'Tis The Season

The leading Mental Health Break is the following:

A reader emails to note another celebrated moment of canine love:

        In 1924, HachikÅ, an akito dog, was brought to Tokyo by his owner, HidesaburÃ… Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life HachikÃ… saw him off 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 didn't return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.        HachikÅ was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. After time, HachikÅ 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, HachikÅ waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn't see his friend among the commuters at the station.       

The permanent fixture at the train station that was HachikÃ… attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen HachikÃ… and Professor Ueno together each day. Realizing that HachikÃ… waited in vigil for his dead master, their hearts were touched. They brought HachikÃ… treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for 10 years, with HachikÃ… appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station.

Yes, I know he wasn't a beagle, but by Year 7, he was doing it for the treats, you fools!