In many areas, there are so many stray dogs that they will sometimes form packs, think of the Disney movie “Oliver and Company.” Since these dogs roam the streets together, as well as seek out food and shelter together, they can be very loyal to one another.
Just over a year ago, a YouTube video captured an amazing example of such loyalty.
The video shows a dog laying in the middle of the road in Lanzhou, central China. The poor pooch was hit and killed by a car. However, the dog’s pack would not leave their friend’s side.
His friends tried to nudge him back up and revive him but to no avail. Nevertheless, the dogs seemed to be keeping vigil over their friend’s body and would not budge. These dogs literally stopped traffic and forced many cares to go around them.
According to Mirror, an eyewitness said the dogs didn’t seem to understand that their friend had died. It seemed as though the fully expected him to get up and start walking again.
“You may not realize it, but dogs do grieve the loss of a companion,” The Spruce states.
There are many dogs who can actually become severely depressed when they lose another dog, animal, or person close to them.
They can experience physical symptoms such as loss of appetite, lethargy, and illness. They can also undergo personality changes, such as becoming more dominant and possessive.
However, it seems that dogs are not the only animals who share this tremendous sense of empathy and pain. Other animals also mourn the loss of those of their kind. Sarah Simmons posted a heartbreaking photo of a group of ponies stand vigil by another pony’s body after it was hit by a car.
“Broke my heart this morning seeing another pony KILLED on the forest road. Even more that her friends were looking on. I’m sorry to the commoner who’s lost the pony, I hope it’s not someone’s pony I know but I hope by posting this it may make people realize that it’s not just the owner who it upsets but their herd members too,” the post read. “SLOW DOWN DAY/NIGHT ON FOREST ROADS THESE PONIES have more rights to these roads than you do. I will say a few drivers got a few choice words from me this morning even with this poor horse on the side of the road and the others looking on, they still were going too bloody fast.”
The video of the dogs standing guard over their friend’s body quickly went viral.
Such an inspirational display of love and kindness that we as human beings would do well to learn from.