1/3) When Titius Sabinus, a friend of Germanicus, was condemned to death by Tiberius in 28 AD, his dog could not be driven away from the prison door - but stayed outside waiting for its master. After Sabinus was executed and his body was thrown down the Gemonian stairs, his dog..

2/3) ..stayed by his master's body, howling mournfully. A crowd soon gathered and when one of them threw a piece of bread to the dog, the animal carried it instead to the mouth of its master. Eventually, the body of Sabinus was thrown in the River Tiber, but his faithful dog..

3/3) ..jumped into the river after him, swimming at the body's side and trying to keep it from sinking. A throng of people gathered at the river's edge to witness the pitiful scene, moved by the animal's fidelity.

(Pliny, Natural History, 8.61, A Dog's Loyalty to its Master)