Chinese dog guards grave of master Lao Pan

A dog in the Chinese village of Panjiatun has attracted international attention by refusing to leave the grave of his recently deceased owner. Since Lao Pan was buried, his dog has remained rooted to the spot.

Residents have been bringing food and water to the dog, and are planning to build him a kennel. The dog has stayed in place in all weather, and until the villagers started helping him he hadn’t even been able to get anything to eat or drink.

There have been a number of other famous cases of dogs staying by their owners’ graves. There was the famous 19th century case of Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh, although some now say that the dog’s legend was puffed up by local businessmen. More recently, a dog named Hawkeye refused to leave owner Jon Tumilson’s coffin. And there’s the legend of Hachiko, supposedly Japan’s most loyal dog.