Lifestyle

Devoted dog waits six days outside Turkish hospital for sick owner

23 Jan 2021

Devoted dog Boncuk looks for his owner at the entrance of a medical care facility in the Black Sea city of Trabzon. AP

Gulf Today Report

A small, mix-breed dog named Boncuk (pronounced Bon-DJUK) in Turkey has proven that the phrase dog is a ‘man’s best friend’ holds true.

The faithful dog patiently waited for her owner outside a hospital in Turkey for almost a week until he was released after undergoing treatment for a brain condition.

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Boncuk, which means bead in reference to her hazel eyes, followed the ambulance that transported her owner, Cemal Senturk, to a hospital in the Black Sea city of Trabzon on Jan.14.

Senturk was taken to hospital after a brain embolism, according to Reuters.

She then began making daily visits to the facility, keeping vigil outside the entrance, returning every morning thereafter.

She was occasionally fed by the hospital staff, as per Associated Press.

Cemal Senturk, owner of Boncuk, outside the medical care facility in Trabzon. AP

Hospital security guard Muhammet Akdeniz told DHA: "She comes every day around 9 am and waits until nightfall. She doesn’t go in.

"When the door opens she pokes her head inside,” he said.

The pooch was rewarded for her loyalty with an emotional reunion when her 68-year-old owner was finally discharged.

"She doesn't pose a danger to anyone. Everybody noticed the relationship between the dog and her owner. It makes everybody happy," the hospital's communications director Fuat Ugur said.

Senturk's daughter, Aynur Egeli, tried to take the dog home several times, but in vain. Boncuk would repeatedly run away from home and return to the hospital, according to her.

When Senturk finally left the hospital this week, an overjoyed Boncuk ran alongside his wheelchair, jumping up to be petted and wagging her tail.

"She’s very used to me. And I miss her, too, constantly,” Senturk told DHA.

"It makes a person very happy. The dog is very close to us, like a human being, and it makes you happy," he said, now finally having been reunited with his beloved dog and returning home with her.