The story of a nameless mongrel that has been patiently waiting outside a hospital in Sao Paolo Brazil four months after his owner was admitted there following a stabbing has been making headlines around the world.

The dog first showed up at the Santa Casa de Novo Horizonte hospital in Sao Paolo on the same night that the ambulance brought in his owner, a 59-year-old homeless person who had been stabbed during an altercation. 

Ambulance staff would later tell their colleagues that the dog ran after their car all the way to the hospital, stopping at the entrance and patiently waiting for his master to return.

The stabbed man died as a result of his wounds, but his dog never got the sad news, so he’s been waiting in front of the hospital since October. 

It wasn’t long before people started noticing the dog waiting in front of the hospital every day, and after hearing his story, they started offering him food and some blankets to make his long wait more comfortable.

During the last four months, the nameless dog never once tried to enter the hospital, even though the sliding doors are open almost at all times. He prefers to sit quietly on his little blanket and stare inside hoping to see his owner.

“He’s extremely tame, docile and quiet,” said Osvaldo Palota Sobrinho, financial director at the hospital. “He just stares inside the hospital, like he’s waiting for somebody”.

The faithful dog’s story went viral last week when lawyer Cristine Sardella posted some photos of him on her Facebook page.

“We have a lot to learn from animals,” she wrote. “This dog stays every day at the door of the Santa Casa de novo Horizonte hospital waiting for its owner who unfortunately passed away. He may be waiting in vain, but the love he feels for his owner is eternal.”

After seeing the touching photos, the owner of a dog shelter in Sao Paolo offered to take the dog and find him a new owner. Only soon after being taken away, the dog returned to his station in front of the hospital. He had escaped and travelled over 3 kilometres to return tot he spot where he last saw his master.

Impressed by the animal’s devotion, Leticia Nawas Bertolucci, one of the receptionists at the hospital, decided to adopt him herself. He does look very happy with his new owner, but let’s see if she can keep him from coming back to the hospital.

This story reminds us of other incredibly loyal canines we’ve featured over the last 10 years, like Capitan, who has been waiting by his owner’s grave for over a decade, Huachito, “Bolivia’s most loyal dog”, or Negao, whose story is remarkably similar to the one presented above.