Rescue workers would later say the dog appeared neither frantic nor aggressive, only fixed in its purpose. - VIDIT SHARMA/X via ST/ANN
NEW DELHI: In the almost merciless mountains of India’s northern Himachal Pradesh state, a search-and-rescue team found a small, motionless figure in the snow.
Beside him sat a dog.
For nearly four days, it had not left the dead boy’s side.
The boy was identified by news media as 13-year-old Piyush Kumar. He and his 19-year-old cousin, identified as Vikas Rana, set out on Jan 23 on what was meant to be a simple outing – a visit to the Bharmani Mata temple in Bharmour town, some filming, a shared adventure in a place they knew.
They carried a tent and sleeping gear.
Vikas loved the outdoors; he often filmed his treks. But in the mountains, plans are fragile.
Snow began to fall. Winds rose. Paths vanished beneath snow drifts. Temperatures dropped to deadly levels.
When the boys did not return, their families called for help.
Search teams climbed into worsening weather. Drones scanned white expanses. Helicopters circled when visibility allowed. Days passed.
On the morning rescuers reached the area where the boys were last traced, they saw signs of a camp – a tent, equipment half-buried in snow. Then, near a tree, they found Piyush.
And the dog.
Rescue workers would later say the dog appeared neither frantic nor aggressive, only fixed in its purpose.
It had endured the same biting winds, the same isolation, the same freezing nights. No food. No shelter beyond what the snow offered. Still, it stayed, as if keeping a promise no one had heard it make.
The rescuers approached carefully. The dog barked, a final act of protection, before it was gently secured. It was airlifted down with the boy’s body.
Later, officials said the animal was handed back to the family.
Vikas’ body was recovered nearby.
One commenter on X said the story brought to mind Hachiko, the Akita dog that, for nearly a decade, returned each day to Tokyo’s Shibuya Station after his owner’s death, waiting in the same spot for his master who would never come home.
Many praised dogs in general for how deeply loyal they can be.
A post widely shared on TikTok read: “In a world where humans often fail each other, a dog showed what true love, devotion and loyalty look like, staying till the very end, guarding the ones he loved, even in death.”
“They say dogs are angels without wings,” one TikTok user commented on the post.
Another remarked: “God, we don’t deserve dogs.” - The Straits Times/ANN
