Greek Stray Dog Stands Guard by His Fallen Friend in Heartbreaking Video

A stray dog stood guard by his fallen friend in the middle of the road in footage filmed on Monday on Crete.

The footage, shot by a female driver in Heraklion, shows the animal standing by his friend and not allowing anyone to come close. Apparently, he is protecting him from passing vehicles.

Συγκλονίζει η ιστορία δύο σκυλιών ,απόψε, στο Ηράκλειο
Το ένα έχασε τη ζωή του από αυτοκίνητο που το χτύπησε και το άλλο αρνείται να το εγκαταλείψει και εμποδίζει όποιον θέλει να πλησιάσει το φίλο του.😥😥😥 pic.twitter.com/GrS6KICFn8

— Marka2 (@Marka2_) January 23, 2023

“I am trying to approach, but his friend is not letting me,” the woman driver says in the footage. “I cannot offer any help,” the driver says in despair.

Greece has a perennial problem of stray cats and dogs. The country has one of the largest stray feline and canine populations in the world. The problem became ever more acute during the country’s prolonged debt crisis.

Animal rights activists estimate that Athens alone may have as many as two million stray cats and dogs. Management of such animals is the responsibility of local municipalities.

Similar incident in China went viral

In a similar incident that went viral earlier in January, two little dogs guarded an injured puppy in the middle of the road in Shanghai, China to protect the animal from oncoming vehicles.

Two small puppies guarded a third injured dog after finding themselves stranded in the middle of traffic.

Footage filmed in Shanghai, China on January 10th, shows the injured pup in the middle of the road with the two small dogs nearby.

The injured animal, which appears to be unable to move after being hit by a passing vehicle, can be seen dragging its hind legs, barely able to move forwards.

Luckily, by its side were two other pooches whose dogged determination kept passing cars at bay.

It is not clear whether the three dogs were rescued and removed from the road at a later time. The video was posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with the caption: “The dog is the most loyal friend of mankind, please be kind to it.”