Loyal dog Boncuk spends days waiting for owner outside Turkish hospital

It was a tale of puppy love that left Turkish hospital workers misty-eyed, and proved there are some happy endings amid the misery of a pandemic.

Boncuk, a devoted pet dog, spent days obediently waiting outside the hospital where her owner was receiving treatment.

The loyal pup had followed Cemal Senturk to a hospital in the Black Sea city of Trabzon on January 14 after he fell ill.

The plucky pup waited at the hospital's doors until her owner recovered from illness. Photo / Supplied

According to DHA, a Turkish news agency, Boncuk continued to wait outside the hospital's entrance for Senturk to return.

Muhammet Akdeniz, a Turkish hospital security guard, told DHA: "She comes every day around 9am and waits until nightfall. She doesn't go in.

"When the door opens she pokes her head inside."

Aynur Egeli, Senturk's daughter, said she would take Boncuk home each day but the dog kept returning to the hospital.

Luckily for Boncuk, which means bead in Turkish, her owner recovered from his ailment and was reunited with her outside the hospital as he left in a wheelchair.

Photographs showed Senturk looking in adoration at his pet dog as she wagged her tail with excitement.

The news is likely to offer some comfort to Turkey's 82 million citizens as they emerge from a dire second wave of coronavirus.

Official statistics show that the rate of infection is on a sharp downward trend, with 6200 cases recorded on Thursday, compared with a peak of about 30,000 cases per day in December.

Last week, Turkey began a mass vaccination campaign which has prioritised healthcare workers and senior officials, to reassure the population that the jab is safe.

According to the health ministry, 1.1 million Turks have received the jab, which is provided by Chinese firm Sinovac.

The country has imposed a number of curfews since the outbreak of the pandemic, with the elderly ordered not to leave home for several months at a time.