A faithful dog has refused to leave the side of his dead master’s grave for six years. It was reported that the German shepherd, ‘Capitan’ left home after the death of Miguel Guzman in 2006. When Guzman’s family visited the grave a week later they surprisingly found the heartbroken pet wailing by his master’s grave. Since that time Capitan refuses to leave the cemetery in the town of Villa Carlos Paz, central Argentina.
Mr Guzman bought Capitan as a present for his 13-year-old son Damian in 2005. In March of the following year Guzman died unexpectedly. When his family returned from the funeral, Capitan was gone. Guzman’s widow Veronica reported to the Argentina’s Cordoba newspaper: ‘We searched for him but he had vanished. We thought he must have been run over and died. The following Sunday we went to the cemetery and Damian recognized his pet. Capitan came up to us, barking and wailing, as if he were crying.’
She continued, ‘We went back the next Sunday, and he was there again. This time, he followed us home and spent a bit of time with us, but then went back to the cemetery before it started getting dark. I don’t think he wanted to leave Miguel on his own at night.’
The cemetery’s director Hector Baccega tells of when he first saw Capitan. ‘He turned up here one day, all on his own, and started wandering all around the cemetery until he eventually found the tomb of his master. During the day he sometimes has a walk around the cemetery, but always rushes back to the grave. And every day, at six o’clock sharp, he lies down on top of the grave stays there all night.’ Baccega reports that the staff at the cemetery are now feeding and taking care of Capitan.
Mr Guzman’s son Damian said: ‘I’ve tried to bring Capitan home several times, but he always comes straight back to the cemetery. I think he’s going to be there until he dies too. He’s looking after my dad.’