END OF LONGING | Morgan waits outside the morgue of the Manila Central University Hospital where he last saw his master. (Photo from the Animal Kingdom Foundation)
MANILA, Philippines — A dog’s loyalty is best immortalized by the story of Hachiko, the Japanese dog who, after his owner’s sudden demise, always returned in the evenings to Shibuya Station in Tokyo, expecting him to return.
This is the same loyalty even beyond death that an aspin or “asong Pinoy” had apparently demonstrated after his owner died of COVID-19 in 2022.
According to the staff, students, and security guards of Manila Central University (MCU) Hospital, the dog continued to wait for his owner outside the morgue more than a year after his death. Soon they named him “Morgan” after that area.
Based on accounts gathered by the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF), his owner’s family had attempted to bring Morgan home, but the dog seemed to have found solace in his vigil outside the morgue, refusing to leave the place where he last saw his owner.
“Hospital staff, medical representatives, guards, secretaries, and even the doctors all share for his food. They created a community, sharing care and love for Morgan,” Heidi Caguioa, AKF president and program director, told the Inquirer in an interview last week.
Morgan was eventually taken to a rehabilitation center in Tarlac (right) and learned to adjust to his new home. (Photo from the Animal Kingdom Foundation)
Wary of impounding
“The MCU staff loved and cared for Morgan. They knew the story of Morgan. The love and affection we get from the animals are also a balm in the often stressful and hectic environment of a hospital,” she said.
Caguioa said the hospital staff members were afraid that Morgan “may be taken and impounded because he was already a ‘senior’ (in dog years). They felt that he would need more love, affection, warmth, and safety of a family, or at least a shelter. Because of the fear that impounding personnel would get wind of Morgan, the hospital staff made sure he was protected.”
Despite the sadness that people saw in the dog, he would approach them if they offered him food and water — or he would wag his tail, look at them, and stay with them for a while.
Thanks to a medical sales representative who saw Morgan and posted about the dog on social media, the AKF learned about his condition.
AKF mainly campaigns against animal cruelty and for maintaining a harmonious environment for humans and animals. It particularly calls for the end of the dog meat trade in the Philippines and has partnered with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police, and other agencies to make sure laws on animal welfare are enforced.
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From Manila to Tarlac
Last month, as Morgan’s story went viral, AKF staff and volunteers succeeded in removing the dog — by now used to being approached by total strangers — from his waiting spot at MCU.
The dog went with the group willingly, as though ending his period of longing and grief. (The AKF tried but failed to locate Morgan’s human family.)
He was taken all the way to Capas, Tarlac province, where the foundation runs a rescue and rehabilitation center. There he was first treated for a blood parasite and anemia and has since been on antibiotics and vitamins.
“He was quiet when he arrived. Possibly trying to get to know the people and the place where he would be for a while,’’ Caguioa said. “After a few days, he started wagging his tail and started to walk around and explore, possibly curious about the grass and the presence of other dogs around him.”
Perhaps, she said, Morgan wanted to be rescued and brought “home.”
“He can stay at the center until he is ready for adoption,” the AKF president said, adding that the foundation has since received “a lot of applications” from people who wish to be Morgan’s next family.