Hachiko: A Dog's Story

A truly inspiring story:  A showcase of identity and admirable loyalty that persists even after a loved one has passed.  It goes to show that a routine, which when repeated many times, latches into the brain.  In my case, for instance, details of things I'm proficient in, escape me.  They are memorable but they are subconsciously being dragged out to the surface. A creature, like a dog, who does not live through every day human life worries cherishes small details and embraces them because they are links to that emotional bonds that forms between them and their owner. 

"During his owner's life Hachikō saw him out 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 did not 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."

 The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait. This continued for 10 years, with Hachikō appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station.

This statue was erected in 1935 at Shibuya Station.

His stuffed and mounted remains are kept at the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo.

Blue and Indy, like always, added their own sound effects throughout the movie.  Unfortunately they are not skilled Foley artists and snoring does not go well during a dog running scene, but luckily it fit just okay in the school dancing rehearsal scene.

Did you know that Hachi means 8 in Japanese? Or that Blue's dad's name is Hutchie.  Starsky and Hutch inspired but phonetically pronounced identically.

Here is just a random snap of our cucarachas: