It is rightly said that dogs are man's best friend.
A canine companion has once again proven this by his unmatched loyalty.
In India's Himachal Pradesh, a dog stood and guarded his master's body from wild animals amid snow for 48 hours.
The incident is from Bir-Billing, where Alpha, a German Shepherd stood guard over his human Abhinandan Gupta and his friend Parnita Bal Sahib's bodies at the daunting height of 9,000 feet.
Pune residents Gupta and his friend Sahib, as per a Tribune India report had gone to the popular tourist destination Billing on Sunday (Feb 4th) afternoon by a private car.
While returning to their base camp at Chogan near Bir, the friends due to heavy snow left their car midway and started making their way on foot along with the dog, Alpha.
But the duo reportedly slipped due to the snow and fell into a deep gorge.
Footprints at the scene of the incident suggests that they tried to climb out of the gorge, but failed.
They died there, probably due to the acute cold and injuries.
A rescue team comprising paragliders and the police found their bodies with Alpha keeping guard over them.
While they had signs of attack by wild animals, the dog kept their bodies from being taken away by wild animals like black bear and leopards.
He was found wailing next to them.
An official said that "Alpha's continuous wailing reflected his desperation and grief as if he was hoping that the team would save his master.
Alpha too had sustained injuries, but he survived and continued to guard the bodies for 48 hours till Tuesday when rescue team reached on the spot."
As per the report, Abhinandan Gupta's brother-in-law reported that the friends were missing.
The duo was missing since Sunday, and their phones were switched off.
After a frantic search of around two days they were found lying dead deep in the forest with Alpha by their side.
"They were last spotted on a ridge by some other tourists.
So, two teams were sent on either side of the hill.
Finally, their bodies were found with the German shepherd sitting guard for the last 48 hours," said an official with the rescue team.
Alpha the dog was also injured.
He allowed the rescue team to recover the body and accompanied them to Bir.
"In Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh, a touching scene unfolded.
Two trackers lost their life , but their faithful German Shepherd stood watch for 2 days until help arrived.
Even afterward, the dog's plaintive cries rejected food.
Dogs, like this faithful companion, embody the… pic.twitter.com/wyLpRHWGSu
Abhinandan's family as per the report have reached Baijnath to collect the bodies. From there, the deceased along with the German Shepherd will be taken to Pathankot.
Talking to Tribune, Bir SHO Dalip Saklani described the scene as "heart-wrenching" and said that the police found the dog crying and guarding the body of its owner.
(With inputs from agencies)