Dog Names Meaning Faithful

There are numerous accounts of dogs and how they exhibit faithfulness to their owners. However, one that stood the test of time is the story of Fido. The Italian dog, whose name means “faithful” in Latin, became widely recognized due to his display of steadfast loyalty to his dead owner.

Fido was believed to be born around fall of 1941 in a small town called Luco di Mugello, located in the Borgo San Lorenzo municipality of Florence, Italy. On the evening of November 1941, a man named Carlo Soriani found an injured dog during his routine walk going home. With no one coming to claim the dog, Soriani decided to bring the dog with him to his house. Together with his wife, Soriani took care of the dog until he regained his full health. Having grown fond of the dog, the couple decided to formally adopt the dog. He was named Fido, which comes from the Latin word meaning “faithful”.

With Fido growing strong and healthy, he followed Soriani to the bus stop in the town’s central square, where Soriani would board the bus to his job. Fido will then wait at the square throughout the day. When the bus would return, Fido would be by the stop, greeting Soriani and walking with him back to their home. This became a daily routine for Fido and his owner – walking to the bus stop together in the morning and reuniting in the evening, making their way back home.

Unfortunately, this was the period when World War II was ongoing, in which Italy was a participant. On December 30, 1943, the small town was caught in the crossfire and several factories were bombarded, including that of Soriani’s, which resulted in his death. On that same day, Fido was waiting at the bus stop but Soriani did not show up until Fido returned home on his own. The dog, however, kept coming back to the square for the next fourteen years, hoping that Soriani will come to their usual meeting place, but to no avail.

The story of Fido’s unwavering faithfulness to his master gained both local and international media recognition. Numerous publications, including Time and Italian magazines Grand Hotel and Gente ran stories of Fido. His story also caught the attention of the town mayor, who awarded Fido a gold medal on November 9, 1957. On the same year, a statue of Fido was created by sculptor Salvatore Cipolla and erected in Piazza Dante. On June 9, 1958, Fido succumbed to old age and died still waiting for Soriani. A front-page story of his death was published in La Nazione.

Staying true to his name, Fido passed without giving up his faith on his owner. His story remains to be one of Italy’s most poignant legends and he is remembered as one of the most loyal dogs in history.