A loyal dog was seen sat waiting at the door for his owner to return – not knowing she’d been killed and would never come home.
The pet is reportedly named Chato and belonged to Mexican journalist, Lourdes Maldonado Lopez, who was murdered on Sunday.
She was shot in her car in the Las Villas neighbourhood of Tijuana, in the Mexican state of Baja California where she lived on the border with the US state of California.
She had just won a lawsuit for unfair dismissal from a broadcaster owned by the former governor of the state of Baja California, and was killed after saying she feared for her life.
Ms Maldonado, who was believed to often look after stray cats and dogs, was found dead after emergency services responded to reports of gunshots in the area.
The neighbours found it suspicious that her car was stationary with the engine on for around 40 minutes.
Ms Maldonado was found dead in a red saloon style car, which had window broken by bullets on the driver’s side.
Police are currently investigating the murder and no one has yet been arrested.
Ms Maldonado successfully sued news organisation Primer Sistema de Noticias – owned by former Baja California state governor Jaime Bonilla – on January 19 for unfair dismissal, after she was fired several years ago.
She had been registered in the State Mechanism for the Protection of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders since last year.
The journalist told a press conference with Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2020 that she feared for her life.
‘I come here to ask for support and labour justice, because I even fear for my life,’ she said.
Ms Maldonado is the second journalist to be murdered in the state in less than a week, and the third to be murdered in Mexico this year.
She reportedly took in Chato just a few months ago and it is unclear what will happen to him now.
He was spotted sitting outside the journalist’s home, which has been taped off by police investigating what happened.
It’s not the first time dogs have been heartbreakingly loyal. Images from summer 2020 show a pet waiting on a bridge in China for days after its owner had reportedly jumped into a river.
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