Chapter 497: Bring You Home
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
These were police dogs currently living in the nursing home. Fu Tao and Old Yang began to talk about some of the details, such as handing the dogs over, purchasing dog food and fresh ingredients in advance, the number of cages that needed to be prepared, and so on. Only Zhang Zian noticed that Famous suddenly whimpered.
"What's the matter, Famous? Do you not feel well?" He asked anxiously, "Are you tired?"
Famous shook its head.
It suddenly remembered the events of the past few days. Feng Xuan had showed Zhang Zian the dangers of the Tibetan Mastiffs through videos and hoped that Zhang Zian would assist in filming the movie. However, to truly represent the brutality of the Tibetan Mastiffs, the police dogs risked getting injured while shooting. To shoot the scene, Feng Xuan had prepared a power grid and tranquilizer guns. Feng Xuan's movie had more comprehensive protection measures compared to the movie where Babe served as a stunt double. Even so, Zhang Zian didn't intend to shoot the scene. He only agreed because Famous had asked him to stay in the crew.
If it had to choose between the needs of an individual and the needs of society, Famous thought it should choose the needs of society because it wanted to be an angel. It also wanted to make society aware of the children in the Tibetan area suffering from the hydatid disease.
Now it was just really happy to have an owner who placed its safety first.
"Thanks," it said chokingly.
Zhang Zian was rather confused. "What are you thanking me for?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to say it." Famous raised its right paw to wipe the tears from the corner of its eyes.
"Um...all right."
Zhang Zian knew that Famous must be exhausted from the movie making. It not only worked diligently to excel the director's expectations, but it also had to take care of the young actors with exceptionally poor acting skills. It'd be rather awkward if a dog outdid the humans.
Fortunately, most of the scenes in the movie had been shot, leaving only a few to reshoot. Famous could take a rest now.
Zhang Zian walked over to interrupt Fu Tao and Old Yang, asking them, "Should we call it a day? I'm really tired. Let's arrange a day to discuss the rest of the details."
Fu Tao glanced at him and reluctantly said, "Young people nowadays, they are so weak that they can't even bear the slightest exhaustion. They should go to the army while they're still young and acquaint themselves with hardships. When I was young, I could run ten kilometers, carry weights while running, finish a meat bun of four kilograms in one bite, and still be energetic."
People around Fu Tao's age liked to mention their deeds at the prime of their life. Besides, operating a police dog nursing home by himself in the remote countryside, didn't give Fu Tao many chances to talk to people. Hence why, at this moment, he was talking about himself endlessly.
Old Yang winked at Zhang Zian and said, "Okay, we're almost finished talking. Let's go back today."
He was quite satisfied with this place. Despite the fact that there were few staff members, there weren't any drawbacks. Fu Tao was also a former police dog trainer who had his own understanding, though outdated, of raising police dogs.
Fu Tao wanted to keep them for lunch and continue talking, but they politely declined. Since they insisted on leaving, he went to open the door for them.
Old Yang went ahead to start the car.
Zhan Tian followed Zhang Zian. It was obvious that Zhan Tian was attached to this place, it had spent a good period of time here. Zhang Zian didn't force it to leave, instead giving it enough time to remember everything here.
When Fu Tao made it to the door, barks came from the kennel, quick and desperate.
The three people froze for a moment because police dogs wouldn't easily bark unless in a dire situation.
However, judging from the sound, the cry was from one dog only, and the rest of the dogs were all quiet.
They couldn't tell which dog barked, but it was obvious to Famous that the dog barking was Luo Luo.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Fu Tao shouted, "Who is it?" He pulled the latch and opened the door.
There stood an ordinary looking woman, wearing a short, beige jacket. It was hard to judge her age as she looked to be clinging to her youth, but there were also some shallow wrinkles on the corners of her eyes.
In her arms, there was a girl with pigtails, around two or three years old. Fearing the strange people, the girl hid her face in the arms of the woman. Just like the woman, the girl was wearing a short, beige jacket of the same style, but in a slightly larger size. The girl probably grew quickly so the larger jacket was bought, this way the girl could wear it for a longer time.
A family wagon was parked outside the door, and a man sat in the driver's seat, looking in this direction with concern.
The woman smiled. Her keen eyes looked at Fu Tao, Old Yang and Zhang Zian, quickly glancing over Famous and Zhan Tian, so as to have a complete grasp of the situation.
