Photos of a Labrador holding vigil outside an Argentinian hospital have gone viral for a heartbreaking reason. The dog was waiting for his elderly owner to return but, sadly, had no idea that his owner had passed away inside the hospital.
The 6-year-old dog, named Toto, patiently remained outside the Pablo Soria Hospital in the Argentinian city of San Salvador de Jujuy for an entire week in March 2019 before a rescue organization came to his aid.
The resident, sympathetic to the gentle dog’s plight, looked out for Toto in the days following his owner’s passing.
Local media reported that Toto’s owner, who remains anonymous and had passed away from an unknown cause, asked for his loyal dog to be brought to his hospital bedside so that he might say goodbye. However, relatives of the dying man neglected to take Toto away with them when they left.
Toto’s week-long vigil eventually caught the attention of Fatima Rodriguez, a local woman who worked with an Argentinian animal protection organization. The group took Toto into their care and commenced searching for a brand-new adoptive home for the loyal 6-year-old pup.
Before re-homing Toto, the group also pledged to perform some necessary clinical procedures—surgery on a damaged paw and sterilization—to ensure that the bereaved Labrador could go to his new home in good health with no outstanding medical requirements.
It turned out that Fatima’s suspicions were accurate. The Argentinian media reported that Toto ran away from his first foster home to sit outside the Pablo Soria Hospital again and wait for the owner that would never return.
As of January 2020, it is unknown whether Toto ever found his forever home, but millions, touched by Toto’s story, hope that he is safe and loved.
The Labrador is also one of the most popular breeds to be employed as assistance dogs and guide dogs for the blind.
Argentinian Labrador Toto is not the first dog to break hearts worldwide for his exceptional loyalty. A Japanese Akita Inu dog named Hachi rose to fame in the 1930s after waiting for his owner, Tokyo Imperial University professor Hidesaburō Ueno, for nine years at a train station.
Hachi, not knowing that his owner had passed away, stood vigil at Shibuya Station every single day for nine long years until his own death on March 8, 1935. A statue of the loyal dog was erected at the train station after his passing.
Almost a century after Hachi’s loyalty became legend, Toto came along to remind people everywhere of the truth in the old adage: dogs really are man’s best friend.
