Faithful Friend (Fido) Fuji

There was once a dog in Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy. He was rescued and nursed to health in 1941 by a Tuscan brickyard worker named Carlo Soriano.  Soriano named the dog Fido or "faithful". 

Fido would go to the bus stop every day in the morning with Soriano as he departed for work and would wait for him to return home to the same spot each evening. In December of 1943 Soriano's factory was hit in a World War II bombing raid and Carlo was killed.

For many years Fido returned to the bus stop each evening, patiently waiting for his friend to appear. Fido's story became national news. In 1957 the town of Borgo San Lorenzo erected a statue in Fido's honor, as a tribute to his fidelity. 

Fido died at the bus stop in 1958. He was buried alongside Carlo Soriano. 

Fido's story in many ways parallels that of Hachiko, an Akita similarly devoted to his owner Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo.

This drawing is from November, 2007.

Faithful Friend (Fido) Fuji
4 x 5 "
Graphite on Paper
Photo by Jay York