...in which dogs have a bad day.

Last week, in just one day, I had three bad encounters with dogs, that together, left me in a rotten mood.


The least severe episode took place in my apartment Tuesday night. I had just gotten my Internet access back and was relaxing reading up on a number of things I’d missed during my week in the dark. Bagels had been digging under the sofa and I had put her out in the main room to keep her from damaging the wood floors. Due to technical constraints the internet folks saw fit to run the coaxial cable from my front room to my living room. I was worried that Bagels might chew it when I wasn’t watching but they didn’t seem willing to do the installation any other way. When I finished online I had saved enough time to give Bagels some much deserved attention and feed her before heading to McDonalds for my English hours. (Do professors ever fall asleep during office hours? I haven’t done it; I’m trying to project an inviting aura).

When I opened the door I saw black shards on the ground – the coaxial was white. Bagels had thrown me a curve and attacked the floor fan that had been sitting there defenseless since the day she came home with me. I had unplugged it before the service men installed the cable hook-up. Bagels went after the plug showing no mercy. She bit it clean off. She bent the prongs and deformed the plastic. It was still recognizable, but only the way mom’s old Pontiac was recognizable after that city bus was finished with it. The plug was surrounded by torn black shards from the cord and a few copper threads from the wire. I’m still worried she might have swallowed some of the metal, it can’t be good for her. She hasn’t shown any signs of pain or illness, but of course I’ll keep an eye on her. The fan is show for how. I may attempt a repair job at some point, but not any time soon. After cleaning up the mess and feeding her I left for McDonalds feeling a bit cross. It was about to get worse.

As I exited into the courtyard I could see a boy, just outside the gate, holding a puppy up to the level of his head. I looked a second later after I loaded my scooter. The boy was dangling the puppy over a waist high concrete wall. I rushed in. I grabbed the puppy as I asked, “this is yours?!?” He said “no.” I nearly became irate when I saw the far side of the wall. It was concrete pen with no escape. He threatened that puppy with a four-foot uncoordinated drop over hard cement and exposed pipes. I did my best to chastise him in Chinese but he just seemed amused. The puppy followed at my feet as I went back to my scooter to leave. I geared up (helmet and goggles) and the puppy was drawn away towards a new man who had entered the courtyard. He viciously stamped at the puppy which then scampered off with its tail low. I grimaced, clenched my teeth in exasperation, and left.

These two events, each trying in its own way, wouldn’t be worth mentioning were it not for the night that preceded them.

To fill in some gaps, everything I’m describing took place between 10 pm Monday and 8 PM Tuesday. I do these English hours at McDonalds on Monday and Tuesday nights from 8-10. Before I left to start on Monday I prepared a baggie of soft dog food. A street dog I liked had fallen very ill suddenly. I tried to find her on my way to McDonalds, but no luck. I kept busy and my hours went quickly as a result. On my way home I heard a dog crying. I drove by at first, but turned back just to check. My fear was confirmed. It was my street dog, Xiao Bai (pronounced Shao Bye).

She was a real mess. Decrepit, dirty and disoriented, she couldn’t even walk. I’ve never seen a creature as helpless as Xiao Bai was that night. I don’t cry often but the sight nearly brought me to tears. I got the food out and tried to get her to eat a bit off the ground. She wouldn’t or she couldn’t do it, I don’t know which. I called Laura and explained how dire the situation was. She said she’d come right away. I then tried feeding her from my hands and had a bit more success. She still didn’t eat much.

Laura came down with some canned dog food and a jacket to keep Xiao Bai warm. She checked hydration by pinching behind the neck. The loose skin will snap right back on a well hydrated dog. It was pretty obvious that Xiao Bai hadn’t had any food or water for several days. Laura got her to eat some of the canned food. She lunged desperately at the spoon like a one suddenly stricken blind grasping for anything on which to gain a hold. She held on to that spoon like she would slip away from the world if her teeth let go. Cradled in the jacket, Laura carried Xiao Bai back to her apartment and I joined them there after a quick check on Bagels. Laura had her in the laundry room on the floor with an old comforter. She was still crying. It stopped only intermittently. I stayed and comforted Xiao Bai while Laura made calls trying to find an open vet clinic and the necessary transportation.

We found a clinic in TaiZhong but we were having trouble finding a taxi that late at night. After failing to raise Mia, Laura and I had to reach out for contacts with a hint of desperation. I called a pair of my Chinese friends in town here. It was 11:15 and I felt bad about it being so late. The first one I got through to was Beauty. She is a new mother and she studied in the U.S. for a few years so her English is quite good. I was in the middle of explaining our trouble to Beauty when Laura got a hold of Mia who then called us a taxi (actually a van). Laura offered to take over so I could get to sleep. I insisted on coming and helping because Xiao Bai was more my dog than anyone else’s and I was deeply concerned for her.

Thankfully she relaxed and slept during the hour-long ride into the city. Laura and I chatted and we made it to the clinic without a problem. Things moved too quickly after that. The two technicians that greeted us weighed Xiao Bai and examined her. They swabbed her eye cavity to test for distemper. The test came back with two distinct bars – a clear positive. Xiao Bai would have to be put to sleep. Distemper is contagious and usually lethal. The technicians inserted an IV and pushed a mixture of relaxants that would retard and stop her heart over the course of five minutes. The drugs went in quickly, it was a large volume. You could still see her heart pumping well after they had removed the catheter. But the pumping grew fainter and soon it finally ceased. I paid the technicians and we left. The driver had waited for us and the ride home was quiet. I’m thankful that the cocktail they used didn’t take effect instantaneously. Those few short minutes were enough to make it seem like she had simply died, like we had not killed her.

It was a bad day for dogs-

-Jacob