Devoted dog wins hearts after spending days outside hospital waiting for owner


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A pet dog in Turkey is gaining worldwide attention for her heart-winning devotion.

For nearly a week, the loyal Boncuk waited outside a hospital where her owner was receiving treatment. A video of the cream-coloured dog lingering outside the hospital entrance is making rounds on social media.

On January 14, Boncuk followed the ambulance that transported her owner, Cemal Senturk, to a hospital in the northern Turkish city of Trabzon. Despite being taken home by Senturk’s daughter, Boncuk would run off from her apartment and return to the nearby hospital daily.

“She comes every day around 9am and waits until nightfall. She doesn’t go in,” Muhammet Akdeniz, a security guard from the hospital, told news agency DHA. Instead, he added, she would simply poke her head inside whenever the door opened.

During the time that her owner was in the hospital, Boncuk would communicate with him through the hospital window. Murat Ercan, the hospital’s international patient centre director, told CNN that Boncuk has been Senturk’s pet for nine years. He added that during her daily visits, the pooch had earned the “love and affection of the whole staff”.

After spending five days waiting in front of the hospital, Boncuk was reunited with her owner Cemal Senturk on Wednesday. DHA via AP
After spending five days waiting in front of the hospital, Boncuk was reunited with her owner Cemal Senturk on Wednesday. DHA via AP

Last week, on January 20, Senturk and Boncuk’s reunion was caught on video, with the pooch excitedly jumping to greet her owner as he exited the facility in a wheelchair.

“She’s very used to me. And I miss her, too, constantly,” Senturk told DHA.

This isn’t the first time that a pet has been recognised for its devotion. In 1925, a Japanese Akita dog Hachiko waited for his owner at a Tokyo train station for more than nine years. His owner, Hideasburo Ueno, was a university professor who commuted to work every day, with Hachiko accompanying him to the station and greeting him when he returned.

The professor died unexpectedly after suffering a stroke at work, but Hachiko kept coming back to the Shibuya station every day just as his owner's train was scheduled to arrive. Today, a number of bronze statues have been erected in places around Japan to honour Hachiko's loyalty.

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Read more:

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Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.

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10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
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16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps

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Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

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  • Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
  • Park in shaded or covered areas
  • Add tint to windows
  • Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
  • Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
  • Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat