Published August 12, 2008 04:01PM
A dog’s loyalty to its owner remains a well-documented fact, but apparently that loyalty can go beyond the grave: A German shepherd named Cash hung around her master’s body in Colorado’s Pawnee National Grassland for six weeks after he died of an apparent suicide. Officials now believe the dog stuck around to protect the body from coyotes and other scavengers.
Investigators found evidence indicating Cash survived by eating mice and rabbits while in the wild. When searchers found the dog, she was described as thin and dehydrated, but friendly.
Searchers had been looking for a missing LaSalle, Colo. man for six weeks, but hadn’t found anything in the 200,000-acre grassland. A rancher who saw the dog led searchers to the body. The deceased man’s gun lying nearby led investigators to rule the death a suicide.
The man’s widow picked up Cash from a Humane Society shelter, and while the overall outcome is no doubt grim, Cash provides one more silver lining: Her 2-year-old son is very fond of the dog.
Sara Baysinger has a 2-year-old son, Lane, who was happy to see Cash come home. “He’s very close to that dog,” Sara Baysinger said. “He’s very happy to see (Cash).”
— Ted Alvarez
German shepherd guards her owner for 6 weeks after he dies (Greeley Tribune)