A remarkably moving story about the power of love and the dedication that exists between a dog and its human caretaker comes out of the town of Villa Carlos Paz, in central Argentina.
So strong were the earthly bonds between Miguel Guzman and his beloved German shepherd Capitan that after those bonds were severed by Guzman’s death in 2006, Capitan ran away from home. But the dog’s actions weren’t motivated by blind grief. Instead, Capitan somehow located his master’s grave and has remained by his side ever since.
View slideshow: Capitan, loyal to the end and beyond
We searched for [Capitan after Miguel died] but he had vanished. We thought he must have got run over and died.
The following Sunday we went to the cemetery and Damian [the Guzmans’ son] recognized his pet. Capitan came up to us, barking and wailing, as if he were crying.
The mystery that remains unanswered is how Capitan found his master’s place of rest. “We had never taken him to the cemetery,” Veronica Guzman notes.
When the Guzmans returned the following Sunday, Capitan was there again. This time, he followed the family home and spent a bit of time with them, but headed back to the cemetery before it started getting dark. “I don’t think he wanted to leave Miguel on his own at night,” Veronica speculates.
The cemetery’s director, Hector Baccega, recalls the day he first saw the dog:
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 and stays there all night.
Baccega acknowledged that his staff at the cemetery now feeds and cares for Capitan.
Sats Damian Guzman, “’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.”
The story is somewhat reminiscent of one in which the four-footed companion of a fallen Navy SEAL refused to leave his master’s coffin at the funeral.
