My paws rest on the cold tiles, and I can smell the fear and pain hidden beneath the disinfectant.
"I'm the guard," I always tell the fluffy newcomers who stay here. "It's my job to make sure you can sleep soundly while you're in the hospital."
Golden Retriever Ajie had a successful tumor surgery, but on the night before he was discharged, he quietly told me, "Dang Gui, I dreamed of the Rainbow Bridge."
Three days later, his collar hung empty on the memorial wall.
Before she left, the mischievous calico cat Xiao Ju rubbed her head against my nose. "Silly dog... You're actually more reliable than the two-legs."
Tonight, a new Corgi puppy won't stop shaking. I go over and let him lean against my warm belly.
The nurse on duty photographs us with red-rimmed eyes. "Dang Gui's doing his guard duty again."
I quietly gaze out the window, knowing that tomorrow another brand-new collar will take its place on that wall.
Beneath my paw pads is a tiled floor that never gets warm, no matter how long I lie on it. I know this smell well. The disinfectant stings my nose, but no matter how strong it is, it can't cover up the fear and pain underneath. My mom, the one among the two-legs who wears a white coat, calls this place a "hospital." As for me, my name is Dang Gui, and I'm the guard.
When I say guard, I mostly mean lying around so the new fluffy ones who are feeling anxious can calm down. Whenever a new face moves into a cage, I go over and press my nose to the gap between the bars, murmuring softly, "I'm the guard here, Dang Gui. Don't be scared. I'm here, and I'll make sure you sleep a little more soundly."
Take Ajie, the golden retriever in the room next door. When he arrived, there was something bad growing on his belly, so my mom operated on him. The surgery went well, and Ajie got a little better each day. Soon he was wagging his tail like a little whirlwind. The night before he was discharged, I lay beside his cage and chatted with him about which patch of grass on the lawn outside was the softest. But then he suddenly fell silent, his ears drooping, his voice as soft as a sigh. "Dang Gui, last night I dreamed of the Rainbow Bridge. It was glowing on the other side, so beautiful."
I didn't know what to say. I could only lean a little closer to him. Three days later, Ajie's collar was hanging on the wall by the entrance, empty, with no one ever to wear it again.
And then there was the calico cat, Xiao Ju. She had a terrible temper. When she first arrived, she hissed at me, scratched at her cage, and never stopped for a moment. But later, she became too weak from her illness to be mean, so I went to keep her company every day. On the afternoon before she left, the sun was warm. She suddenly poked her head out and rubbed the soft fur on top of it against my nose. Her voice was so faint I could barely hear it. "Silly dog... Hey, you're a lot more reliable than those two-legs..." As her body slowly grew cold, I just lay there without moving.
Another Corgi puppy arrived tonight. He was terrified, huddled in a corner and trembling like a leaf in the wind. I went over and lay beside him, showing him my warm belly. The little one hesitated, then slowly leaned his whole body against me. His trembling gradually stopped. The two-legged nurse on duty had red-rimmed eyes. She pointed a little square at us, and it flashed once. "Look, our Dang Gui is doing his guard duty again."
I didn't say anything. I just turned my head and stared out the window at the pitch-black sky. I know that when the sun rises tomorrow, there will probably be another collar on that wall. My paws rest on the ground, and the cold seeps into them bit by bit. The smell here has never changed.
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