A Tear Jerker

Hachi

The after taste of the show stays with you for a while after you have watched it. It tells of the relationship between a master and his dog which some human beings may not be capable of.

Apparently this is no fiction but a documentary of the life of a dog of the Akita breed in Japan. The suave Richard Gere who is so natural in whatever roles he plays adds the warmth and touch that is so needed in the expression of a master's love for his dog.

Watch the movie to grasp the reality of the relationship so well-played by both man and beast. You will wonder who taught the dog to act. Anyway, the great devotion and loyalty that the dog has for its master is depicted in his daily walk with his master to the train station everyday before and after work. So, for sure when the master returns from work each evening, he would see Hachi waiting patiently and devoutly each day. The neighbourhood has long embraced and understood the strong relationship between the 2 and showed some envy?

This is the spot that Hachi would wait for his master every evening.

They say dogs have strange senses and can detect sicknesses and unforeseen mishaps especially if it affects their master. So, one morning Hachi did the most unlikely act of catching a tennis ball which a dog of the Akita breed will not concede to do under normal circumstances in an apparent effort to stop the master from going to work. The master did not catch Hachi's unsaid gesture and went ahead to work and later to collapse to death.

So the day arrived when Hachi's fears came true. His master never returned by the train again but despite being persuaded by the master's daughter to put up with her, Hachi would somehow find his way back to the same spot to wait for his master's return for a good 10 years. His devotion and loyalty caught the community's attention and all around him fed him but were never able to gain his devotion. Hachi could never bring himself to have a new master.

In his undying devotion for his master he would wait at the same spot as if to show his total loyalty. Even the master's wife was touched after her return to the county after 10 years to find Hachi still waiting. That scenario caught me to the core as I felt the depth of love and devotion shown by Hachi for his master. Even human beings may not be capable of Hachi's style of devotion. No wonder it is said that a dog is very often a man's friend till the very end.

The story goes that Hachi died on the same spot that he waited for his master's return in the train station and as a mark of respect for this special relationship between the dog and his master, a statue was erected by the local folks to remember by.

The show saw both mother and daughter weeping freely to the anguish of dad who could not understand why women cry so easily. He doesn't understand. We women read in between the lines and are more capable of deep feelings. He kept moving his head from left to right and rolled his eyes when I wanted to blog about it. He failed to understand even more and said :

"What for?"

Watch the show. It may teach you some untold values in life.