A dog that has been waiting in the middle of a road for more than 80 days for its owner to return has sparked an outpouring of emotion on Chinese social media, after video emerged of the pet standing guard near where its owner was reportedly killed.
The state-owned China News Agency reported the dog in the city of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, had been sitting by the guard rail in the middle of the road for almost three months.
A reporter from the agency, who visited the site, said dog-lovers had been leaving food for the dog by the road.
Pear Video, a popular news platform in China that specialises in short-form clips, reported the dog had been waiting there since its owner died on August 21.
Footage of the loyal canine published by Pear Video went viral on China's Weibo social media site this week, and was viewed more than 1.4 million times.
The dog appears to get scared and move back when people try to approach it.
"I'm going to cry. Doggy, she won't come back. Find another good owner and live well," one Weibo user wrote.
Some expressed concern about the animal's welfare, hoping drivers would be careful to avoid the dog as they drove past.
Other social media users were quick to compare the pet to Japan's famous Hachiko, the Akita dog that waited for its dead owner for more than nine years outside a train station in 1920s Tokyo.
China News Agency reported local volunteers were trying to contact relatives of the dog's owner. If that fails, they will find a safe place for the pet.
