I saw this wonderful movie last night, its about a dog's undying devotion and loyalty to his master.Based on a true story, it all begins when a college professor adopts an abandoned dog named Hachiko. The two form such a strong bond that Hachiko walks with the professor to the train station each morning and returns to the station each evening to walk the professor home again. The routine continues until one day the professor does not return to the train station. Hachiko, however, does not give up. He returns to the same train station at the same time, faithfully waiting for his owner to return. Hachiko does this for more than nine years, until his own death. I could say that this is the Best dog story ever.
This is the trailer of "Hachiko" starring Richard Gere released in August 2009, actually a remake of the 1987 film Hachikō Monogatari (ハチ公物語 which told the story of his life from his birth up until his death and imagined spiritual reunion with his master.
The real hachiko lived in 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesburo Ueno, professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life Hachikō saw him out from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a heart attack at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting. Hachikō was loyal and every day for the next nine years he waited sitting there amongst the town's folk.
Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he did not see his friend among the commuters at the 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 the steps that he waited for his master outside the station on March 8, 1935. His stuffed and mounted remains are kept at the Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo.
In April 1934, a bronze statue in his likeness was erected at Shibuya Station.Now I want to have an Akita dog tsk ....
