Proud and Pretty Dogs?

During summer vacation, I was dog-sitting my neighbour's dog Mocha. He was a small white dog with a little canine peeking out from his mouth. When we took him home, he darted inside like a white flash. He ran around the room once, then twice, and began exploring every corner of the house, under chairs, tables, behind the curtains, everywhere. Without stopping, he pranced over to where I was sitting and bounded onto my lap with his tongue hanging out. I tossed a tennis ball and in a second, he was attacking it. He slowly stopped playing and slowly became to calm down. He toddled over to his bed, and then curled up. Suddenly, he jolted back up when we got up to prepare for bed. He got all excited all over again, thinking we were going to take him outside. He scurried into the hallway then back and circled us a few times, panting all the way. It was late at night and we needed to sleep, so we were forced to sit calmly for 15 minutes and finally, Mocha was on his bed and fast asleep.

Two weeks later, we returned him to his owners, for we were leaving for China. I thought that I would be living without lovely dogs for a while.

I was staying at my grandma's (my mother's mother, 外婆) house and I knew that my grandma lived in a tall building and she had no dog. I only saw a few dogs last time when I went to China. When I stepped into China this time, I was shocked. The streets had become filled with dogs, much more than I had remembered. Is having a dog becoming the new fad or in vogue? Seems like every family owned a dog or two and they were seen everywhere on the streets.

One day, while taking a stroll, I encountered a small elegant Pekingese. The hair looked puffy and soft, bouncing in waves and drifting in the wind. His fur was artfully brushed – behind its head, through its back, and around his tail, a tuff of fur. His hair was clipped up into a sprout that stuck from his head. His mouth was slightly open and the tiniest hint of his pink tongue showed. His stubby legs made him waddle on the sidewalk and his ears flopped with each step. I turned to my sister and pointed out that the dog was very adorable. Somehow, the owner overheard what I had said and for a split second, her face broke into a smile. She pretended that she didn’t hear and tried to mask her face, but the look of satisfaction showed. Even the dog’s gait increased and he held his head higher, gloating as he left.

On the way back, there was a Bishon Frise. She was an adorable animal with a fluffy coat. Her arched tail swept back and forth across her back and her fur covered her ears. Her whole head was designed into a fluffy ball. Her paws were placed gently in front of each other not rushing, but keeping a steady pace. Her head was high, and when she saw me looking at her, she walked a bit faster and taller. She looked at me with contempt and scorn. She wasn’t like Mocha, who often sniffed and searched the grass; instead, the Bishon Frise just strutted away.

When visiting one of my cousins, her family took me to a small town named Bailu Township. There, one of my aunt’s friends brought a brown Chow Chow. Her fur was trimmed neatly so that it was fluffy and soft. Her tail was also styled into a puffy arc of fur. She had a big head and a scrunched mouth with a small button nose. We started talking about his dog and it ended up on the topic of price. He laughed and said, “This dog is worth 3 000 元 ! And don’t forget the registration fee!”

Is it important or “cool” to own a popular or expensive dog?

A few days later, I felt strange, even though there are a lot of dogs, I haven’t petted a single one. Everyone knows I’m crazy about dogs, usually, if there were this much dogs, I’d be petting them by now. Now being around them, I feel nervous.

When looking around at the dogs, I suddenly noticed that none of them were wearing leashes. Even the menacing dogs like the German Shepherds weren’t on leashes. Since China is a bit crowded, it’s hard to find the owner of each dog. But some dogs don’t even have owners! Some are just waddling around, sniffing garbage, weaving around legs, and lingering around a certain place as if looking for something – or someone.

My grandpa told me about a dog encounter he had one day. There was a big dog taking a walk and suddenly, lunged himself at a passing woman. His force was so strong, and he was so quick, the woman fell over. Then, the dog came charging at my grandpa, but after seeing the woman, he was more prepared and didn’t fall over. That was when the owner came. My grandpa started telling him that he shouldn’t have let his dog walk unleashed. If it had jumped on a child, it could’ve resulted in an injury. As an apology he paid the woman $200 and bowed to my grandpa. After he finished this story, every time I passed a big dog, I braced myself just in case he was going to pounce on me.

When I visited another one of my cousins, we were walking to a restaurant when a big black Doberman made a beeline towards us. My aunt is scared of dog and began to increase her walking speed. But he continued to keep pace with us. She started to exclaim how she was afraid of dogs, but the owner just glanced her way and said:

“The dog doesn’t bite”

My aunt is scared of dogs whether they bite or not, so that didn’t make any difference. She politely asked if they could take the dog away. It was following us and occasionally barked. It’s owner called his name once, but seeing how the dog didn’t react, went back to his picnic. The dog was blocking our way, and we had to sidestep him. His gaze lingered on us for a few more seconds, then lost interest and left.

I was at my grandma’s (my father's mother, 奶奶) house when on the stairs, there was a dog blocking the way. It took up most of the space as I squeezed past it. It felt like time froze. He was standing tensely with his ears up and eyes following. It didn’t move. His fur pricked up and his legs stiffened as if he was ready to jump. The specie looked familiar and one of my Canadian neighbors had a dog, Meisha, who is similar to him. She was very friendly and gentle. Then, as I looked at the dog on the stairs, my stomach clenched. What made him scarier than Meisha?

The next morning, I stepped into dung. It wasn’t in the grass or anything; it was in the middle of the sidewalk. A few meters later, I nearly did again. Looking across the sidewalk, there were a lot of droppings, small brown and black balls. Every few minutes, I see more and more droppings on the ground. But then I looked around at the dog owners and none of them were holding poop sacs. Their hands held nothing at all!

One morning, my grandma’s housekeeper told me about a woman in their neighbourhood who feeds the stray cats everyday. At first I didn’t believe her. Who has the time and strength to give them food every morning and night? But then I saw her. I went down to take out the trash and I saw her placing a big bucket of food on the side of the building. It was pretty early in the morning and in the night; I saw her putting out another bucket while taking in the one from the morning. By the size of the bucket, and the amount of stray cats that I see, she makes enough food for all of them.

My dog stories have been finished. Now I’m in Canada and I couldn’t wait to see my ugly friend Mocha.