Friday, April 16, 2010

Lessons in Loyalty: Ohio Retriever Waits Seven Days in Field with Deceased Owner

The body of an Ohio man was recovered Wednesday seven days after he went missing. Parley Nichols, 81 of Stark County, and his Golden Retriever Lady were found in a field outside of Hartville, Ohio. Mr. Nichols was in possession of a local newspaper dated April 7 when his body was discovered. He is believed to have died of natural causes.


According to local officials, Lady spent a week at the side of her master, leaving only to take sips of water from a nearby drainage ditch. His body was discovered only after Lady spotted a passerby and began barking and howling . Terry Nichols expressed relief at the news that Lady had stayed with his father until the very end - and beyond, refusing to leave his side until his body was discovered.

She is now in the care of family members.


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33 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:59 AM

    wow. now THAT'S a guardian angel. sweet. perfect. they don't make them like they used to with dogs like that.

    meanwhile, I could be hanging off a cliff by a thread and my dogs would be playing bitey face. sigh.

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  2. That's a Golden fur woo!

    I'm sure KT and his lady will agree!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  3. This is so amazing and touching!!
    Makes me wonder if any of my pups will do the same for me... (seriously DO NOT think so...) :P

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  4. I can't even express how deeply stories like this affect me. My heart aches for poor, sweet and devoted Lady. She must have been so scared, and sad that her master wasn't waking up. We humans clearly could learn A LOT about love and loyalty from dogs like Lady!

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  5. OMG, that's so sweet and touching. I think my Lucy would do the exact same thing. The others? No. But Lucy, yes.

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  6. Woof! Woof! reminds us of the movie HACHI. Loyalty n LOVE of a Dog to his owner. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  7. Such a sweet story. I highly doubt that mine would do the same....my story would be about the same as Wild Dingo. LOL

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  8. Such loyalty, such love - too bad more humans don't possess the same qualities.

    Woos - Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

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  9. Oh my! Makes my heart sad. I do believe my Billy would do the same thing though.

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  10. WOW....there is absolutely nothing to compared to being loved unconditionally by a DOG....
    Madi and Mom

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  11. Goldens are a breed apart!!! Thanks for sharing this one.

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  12. One of the many, many reasons our canine partners are totally freaking amazing! Human beans could learn so much if they payed a little closer attention to our 4 legged brothers and sisters.

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  13. Dogs never cease to amaze me.

    Thank you for sharing. I have always loved the true story of Greyfriars Bobby, which happened way back in time, in Edinburgh, near us. There is a statue of him now. I hope Lady gets some equal recognition for her love and loyalty. She truly is a Golden Girl.

    lotsaluv, Jeannie and Marvin xx

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  14. Goldens are such fabulous dogs!!! If it was a story that had you fill in the breed of the dog, I would have definitely put in the Golden.

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  15. A whole week? That is an amazing story!

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  16. Dogs. Truly our best friends. Loyalty counts in life. Dogs teach it the best.

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  17. That touches my heart in so many ways. It's sad that the man passed away but so sweet and loyal for his dog to stay with him constantly. It just shows the loyalty of dogs and how much they really love you. Debbie and Holly

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  18. Good thing it was a Golden Retriever. A Siberian Husky would have rooted through his pockets for loose change. Just saying.

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  19. aww.what a wonderful dog. This is another great dog story just like "Hachiko".

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  20. Very touching story. I love to hear about these it brings a smile to my face!

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  21. That's so sweet! And yet, she must be missing him terribly!

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  22. Oh my goodness! That is so touching. I'm glad she's in a good home now. That must have been so hard for her.

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  23. Our Dad has said that if he passes and no one comes for a while we can have him for dinner.

    Remy and Flash

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  24. A wonderful story. He must have been a good man to earn such love and devotion from his dog.

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  25. That is so amazing! Mr. Nicols was lucky to have such a devoted dog! May he rest in peace. Thanks for sharing.

    Love,
    Homer

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  26. I could totally see my larger chihuahua doing this. I've had him since he was a puppy and he can't stand to be away from me. If I close the door to use the bathroom or take a shower, he gets upset. He doesn't need to be near me every second, he just thinks he needs to know he can get to me if he needs/wants to.

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  27. Anonymous11:44 PM

    Oh yeah. Our dogs would eat us after a day.

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  28. You know my heart is filled after reading this...and some people are never fortunate enough to experience that bond...beautiful!

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  29. I never get tired of hearing how a dog demonstrates their loyalty to their owner.

    Chester's Mom ;0=)

    PS-not that I want to test him but I sometimes wonder what Chester would do in such an instance.

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  30. I'm in Ohio right now and met some dear friends last night for dinner, who just happened to be previous neighbors of Parley and Lady... we were amazed at Lady's devotion, and so very touched. I'm so happy that family members have taken her in!!

    Hartville is the sweetest of small towns (you would love it!) and mom and I were there Thursday morning... a visit to Hartville Coin and then a quick detour to the Amish bakery next door for some deelish boston cream pie, chocolate candy and BREAD. Um, um, um!! I think we're going back on Tuesday so I can p/u some yummies to take back home to the hubby...

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