"Is this a police dog nursing home?" she asked gently.
Fu Tao nodded with vigilance because he thought this woman was rather unusual. "Yes. My name is Fu Tao, I own the place. Are you looking for someone?"
"I have something, that..." She just wanted to explain why she was there, when she heard barking from the kennel.
At first, she was stunned. She thought for a moment, and then her eyes flashed with surprise.
"Luo Luo! Is that you?" she shouted.
The barking became more urgent. Luo Luo, who was locked in Cage 2, placed its head in the gap of two iron bars, desperately trying to squeeze out the cage. The gap was only big enough to let a newborn puppy through, so pulled its head back and began to bite the iron bars, trying to snap the railings.
Fu Tao blocked the woman, who wanted to squeeze through the door.
She was holding a child so Fu Tao didn't dare touch her, but he still extended his arms to block her and said with a cold face, "This is a private territory. You can't trespass."
Watching the situation, the man in the car quickly turned off the engine and got out the car.
Zhang Zian and Old Yang sensed something going on. They were in no hurry to leave so they watched from the side.
The woman calmed down, waved at the man to indicate that there was no need for him to come over, and then smiled apologetically. "You have a retired police dog named Luo Luo, right? I'm its previous trainer, and I'm here to pick it up."
Neither Zhang Zian nor Old Yang knew about the police dog in Cage 2. They didn't even know that its name was Luo Luo.
Fu Tao didn't know much about the dog. He only knew that Luo Luo was a common police dog, nothing more.
Only Famous, who had read the memory of Luo Luo, recognized the owner. Although her face had aged and she was a bit fatter, there was no doubt that she was Luo Luo's trainer.
Famous was happy for Luo Luo, whose many years of waiting had finally paid off.
Fu Tao was skeptical. All the police dogs were sent here because no one adopted them. If the woman really wanted to adopt her dog, why didn't she do so earlier?
In order to prove herself, the woman put down the child, took a document out of her bag, and handed it to Fu Tao.
The little girl hugged the woman's leg, nervously gazing at the training equipment in the yard.
The file was folded, so Fu Tao unfolded it and found that it was an application report.
Respected leaders,
Hello!
I, Xiao Yuhong, from Changqiao city, was enlisted in the armed forces in December 2008, served in the Shanghai Police Dog Training Base as a sergeant, and retired from active service in 2013. I came to the police dog training base in 2010, and Luo Luo was the first puppy that I trained. I named it Luo Luo in hopes that it would grow into a graceful and friendly police dog. I was with it for about three years, eating and playing together. I treated it as my closest comrade. After I retired, I often thought about Luo Luo and wanted to bring it home, but it was too young to retire back then. I later married and gave birth to a girl. Having to take care of my newborn daughter and adapt to my new job and life, I did not have time to pick Luo Luo up. Now that my life has stabilized, and my daughter is in kindergarten, I don't have to worry too much about her. Luo Luo is almost 9 years old, equivalent to the human retirement age of sixty. I'm therefore applying to the organization, hoping the leaders allow me to adopt Luo Luo, so that I can accompany it, take care of it, and let it relax for the rest of its life.
Sincerely!
Applicant: Xiao Yuhong
Previous ID No. in the Armed Forces: xxxxxxxxx
Date: October 2017
At the bottom of the report, was the signature and official seal of the Shanghai Police Dog Training Base. In addition, there was a small footnote that read: Luo Luo has retired from the police force in advance, so the applicant must go to the police force in Shanghai to inquire about the whereabouts of Luo Luo after its retirement.
Xiao Yuhong sighed and said guiltily, "I submitted the application report to the base when I realized it was almost time for Luo Luo to retire. I didn't expect Luo Luo to retire in advance. After I heard the news, I was worried that it was adopted by someone else or that it was homeless. I went to the Shanghai police force to inquire about its location several times, but no one provided me with a definite answer. Fortunately, I happened to encounter an acquaintance, who helped me check and told me that Luo Luo was sent here, so I immediately came over. "
She pointed to the man leaning against the car. "That's my husband."
The man nodded at Fu Tao.
Needless to say, the little girl hugging her thighs was her daughter.
Fu Tao carefully read the application report again and confirmed that the seal below wasn't forged. No one would forge an official seal to adopt an old retired police dog.
He handed the application report back to her and said, "Please, come in. Luo Luo has been waiting for you for a long time."
Xiao Yuhong's eyes were filled with tears.