The wounded family dog's barking helped rescuers find its master's body in the debris from Saturday's magnitude-7 earthquake before the animal itself died.

Yang Benming, 43, was buried under rubble while he was working in his shop after the earthquake hit Lushan county of Sichuan province on Saturday, and his family could not find him.

The wolfhound, who lived in the family for six years, struggled to free itself from its chains when the earthquake hit. The West China Metropolis Daily on Wednesday quoted neighbor Yang Lin as saying the dog must have been terrified by the sudden quake.

The dog didn't escape but continued barking constantly through the debris while villagers were calling Yang Benming and trying to rescue him.

The neighbor, Yang Lin, was the first to notice the dog's unusual behavior, and rescuers found the body in the direction where the dog barking.

After rescuers went to get tools to move the large stones on the body, the dog died near its master.

Wang Qiong, the victim's wife, said the dog was wounded badly by the fallen stones, but they didn't realize it when they were trying to rescue her husband. She buried the dog carefully.

She said she was moved by the loyal dog, and she will be strong even though her husband died.

"I need to support and live for my son and daughter," she said.