Dog ‘waited outside hospital’ in rain for owner – not realising they’d passed away

A loyal dog waited outside the hospital where she last saw her owner for 10 days in the pouring rain, not knowing her human had passed away.

Healthcare workers at Martin Luther King Hospital in Compton, California, described the heart-wrenching scene that unraveled at the door of their healthcare unit.

It occurred after a patient arrived at the hospital in critical human in an ambulance that the pet had followed from their nearby home.

Desperate to see her human walk out of the emergency doors, the pup waited eagerly outside, but days passed without any sign of the owner.

Suzette Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy dog rescue, told The Dodo: “Security watched the dog follow the ambulance […] to the emergency room. She tried to go in, but they wouldn’t let her.”

Little did the pup know that her human had already passed away, leaving hospital workers desperate about how to communicate the news to her.

“She didn’t know, so she just kept waiting,” Hall explained. “Every time someone would walk out, she would look to see if they were her dad, but they never were.

“This sweet little baby girl literally waiting 10 days. All the nurses and doctors were trying to help her, but she just wouldn’t let anybody get her.

“We had this horrible hurricane warning and bad rain, but she waited. She slept there in the rain. She’s so loyal.”

As staff grew increasingly concerned about the dog, who had no shelter or food, they eventually alerted an animal rescue center to her case. 

The pup – later named Hilary – was saved from the hospital after 10 days of staring at the doors of the A&E department. 

Hall was acutely aware of the dog’s grief and did everything she could to appease the pup’s suffering, noting: “The saddest part is, even after I trapped her, she was still looking straight ahead at the emergency room door, like, ‘He’s gotta be coming out. It was such an emotional rescue.”

The pup was brought to the Camino Pet Hospital where she was treated and helped to heal with the love and care from hospital staff.

“She’s still mourning, but we’re going to find her the perfect home. She just needs to heal first,” Hall noted.