She is moved to see a now-elderly Hachi taking his usual position at the station. On the tenth anniversary of Parker's death, Cate returns to visit her husband's grave. Ken speaks to Hachi in Japanese: He too, misses his friend. Ken reads the piece and comes to town to help, only to learn how the community loves Hachi. The hot dog seller, Jasjeet, and others feed him. After a reporter writes a story about him, people send cards and money to the station. He licks her hand and runs to the station.Įvery day at 5 p.m., Hachi waits for his best friend. Andy and Michael find him and bring him home, but Andy realizes the dog is pining for Parker and opens the gate. One day, he escapes and follows the train tracks to Bedridge. Hachi goes to live with Andy and Michael and their baby, Ronnie. While Parker's human friends and family gather at his funeral, Hachi goes to the station to wait.Ĭate sells the house and moves away. Parker is holding the ball when he suffers a fatal stroke in his classroom and dies. Hachi barks and barks and watches the train leave. After they play for a while, Parker puts the ball in his pocket. One winter morning, Hachi behaves strangely, but then follows Parker to the station with a ball, and, to Parker's delight, fetches it for the first time. Eventually, Andy announces that she is pregnant. When their daughter Andy marries Michael, Hachi is in the family wedding photo. If Hachi fetches, it will be for a special reason. Amused, Ken explains that Akitas cannot be bought. Parker tries in vain to train Hachi to do normal dog things like fetching. A daily routine begins: They walk to the station together, Hachi goes home, and he returns when Parker's train is due, at 5 p.m. The dog somehow knew when Parker was due home. Parker is surprised to find Hachi waiting for him and even more surprised to learn that he has not been waiting all day. That afternoon, Hachi hears the train horn and jumps the fence. He leaves Hachi with Cate and gets the next one. He refuses to go home Parker misses the train. One spring morning, Hachi, now grown, digs under the fence and follows Parker to the station. Parker's wife, Cate, eventually warms to the dog-but Hachi sleeps outside in his own shed. Ken, a Japanese professor friend, tells Parker that the dog is a breed called an Akita and that the Japanese character on his collar tag is the number eight-'hachi'. The puppy remains unclaimed, and the two grow close while he takes it everywhere with him. (The audience sees that it was freighted from a Japanese monastery to the United States and that the basket's tag was torn in transit.) Parker Wilson, a professor of music who commutes to nearby Providence, Rhode Island, finds a lost puppy on the station platform in Bedridge and takes him home for the night.

When Ronnie gives a presentation at school about a personal hero, he tells the story of his grandfather and his dog, Hachiko.

Hachi a dogs tale poster