864 First Aid (1/2)

Zhang Zian kept his hand in the air in embarrassment. He had trained the mini poodle himself. Even if it barked occasionally, it would stop as soon as he raised his hand. But the hand command wasn't working for some reason.

In fact, small dogs were better watchdogs than medium-sized dogs or large dogs, such as stupid sled dogs and golden retrievers. Breeds like those would wag their tails and greet strangers happily, even if the stranger was a burglar.

If the mini poodle barked because it spotted a thief and wanted to alert Zhang Zian, he would surely reward it happily––but the girl next to him was a customer. She didn't look like a thief or a dangerous criminal. The poodle had no reason to bark.

”Stop barking!” Fina was taking a nap and became annoyed. It stood up immediately from the cat tree, then stared at it in anger from its spot on higher ground. Unfortunately, its power of deterrence only worked on cats; it wasn't so useful on the mini poodle.

”Keep barking and I'll castrate you!” Snowy Lionet said while it licked it paws and stared at Zhang Zian.

”It better shut up now! Or else I'll shut it up myself!” Fina stared at Zhang Zian furiously, since the mini poodle was clearly ignoring it.

Zhang Zian didn't know what to say.

Old Time Tea could not watch television anymore, as the mini poodle's volume totally outran the television. It was just like the old commercial line: No voice, no acting––no matter how good your acting is.

Famous had been busy taking pictures with movie fans in the morning, and it was finally enjoying a free moment. It dozed to recall the dream it had the night before, but the barking annoyed it.

”Quack quack! Quack quack!” Richard vocalized, as it thought someone wanted to compete with it. Soon, the entire shop was noisy and chaotic.

It didn't bother Galaxy at all. Galaxy chased after the American shorthair cat and passed by the poodle quickly. After stopping briefly to watch, it continued to chase the cat.

As for the two elfins upstairs, they might have heard the commotion, too, but Zhang Zian didn't know if it bothered them.

Even the puppies in the display cabinets were aroused by the mini poodle; they started barking with it. They were not as loud, of course.

The mini poodle not only barked; it was approaching the customer step-by-step.

”Will this dog… bite?” She stepped back in fear.

”No, don't worry,” Zhang Zian said immediately.

Clearly, she didn't believe him. ”Really? I heard that all dog owners claim that their dogs don't bite, but in fact…”

Zhang Zian grew even more embarrassed.

He knew that some people walked their dogs without the leash. If the dog barked at others and terrified them, the owner would claim confidently that their dogs would never bite. All people believed that their dogs didn't bite, but in fact, the only person dogs didn't bite was the owner.

Normally, he would be certain that the mini poodle would not bite anyone, but he wasn't so sure how it would act that day. Heaven only knew if it would dash forward and bite the girl the next moment… Biting a customer would be a disaster. The only thing worse than apologizing and compensating them would be the bad name it would bring to him.

Wang Qian came close and whispered, ”Well… Master, the other day, could this dog have been…?”

As he spoke, he made a scratching gesture. What he meant was that mini poodle could have been scratched by the rabid Siamese cat while they were not watching and have contracted rabies. Why else would it bark so horrendously? However, as there were customers present, he didn't say it out loud to preserve his shop's reputation.

Zhang Zian shook his head, asking him not to take such wild guesses.

The Siamese cat had no physical contact with the poodle that day. How could it have possibly infected it? Besides, the poodle wasn't showing any rabies symptoms. Such guesses were completely far-fetched.

”Sorry. This dog always behaves well… I don't know why it's doing this,” Zhang Zian said honestly. He moved his body between the poodle and the female customer in case it suddenly jumped and tried to bite her.

Yet, as he moved, it moved as well, and continued barking at her.

”It looks like this dog doesn't like me…” She laughed. ”I can't believe even dogs hate me these days…”

Troubled by the barking poodle, Zhang Zian kept thinking about the reason it was barking. He ignored her words and said casually, ”Sorry, really. I'm so sorry… I'll bring this dog upstairs right away. Please wait for a moment…”

”It's okay; you don't have to. I'll leave first. Store owner, you are right. I didn't think twice before coming here. I should think carefully about what kind of pet I really want…” She said with a gentle sigh. ”I'm leaving. I will come back after I make up my mind…”

Zhang Zian did want to send her away so soon, but he felt bad for letting her go.

”My guest, you…” Before he could persuade her to stay, she turned around to leave, but she fell down as if she suddenly lost strength.

Zhang Zian's body moved before his mind. He dashed forward, stretched one arm behind her back to catch her, and grabbed her arm with the other hand.

Luckily, he was close by and reacted promptly. Otherwise, she would have fallen hard on the floor. She might have even hit her forehead on the doorsteps.

”Hey! What's wrong? Wake up!” Zhang Zian supported her body with his arm, not knowing what to do. All he could was call to her in vain, like a television drama. He wondered silently why she just fell down like that. She seemed incredibly weak.