VILLA CARLOS PAZ — In 2005, Damián Guzmán, a resident of Villa Carlos Paz, in central Argentina, gave his son Miguel a present: a German shepherd mix they named Capitán.
Miguel died a year later and was buried nearby, and Capitán left the house soon afterwards. The family assumed the dog was lost or that someone had taken him — until one day they found him sitting by Miguel’s tomb in the city’s cemetery.
And he has been sitting there ever since, going back to the house from time to time, but only to visit.
Back in 2012, we had translated an article from the Buenos Aires daily Clarín about this unique dog-man bond. Well, the Argentine daily has gone back to check up on Capitán. And yes, the loyal pooch is maintaining his vigil, now going on more than seven years. The shepherd is getting old now, and you can see his breathing getting heavy in the video below. But overall, the family says he’s well.
The city council initially looked after him — perhaps for the international interest he had aroused — but later stopped. So neighbors started bringing him food, and he even had an eye operation in 2013, paid for by the locals and cemetery employees who care for him.
Several television crews have come to film him, and there were even talks of a movie.
One cemetery employee told Clarín: “I have tried to lead him away several times, but he always comes back. He is with his owner every single night.”
