{"id":1534,"date":"2021-06-21T08:53:07","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T08:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2022-02-21T09:54:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T09:54:27","slug":"this-is-not-an-instance-of-a-dog-guarding-the-tombstone-of-its-master","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/this-is-not-an-instance-of-a-dog-guarding-the-tombstone-of-its-master\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact Check: Is this a Dog guarding over its Master\u2019s Grave? Find out the Truth!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“Man’s best friend”<\/a> is a popular phrase used to describe domestic dogs referring to their close relationship, loyalty, friendship and companionship with humans. <\/strong>There are many real life stories about dog\u2019s loyalty and love towards its master that we come across on social media and mainstream media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We found one such story trending on social media, where it was claimed that a dog saddened by the death of his master, had decided to make its final resting place above the masters\u2019 <\/strong>grave and eventually died at the same place. <\/strong>However, we found that the narrative was not true. Let\u2019s check out the realty of this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Posts<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A widely circulated social media post claimed that a dog, continued to return to the grave of its master and dug a hole above the grave and eventually settled there without any food turning it into its final resting place. <\/strong>The full narration is given below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>A man died and let his dog be cared for by his son <\/em>…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprised his son looking for the dog does not find him, the dog was gone…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days later, he is warned from the cemetery that a dog is digging a hole above his father’s grave…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went to the cemetery and took the dog…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the second day the dog leaves again <\/em>… <\/em>The escape of the dog continued several times, until the son was convinced to leave the dog in his father’s grave <\/em>… <\/em>he came every day and brought him food and water, the dog did not eat became savage and did not allow anyone to approach the grave <\/em>… <\/em>he lived a week until he died over the grave of his owner…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The dog is the only creature on earth that loves you more than it loves itself”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/a> | Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image accompanying the post showed how the dog had dug a hole below a gravestone. <\/strong>The narration highlights the strong connection between the dog and its master.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post had been widely shared by number of social media users around the world as seen below as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s check how much truth does this story hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact Check<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We checked for similar posts and noticed the earliest version of social media posts with the claim and the image dated back to 2015. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, upon closer inspection of the image, it revealed that the gravestone indicated the person had died in 1991. <\/strong>Hence it\u2019s hardly possible that the dog who had made a pit under the tombstone after 24 years, was really the pet of the deceased person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ran a Google Reverse Image search of the viral image and found number of content about the dog under the gravestone image. <\/strong>German dog rescue group Tierjammer<\/a> had posted about the incident back in April 2015, as seen in below album.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/a> | Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google Translation of the album description read as below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>Sometimes you just want to cry and pull the covers over your head<\/em>…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These pictures are symbolic and represent the suffering and misery of street animals in Serbia<\/em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abandoned, abandoned, hungry and pregnant this female dog was left with only one way<\/em>: <\/em><\/strong>dig a hole in the ground under a tombstone and give birth to her babies there<\/em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only protection you have from the cold at night and the already very warm sun during the day<\/em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rain fills the hole and there is nothing for mom to eat there either<\/em>. <\/em><\/strong>If she is discovered, her children will be lost<\/em>…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please help the mother with her children so that they can be accommodated, vaccinations, a later castration for mom and regular food and a little attention<\/em>. <\/em><\/strong>She doesn’t expect anything, but you can give her a little security<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several media outlets had shared this story as well and thedodo.<\/strong>com, a digital brand related to animal well–<\/strong>being had posted the story as seen below, on how the female dog along with puppies were rescued in time thanks to a dog rescuer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thedodo.<\/strong>com<\/a> | Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dog rescuer from Serbia was Vesna Mihajloski<\/a>, who is unfortunately no longer with us according to her Facebook profile, had posted a series of image of the German shepherd dog and her cubs before rescuing them on 20th<\/sup> April 2015. One of the images is seen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/a> | Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A video titled \u201c<\/em><\/strong>People Said This Dog Was Guarding Her Owner<\/em>\u2019<\/em><\/strong>s Grave, But One Rescuer Uncovered A Stunning Secret<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/strong> describes how dog rescuer Vesna Mihajloski came to know that the female dog had been protecting her four cubs under the tombstone with a series of images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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