23 year old dies of suicide in AP; her pet dog refuses to leave without the owner

Woman dies by jumping off Yanam bridge, dog sits by footwear waiting for her to return

Kanchana was accompanied to the bridge by her dog, which was seen waiting for its human by her footwear for more than a day.

BySumavarsha Kandula

Published Jul 18, 2023 | 9:05 PM ⚊UpdatedJul 18, 2023 | 9:06 PM

Pet dog awaits owners return. (KP_Aashish/ Twitter)

Had 23-year-old Mandagi Kanchana known how much her dog loved her, things could have been different.

A resident of the Kanakalapet village, Kanchana went to the Yanam-Yedurlanka bridge over the Godavari River in Puducherry’s Yanam after an altercation with her mother, reportedly over a relationship, on Sunday, 16 July. Her dog happily followed.

Unlike their earlier outings, the young woman removed her footwear on the bridge.

She clambered up the railing and tossed herself into the water.

The dog, however, waited for Kanchana’s return and kept guard over her footwear.

A video of the canine near her footwear went viral on social media.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.

A pet dog continued to wait for the owner after she jumps into river Godavari in Ambedkar Konaseema Dist. On Sunday locals noticed the pet dog, who was found waiting for her at the bridge where she left… pic.twitter.com/x4E6vpO4DL

— Ashish (@KP_Aashish) July 18, 2023

The episode brought back memories of Hachiko, a Japanese dog of the Akita breed who became famous after waiting for its master at a railway station for over a decade after his death.

Hachikō's ashes were buried beside Ueno’s in Tokyo. After nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachikō was finally reunited with his beloved owner he missed so much. For his perseverance and loyalty, we bestow upon Hachikō the extremely rare (and long overdue) 15/10 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/CglypMR2mO

— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) July 13, 2023

The incident

Yanam Sub-Inspector Nookaraju told South First that Kanchana went to the bridge with her dog.

“Passersby thought she was there for a walk, as the place is also a tourist attraction. However, everyone was shocked when she jumped off the bridge. Though the police immediately launched rescue operations, we couldn’t save her due to the high tide,” he said.

“We found her body with the help of the marine police, and handed it over to her family on Tuesday after a post-mortem examination,” the inspector added.

The police said that the deceased had completed her Class 10 and had been helping her mother run a small food stall.

Kanchana also did some tailoring jobs to supplement the family’s income.

The police said she called her mother as well as a sister who resides in Kakinada to tell them that she was ending her life and going to her father, who had passed away a year ago.

The dog guarded her footwear till 17 July.

“When passersby tried to move the dog from its place, it barked at them, refusing to leave the area where its human was last seen,” Nookaraju said.

Finally, Kanchana’s brother managed to coax the dog back home on Monday night.