The Loyalty of Dogs

CEBU, Philippines - In the language of dogs, loyalty is not just a word.

If you have some trouble wrapping your head around this, here are three examples of just how faithful and loyal dogs can be - different tales of a dog's faithfulness and devotion to his master, if you will.

Hachiko

Like Fido, Hachiko's story of loyalty began with a daily routine, one where the Akita would meet his master at the Shibuya train station after work.

Born sometime in 1923, Hachiko became the pet of Hidesaburo Ueno - a professor of the agriculture department of the University of Tokyo in Japan - in 1924.

In 1925, Ueno suffered from a fatal cerebral hemorrhage while at work. Unaware that his master had already died, Hachiko still continued to wait for his master to come home - going to the same station everyday for nine years, until his own demise in 1935.

Greyfriars Bobby

There are different versions and accounts of Bobby's story of loyalty, but regardless of which version is told, there is one constant: the Skye Terrier was truly devoted to his master, guarding his master's grave for a supposed span of 14 years.

Born sometime between 1855 and 1856, a popular version of Bobby's story tells how the dog faithfully guarded the grave of his master. According to a night watchman named John Gray of the Edinburgh City Police, Bobby spent his days in the Greyfriars Kirkyard graveyard in the old town of Edinburgh, Scotland until his demise on January 14, 1872.

Fido

When Fido's master - an Italian named Carlo Soriani - named him after the Latin word "fidus" for faithful, the street dog lived up to the quality that defined the meaning of his name.

Born sometime in 1941 in Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy, Fido's story of loyalty started with a daily routine with his master - he would regularly walk with Soriani to the bus stop of Luco di Mugello, sending his master off to work in the morning, then meet him in the same bus stop in the evening.

The routine went on for about two years - until one day, in 1943, Soriani didn't come home from work, perishing from an air raid over Borgo San Lorenzo during World War II.

Unaware of what had happened to his master, Fido continued to wait for him in the bus station to come home from work for 14 years until June 9, 1958, when he died. (FREEMAN)