Dog Turns up At Dead Owner's Church
Every Day to Attends Mass
Two months after his owner died,
a dog in Italy keeps turning up each day
at the church she used to attend.
Two months after his owner died,
a dog in Italy keeps turning up each day
at the church she used to attend.
Posted: 01/20/2013
In search of a reunion or to simply pay respects, a loyal Italian dog keeps visiting the site he last saw his former caretaker.
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Ciccio, a 12-year-old German shepherd, waits in vain in front of the altar of the Santa Maria Assunta church in the village of San Donaci in the southern region of Puglia.
He heads to the church as soon as the bells begin to ring each afternoon, just as he did for years when his owner was alive.
The woman, who was known in local dialect as "Maria tu lu campu" - "Maria of the fields" – died suddenly in November.
Ciccio attended the funeral, following his mistress's coffin as it was carried into the church.
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The dog's devotion has so impressed villagers that they have adopted him as their own, giving him food and water and letting him sleep in a covered area outside the church.
He heads to the church as soon as the bells begin to ring each afternoon, just as he did for years when his owner was alive.
The woman, who was known in local dialect as "Maria tu lu campu" - "Maria of the fields" – died suddenly in November.
Ciccio attended the funeral, following his mistress's coffin as it was carried into the church.
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The dog's devotion has so impressed villagers that they have adopted him as their own, giving him food and water and letting him sleep in a covered area outside the church.
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Prior to her death in November, Maria Margherita Lochi would go to church every day with her 7-year-old German Shepherd, the Daily Mail reported. According to the Telegraph, the dog, Ciccio, still turns up to the Santa Maria Assunta church in the village of San Donaci in Puglia.
The place of worship held Lochi's funeral, during which Ciccio
followed the coffin as it was carried inside. Now, he's a daily visitor.
"He's there every time I celebrate mass and is very well behaved," Father Donato Panna told the Daily Mail. "He doesn't make a sound."
According to Sud Italia News, he sits beneath the altar, near the priest. "His hope is to see his beloved Maria, the person who he accompanied everywhere, even in church," the paper reported.
According to the Daily Mail, Lochi took in several strays, but
Ciccio was reportedly her favorite. The dog's routine has made an impact
on villagers, who have began giving him food, water and shelter in a
covered area outside the church.
It's not the first time dogs have impressed readers with their loyalty, either.
Ciccio would probably get along with Capitan, the dog who sat by the grave of his deceased human friend for six years.
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A heartbroken dog whose owner died two
months ago is missing her so much he is attending services at the
Italian church where her funeral was held patiently waiting for her to
return.
A seven-year-old German Shepherd, belonged to Maria Margherita Lochi, 57,
and had been her faithful companion after she adopted him when she found
him abandoned in fields close to her home.
Mrs
Lochi adopted several strays she found but friends said she developed a
particular close affection for him and would walk to church with him
from her home every day - where the priest would allow him to sit
patiently by her feet.
Pining: the German Shepherd waits
faithfully during Mass at the church where his owner Maria Margherita
Lochi's funeral was held
Following her death at San
Donaci near Brindisi, a funeral service was held at which Tommy joined
mourners and since then he has been a regular at the church arriving on
time when the bells ring out to mark the start of services.
Father Donato Panna
said:''He's there every time I celebrate Mass and is very well behaved -
he doesn't make a sound, I've not heard one bark from him in all the
time he has been coming in.
'He
used to come to Mass with Maria and he was obviously devoted to her - I
let him stay inside as he was always so well behaved and none of the
other parishioners ever complained to me.
'He's
still coming to Mass even after Maria's funeral, he waits patiently by
the side of the altar and just sits there quietly. I didn't have the
heart to throw him out - I've just recently lost my own dog so I leave
him there until Mass finishes and then I let him out.
Sad: Heartbroken he had been adopted by Maria after she
found him wandering fields behind her house in San Donaci,
Italy
Routine: Tommy and Maria would walk to church together every day - where the priest would allow him to sit patiently by her feet
He's been adopted by everyone in the village now and he is everybody's friend. Everyone looks out for him and leaves food for him - although it would be nice to find a proper home for him.'
This story is similar to the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster Hachi
starring Richard Gere which told of how a faithful Akita dog waits
patiently for his master after he also dies.It was based on the true story of a Japanese Akita called Hachiko, whose owner died in 1925 but for the next nine years he waited patiently at a railway station for his owner from where they regularly caught a train.