The fidelity of the dogs continually surprises us with cases such as that of Captain, an Argentine dog that had lived in the cemetery where its owner’s grave was for more than ten years. Capitán was a symbol in the Argentine town of Villa Carlos Paz, and now he has died in the same cemetery after a few years in which age was causing havoc, according to the local florist, who was the one who fed and cared for him.
Captain, a beautiful and intelligent mongrel German shepherd dog, was a gift from his owner, Miguel Guzmán, to his son Damián in 2005. Just a year later, Miguel Guzmán died and Captain, overnight, disappeared from home familiar . The rest of the family did not understand his sudden disappearance, but after a few months he reappeared. One might think that he returned to the family home, but he did not: Captain stayed in the street, hanging around the house, for a few days and shortly after he left again.
Miguel Guzmán’s family assumed that he had suffered an accident and died, or that another family had adopted him, until one day he reappeared, but this time in the cemetery, over Miguel’s grave. Since then, Captain began to live there, going every night to sleep on the place where his owner rested.
Thus, the dog became one of the cemetery, where it was cared for, fed and cared for by Marta Clot, the florist. During the last years, according to this account, he could barely climb to the grave due to his hip problems and the weakness that he presented, due to his 16 years of age. After a decade of faithfully watching over his human, Captain appeared dead yesterday in the cemetery bathrooms, and the regulars of the place want his remains to remain there, where he spent his last years and in the company of his owner. Now it is the turn of the local authorities to speak out.
Captain’s story is not the only one of its kind that has become a reference in popular culture. Canelo’s story is well known in Cádiz (about which an Argentine author even wrote a book). It is about a dog that for 12 years was waiting for its owner at the door of the hospital where he was taken, and where the man died. Canelo, patiently waiting at the entrance, became “famous” in the city and became one of those characters that mark the history of a place. He even has a plaque with his figure in relief.
And how are you, many more stories. And it is that the fidelity of dogs, as those who live with one know, has no limits.
