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Four loyal dogs put themselves in the middle of danger because they refused to leave the side of their companion.
The tightly-knit pack of furry friends was pictured sitting together in the middle of the road and obstructing the traffic that was coming their way. The dogs single-mindedly sat there, unflinching as the vehicles approached them on the road in Lanzhou, central China.
When commuters took a closer look at the dogs, they realized the canines were guarding the body of their furry friend. According to an apost report from 2019, the dog was hit by another car and passed away, prompting the other dogs to gather around the dead dog and protect the lifeless body.
A similar incident took place on a busy road in Zhejiang Province in China in April, 2017. A brown husky was seen lying motionless in the middle of the road while a cream-colored canine desperately pawed the dog and tried to wake the dog up, according to the Daily Mail.
The heartbreaking footage showed the dog refusing to leave the side of the brown husky and barked at the lifeless furry companion lying on the ground while cars continued passing by. For at least half an hour, the dog mournfully stayed by the dog’s side and desperately tried to wake the dog up.
Eventually, a woman showed up at the scene and called the husky’s name but received no response. The woman then went on to pick the motionless dog up and lay him on the pavement.
When a police officer asker her, “Are you the owner of the dogs?” the woman answer: “Yes.”
“Imagine this happened to humans and dogs just ignore the death of a human,” one person commented after seeing the heartbreaking video on YouTube.
“This actually gave me tears I own a similar breed. that poor doggy lost its life & the other lost its best friend,” said another.
Experts say that dogs also feel a sense of grief when they lose a loved one. “Dogs are highly intuitive and sensitive, more than people give them credit for,” said Jme Thomas, executive director at Motley Zoo Animal Rescue, according to American Kennel Club.
While dogs cannot put their feelings into words, they certainly do show behavioral changes when they miss somebody they have closely bonded with but is no longer around them. A grieving dog might show different signs that include loss of appetite, less energy, and a general disinterest in physical activity.
“My definition of grief is that a surviving animal shows distress through behavior that is markedly divergent from his routine,” said Barbara J. King, professor emerita of anthropology at the College of William and Mary and the author of How Animals Grieve.
Confirming that dogs have their own way of mourning loss, Sally Morgan, a holistic physical therapist for animals and humans, said, “I have no doubt that dogs miss us as much as we miss them, and like us, they need time to heal from a deep emotional loss.”
