Dogs and loyalty

[Gob]

A SILKY terrier who remained by the side of his dead master in the WA bush for almost five weeks has been found alive and is being cared for by his owner's friends.



In the ultimate act of loyalty, the dog, called Mitzi, was found alive next to the body of a man police believe is missing Bridgetown bushwalker Wayne Cornelius Coughlan.

Mr Coughlan, 64, was reported missing on May 4 after a friend visited his home and could not find him.

One of his dogs, a Jack Russell named Chester, was found on Peninsular Road, Bridgetown, five days later.

Police said a pig hunter discovered Mr Coughlan's body last night about 6km north of where he was last seen.

Mitzi has been reunited with Chester and is being cared for by friends.

"All of the circumstances indicate the deceased is the missing man from Bridgetown - Wayne Coughlan, however formal identification will need to be completed - most likely by DNA analysis which may take a number of weeks,'' spokeswoman Susan Usher said.

"The body was located approximately 6km north of where Mr Coughlan was last seen. Mitzi is being cared for by friends and has been reunited with (the Jack Russell) Chester.''

A pig hunter discovered a man's body on a bush track late yesterday.

Police don't believe foul play was involved in the man's death.

Read more: http://www.perthnow.com.au/national-new ... z2VZRJoHV5

[dales]

Man's Best Friend

[MajGenl.Meade]

...and surely we don't expect that the dog survived by eating bits of .... no, of course we don't?

[dales]

That's feline behaviour.

I've no doubt my cat wouldn't hesitate to feast upon my bloated corpse if the circumstances availed themselves.

[rubato]

There was a quote from a forensic pathologist who said that if you died (or just stopped moving) in a locked apartment with cats they would start trying to eat you within a day, while dogs would wait a few days, out of decency. I think that story came up when a woman collapsed with a stroke and wasn't found for a few days during which her cats ate her ear lobes and some miscellaneous bits. IIR she was conscious but could not move.


yrs,
rubato

[Joe Guy]

...cats they would start trying to eat you within a day, while dogs would wait a few days, out of decency....

The dog in the house with a dead owner would say to the cat, "My master is dead, I need to go out and find my own food."

The cat would reply "You can't see the forest for the trees. Why go out for dinner when we have food here at home?"

[rubato]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/rea ... eir-owners

I was attending the 1992 American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference in New Orleans and a forensic pathologist related the following story (paraphrased as best as memory will serve): "Sometimes, when an individual living alone dies unexpectedly, several days may pass before anyone takes notice. Some of these individuals may own a dog or a cat, which will go unfed. In my experience, a dog may go for several days before finally resorting to eating the owner's body. A cat, on the other hand, will only wait a day or two. Just goes to show you which is more loyal. So, the next time you're falling asleep on the couch with the football game on, take a look at your cat. He's not watching you because he's enamored of you; he's checking to see if your chest is still moving." Oh, those wacky pathologists.

It was on the internet so it has to be true.

[MajGenl.Meade]

A SILKY terrier who remained by the side of his dead master in the WA bush for almost five weeks

In my experience, a dog may go for several days before finally resorting to eating the owner's body.

Loyalty my ass. (And ear lobes, fingers, liver, left boob etc)