle. The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line (FoSCL) raised money for a memorial to Ruswarp. A bronze statue of the dog will be installed at the Garsdale Station in North Yorkshire in early 2009.

3. Dorado

Omar Eduardo Rivera worked on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center until September 11, 2001. On that day, Rivera, who is blind, was at his job as a computer technician with his dog Doradounder his desk. When two hijacked planes hit the towers, Rivera knew it would take him a long time to evacuate the building.
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“I thought I was lost forever—the noise and the heat were terrifying—but I had to give Dorado the chance of escape.  So I unclipped his lead, ruffled his head, gave him a nudge and ordered Dorado to go.”*
The dog was swept downstairs by the crowd of people. A few minutes later, Rivera felt the dog nuzzling his legs. He had come back up the staircase! Dorado and a co-worker helped Rivera climb down 70 flights, a trip that took an hour. Shortly after they emerged at ground level, the building collapsed. Rivera declared he owes his life to his companion and best friend, Dorado.

4. Cash

25-year-old Jake Baysinger was reported missing in Colorado on June 28, 2008. His body was found six weeks later in the Pawnee National Grassland by a rancher who was checking out a strange dog. The dog was Baysinger’s German shepherd Cash. Cash kept running between Baysinger’s body and his pickup truck, giving the rancher the idea that the dog was eager to show someone what had happened. Baysinger’s death was ruled a suicide, and Cash was reunited with Baysinger’s wife and young son. Investigators believe Cash survived by eating small animals and kept coyotes away from his master’s body. Cash was later honored with a gift basket of treats from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Image credit: Sara Loven/Greeley Tribune.

5. Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby became famous as a symbol of loyalty in Britain. He was a Skye terrier devoted to his owner, John Gray. When Gray died in 1858, he was buried without a gravestone. Still, Bobby found the spot and stayed there, guarding the grave and leaving only for food, for 14 years. Greyfriars Bobby himself died in 1872. A granite fountain was erected in 1873 to honor his loyalty, commissioned by a countess and paid for by the RSPCA. John Gray eventually got a headstone, paid for by Bobby’s fans. And Bobby received a headstone for his grave in 1981.

6. The Frontier Sheepdog

In the 1870s, a sheep rancher in New Mexico died alone in his remote home. Two years later, his death was discovered by visitors. Yet his flock of sheep were doing just fine, and had actually increased in number! The rancher’s dog had taken responsibility for the sheep, and had taken them out to pasture daily as he had always done, then herded them back home at night. In 1879, the New Mexico legislature voted to award a pension to the hard-working (but nameless) sheep dog. There are no pictures of this dog. The photo illustration is from Flickr user ingirogiro.