493 A Psalm of Life (1/2)
Chapter 493: A Psalm of Life
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There were two rows of bungalows, one for people and one for dogs. Zhang Zian and Old Yang followed Fu Tao into one row, while Famous walked alone to the other. Famous didn't know why it was doing this. It just had a weird feeling.
After Fu Tao brought that old German Shepherd into the kennel, he closed the door, but didn't lock it. He probably thought that he only needed to lock the gate out in the yard. Since no one would come here to steal, the lock was merely a precaution to scare off kids.
Famous pushed open the kennel door and was greeted by a surge of warm air. There was a space heater hanging on the wall, making the temperature suitable for dogs.
Famous could tell that this building was designed to be a kennel from the beginning, as the interior was divided into many sections. There was a dog in each section, and most of them were German Shepherds.
The sanitation was mediocre compared to that of the pet shop. In the courtyard, Famous could only smell one person, Fu Tao. It must be extremely difficult for him to manage over a dozen old German Shepherds alone, so it made sense that he wasn't able to clean the kennel regularly. Fu Tao was also in his fifties or sixties, in a few years, other might need to start taking care of him.
”Woo!”
The German Shepherd who had just walked around the hill, was laying on a blanket in Cage 1. Exhausted, it briefly raised its eyes to look at Famous, envying its youth and strength.
The kennel seemed to fade a bit.
Famous was familiar with this feeling.
Galaxy and Old Time Tea could forcibly pull Famous into their Imagined Landscapes because they were powerful enough and their Imagined Landscapes were strong enough. These ordinary cats and dogs couldn't do this. They didn't have the intelligence, and their memories were fragmented. In their Imagined Landscapes, Famous was just a non-existent observer.
Fu Tao had always been this German Shepherd's owner, he established this nursing home for it.
It was very happy to be with its owner for such a long time, and it wanted nothing else.
Famous passed Cage 1 and walked in front of Cage 2.
Inside Cage 2 was another beautiful German Shepherd, about nine years old. Standing in the cage, it looked quite spirited. It was smaller than Famous because it was a female dog. It curiously glanced at Famous and lost interest very soon, so it turned its head and looked out the window, as if waiting for something.
Nine years wasn't considered old for police dogs, but it meant these dogs just passed the prime of their lives. Although, some police dogs were still in service when they were ten or eleven years old.
The female German Shepherd was a very common police dog.
It had four siblings, and it was neither the strongest nor the weakest one. It had a happy and carefree childhood. After growing up, it taken away from its brothers and sisters. When they first got separated, it was sad, but it felt more relieved because it couldn't stand fighting its siblings for their mother's love anymore. All it wished was to have someone who would love it, and it alone.
Its was owned by a female trainer in the police dog training base. Female trainers were relatively uncommon in a police dog training base. Its owner named it Luo Luo and hoped that she would grow to be a graceful lady.
Luo Luo ate, trained and played with her, the two of them practically inseparable. Those were the happiest days of its life. Though the training was tiresome, Luo Luo always praised. If it did a good job, it could eat ham and chicken. So, it became increasingly diligent in its training, hoping to gain more love from her.
However, it was too good to last. Though Luo Luo passed her training and became an official police dog, its grades weren't the best. This was quite normal. After all, police dogs like Red Dragon and Prince, that passed all their training, were rare. Such situations were similar in human society, most people were standard students with average grades. They graduated from ordinary colleges, and went on to do regular work. Luo Luo was an ordinary police dog.
Luo Luo's owner was a regular person, with regular emotions. When she was happy, she would hold Luo Luo tightly in her arms, and when she was angry, she would scold it. She also had a small secret, she had a boyfriend back in her hometown. It's a secret only known by Luo Luo. When she was alone with it, she would take out the photos of her boyfriend and tell Luo Luo what an excellent person he was. Occasionally, she would call him in private, and said that she would someday introduce Luo Luo to her boyfriend.
Famous remembered Wu Ning, who existed in its Imagined Landscape. Wu Ning was somewhat similar to Luo Luo's trainer. She would also tell Famous and Old Time Tea how handsome the young guys she met in the streets were. She would imagine the faces and voices of authors in Shen Daily and New Youth, wondering if the authors were male or female, and what kind of life they were leading.
Luo Luo thought that the good days would last forever. One day, her owner bought a lot of food, and told Luo Luo that her boyfriend had proposed to her, so she was leaving the base and returning her home. Luo Luo was sincerely happy for her.
It wasn't too painful when they said goodbye because she repeatedly promised Luo Luo that when it retired, she would take it home and she, her boyfriend, and Luo Luo would play together.
Luo Luo watched her leave.
However, both Luo Luo and its trainer had forgotten something, Luo Luo was young and had a long time before it could retire.
Luo Luo was sent to the police force and handed over to a police officer. Although its new owner also treated it very well, it could never forget its previous owner.
She came to visit Luo Luo several times. They were joyful at every reunion. She repeatedly promised that she would come pick it up on the day of its retirement.
When it saw her for the last time, she was pregnant and having trouble bending over. She held Luo Luo's head to her belly and let it listen to her baby's heartbeat.
That was the sound of life.
After listening to it, Luo Luo looked at her stomach in awe, as if it was a holy object.
Later, when Luo Luo's second owner transferred out of the police force, it got its third owner. The young Luo Luo slowly aged.
Its first owner never came again.
When out on missions, Luo Luo couldn't help but lay eyes on the young women holding children, trying to find her among numerous people.
Luo Luo had never been particularly good at training. When it got older, it often ranked in last place.
Luo Luo's third owner was not sure what it was thinking. After considering its age, its owner lightened its training intensity and reduced the number of missions it should take. It was for Luo Luo's sake, but it also lost the opportunity to search for her in the streets.
Later, the Olympic Games were held in Luo Luo's city. To ensure the people's safety, nearly half of the police dogs were forced to retire, and Luo Luo, who had not reached the age of retirement, was included in the list.
No one adopted Luo Luo because the city it lived in did not allow people to raise German Shepherds in private. However, its third owner happened to know Fu Tao and sent it here.
Famous knew from Luo Luo's eyes that it hadn't given up hope. It kept staring out the window, and stood up whenever there were strange noises coming from the courtyard. It was waiting for her to come pick it up.
Nearly a year had passed. Luo Luo was aging every day, waiting.
Maybe her husband did not like dogs, maybe she was busy taking care of her children, maybe her trip was delayed. There were too many possibilities. Maybe she had forgotten about it.
Famous remembered Cui Yi and Storm, separating at the gate at the police dog training base. Would Cui Yi fulfill his promise to take Storm home?
Life had many twists and turns, a lot of which, humans couldn't control. It's hard to predict what the future would look like.