An Akita dog is once again in the news. Mame, an Akita dog, together with its owner will be awarded a distinguished service honor award for rescuing an elderly woman in Senboku, Akita Prefecture. The occasion will be held on March 23, according to the police.
Mame and its owner were walking along the road when the dog saw from a distance a woman slumped on the roadside. She alerted her owner on what she saw. Together they approached the woman and saw that she was in her 90s and was wearing pajamas.
The woman does not know her name or her address, so the dog owner told the staff at a convenience store nearby of what happened. They asked for help to contact any emergency personnel, who then brought the woman to the hospital.
Police authorities recognized the good deed extended by the owner and his dog, so they decided to give them a certificate of appreciation for what they had done. It is very rare that the police gives honor to a dog, but they want to give it to Mame for assisting and saving the life of an elderly lady.
In the past, Akita dogs have also received recognition. One well-known example is Hachiko, an Akita dog in the 1920s who loyally waited for his master in the Tokyo Shibuya Station. He did not know that his master has already died, but he kept on coming back to the station until his own death. His story even inspired a movie entitled “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” which starred Richard Gere as the master. A statue of Hachiko now stands in the busy district of Tokyo, Shibuya.
In 2018, Alina Zagitova, a Russian Olympic figure skating champion also received an Akita puppy during a ceremony witnessed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Moscow. It is part of the campaign to preserve the breed.
When she was alive, Heller Keller, US writer, and political activist loved dogs that included two Akita breeds. Her Akita pets were the first of their kind to be brought to the USA.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was also a recipient of an Akita puppy as a gift from the governor of the Akita Prefecture.
Watch the video below on Akita dogs.
Source: JVT-en via Youtube