Remember Hachiko? He was an Akita who was rescued by a professor at the University of Tokyo. Every day, Hachiko would meet his friend at the railroad station, and they would walk home together. On the day that his friend died, Hachiko waited and waited.
Well, Russia has its own Hachiko. Her name is Masha, a Dachshund, and she spends her days and her nights in a Siberian hospital. More than a year has passed since Masha’s friend died, and she still refuses to leave.
The hospital staff at the Novosibirsk District Hospital Number One tried unsuccessfully three times to find her a forever home. “Masha will always stay here, because she is waiting for her owner,” nurse Alla Vorontsova says. “People in Russia tried to adopt her three times, but she always came back. I also heard that a number of foreigners wanted to adopt her too, but it is impossible — she doesn’t want to leave the hospital. And besides, we love her and she loves us. How could she live somewhere far away? She would just pine away.”
Masha’s story garnered a lot of attention in Russia, Europe, and in the States. So, she was granted residency at the hospital, and is fed and walked by the staff. She even has her own station in the hospital inside the building. Many visitors, patients, and staff come by, pet her, and offer her food and toys.
Vorontsova said that she warms the people’s hearts. She also said that Masha was the patient’s only visitor. He had no other family.
A movie called Hachi: A Dog’s Tail , based onHachikoandstarring Richard Gere, was released in 2009.
Sources: RT, Siberian Times
