Dog Movie entry #2

LOYALTY.

To Bubu.

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
~Andy Rooney

HACHIKO: A DOG'S STORY (c. 2009, Richard Gere)

Hachiko is a true story. It’s a modern-day adaptation of a Japanese tale about the loyalty of a dog to his master. In the Hollywood feature, Hachiko was adopted by Prof. Parker Wilson as a puppy. The tiny akita was found in the train station where the professor commutes daily to work to a nearby university. They develop a funny relationship because Hachiko is not the conventional dog who plays fetch and runs amok. He doesn't bark either. But he loves his human and they start this ritual of Hachiko taking Parker to and from the train station every day.

Parker and Hachiko walk to the train station together every morning, and in the afternoon, Hachiko goes back to the station to wait for Parker’s train to arrive.

One fateful day, Parker never comes back to the trainstation. The professor suffered a stroke while conducting a class and had passed away. Hachiko, not understanding the circumstances of his master’s delay, waited loyally in the train station, sitting quietly in front of the exit door, ready to greet his human's happy return.

In the original Japanese story, Hachiko awaited for master's return for 9 long years. A bronze statue stands in the Shibuya Station of Japan in honor of Hachiko's unyielding loyalty.



Hachiko’s loyalty reminds me of our middle dog, my sister’s shih tzu, Bubu.

Bubu also isn't the most conventional dog in the world. She’s not into toys (she's very picky about what she puts in her mouth), not into begging for food (she more of demands it) and not starved for attention. I guess she thinks she’s cute enough for attention to come to her by itself, which is true enough. Everyone is drawn to this little bundle of fluff. Her tagline, for me is “Also cute and fluffy!” from the movie Lilo & Stitch.

But what makes Bubu special is how loyal she is to my sister. Anywhere my sister sits, you'll find Bubu right beside her. When my sister comes home from work, Bubu is always the first to sense it. I sometimes just watch them interact with each other and am amazed by the unspoken understanding between them. But I’m not envious because I feel I have the same connection with Belle. :)