By Pamela Kimberg
Squeak, the 14-year-old Jack Russell terrier photographed lying next to the dead body of his murdered owner, Zimbabwean farmer Terry Ford, has touched the hearts of newspaper readers all over South Africa.
Ford was about 20km west of Harare on Monday when he was dragged from his car by a group of "war veterans", beaten senseless then shot in the face.
A photograph published on the front page of Tuesday's edition of The Star newspaper shows Squeak lying on the bloodstained blue bedspread covering Ford's corpse.
| Squeak refused to leave Terry's side |
Since the morning edition of the newspaper went on sale on Tuesday, press offices in Johannesburg and Harare have been inundated with phone calls from concerned animal lovers wanting to know what happened to the devoted dog.
A woman who called the Sapa office asked for details of his whereabouts, as she wanted to drive to Zimbabwe to fetch him.
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A journalist in Harare - who asked not to be named - said people had called him from places as far afield as Port Elizabeth and Durban to find out if the Jack Russell had been hurt.
According to Zimbabwean NSPCA spokeswoman Meryl Harrison, the little dog is alive and well and in the care of Ford's girlfriend.
"Squeak refused to leave Terry's side," Harrison said.
| The owner is behaving in a way that the dog can't relate to |
She also said Ford's other two dogs - Border Collies - had been taken to the NSPCA in Chegutu where personnel had undertaken to find them homes.
Harrison said the work of the NSPCA movement in Zimbabwe was becoming increasingly difficult as violence escalated.
Well-known Johannesburg vet and radio personality Dr Platzhund said animals in Squeak's situation would probably experience separation anxiety.
"That dog had a long-standing bond with its owner and now the owner is behaving in a way that the dog can't relate to. The dog will obviously react in an insecure way."
He said there were well-documented cases of dogs that had kept a vigil next to their dead owners.
"In my experience however, the animal might pine for a few weeks, but it will recover in the end. Pining indefinitely is something that a human might do... but it goes against an animals' survival instincts." - Sapa
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