Jon Tumilson, a Navy SEAL, was one of 30 Americans killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 6 when a rocket-propelled grenade took out a U.S. Chinook helicopter. He was mourned at a service in Rockford, Iowa, attended by 1,500 family members, friends--and Hawkeye, Tumilson's dog.
The Labrador retriever was such an important part of Tumilson's life that the friends and family of the San Diego resident called the dog his "son."
When Tumilson's friend Scott Nichols walked to the front of the room to speak, Hawkeye followed, Today.com reports. "As Nichols prepared to memorialize his friend, Hawkeye dutifully laid down near the casket," Scott Stump writes.
The photo on the right was taken by Tumilson's cousin, Lisa Pembleton, and posted on Facebook. Pembleton wrote on her Facebook page, "To say that he was an amazing man doesn't do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family, and friends is immeasurable."
This story reminds me of Hachikō. In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo, took in Hachikō as a pet. During his owner's life, Hachikō greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where Hachikō was waiting. Every day for the next nine years the golden brown Akita waited at Shibuya station.
The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.
This continued for nine years with Hachikō appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.
Hachikō died on March 8, 1935, and was found on a street in Shibuya. After decades of rumors, in March 2011 scientists settled the cause of death of Hachikō. The dog had terminal cancer and a filaria infection (worms). There were also four yakitori sticks in Hachikō's stomach, but the sticks did not damage his stomach or cause his death.
Hachikō's stuffed and mounted remains are kept at the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo. Hachikō's legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty.
Source: Today.com
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