Viral Dog Who Refused to Leave Dead Owner’s Side Dies

Dog lovers in the Philippines are mourning the death of a famously loyal dog after it was run over by a vehicle on Wednesday morning.

Buboy, an aspin (local mongrel), earned adoration from netizens last month when he was captured on film faithfully waiting at the school where his owner, Professor Carmelito Marcelo, used to work before he died on May 18.

In the clip, Buboy can be seen patiently waiting by the door of a faculty room at the Mabalacat City College in the province of Pampanga.

Buboy had not seen his human for a while since Marcelo fell ill and was placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit for at least two weeks.

Buboy was a stray dog but Marcelo had been looking after him on campus for nearly four years.

The dog adored the professor so much that it would follow him everywhere on campus.

According to Marcelo’s sister-in-law, the professor considered the pup as his child since he had no family of his own.

When a faculty member noticed that Buboy had been waiting for the professor outside their faculty room, the faithful dog was brought to Marcelo’s wake.

The heartbreaking video of Buboy appearing to grieve for his lifeless master also went viral when it emerged on social media.

Local media nicknamed the viral dog the Hachiko of the Philippines.

Weeks after his human was laid to rest, Buboy was run over by a vehicle after crossing a highway to follow a campus security guard.

According to Animal Kingdom Foundation, volunteers rushed over to the campus to check on Buboy but found him already lifeless.

“This mind-numbing incident, a tragic end to Buboy’s story, mirrors how we neglect the loyal and loving askals (stray dogs)— exposing them to dangers even when we have the chance to take care of them. They deserve better — loving families and secured homes,” the animal rights group wrote in a statement.

“When animal-loving people want to bring home a dog, we allow them. When abandoned dogs have that chance to be in a loving and secured home, we also have to give them that. They just simply deserve better.”

Featured Image via Facebook / Sally Gueta David

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