Pet King

The Pomeranian that the old lady had brought in was already three or four months old. But it was small, skinny, and not energetic. Even its hair was lousy. It was not as feisty and cute as the younger Pomeranians in the pet shop.

It was all white, with half a circle of light brown tear marks under its eyes that resembled bags under its eyes. Besides, its nose was dark brown, unlike the black nose of the Pomeranians in the shop.

Nonetheless, the Pomeranian was very quiet. Since it had arrived at the shop, it didn’t run nor bark after it saw so many other dogs. Instead, it laid quietly under the old lady’s feet, glancing around while it blinked eyes. In another sense, it was too quiet––so quiet that it lost the energy.

After seeing a new buddy come in, the mini poodle walked towards it with jolly paces, circled around the Pomeranian, and even sniffed its butt. It barked gently in a feisty voice, as if it was inviting it to play despite the size difference.

After hearing the bark, the Pomeranian tilted its head to look at the mini poodle, then at the old lady. It didn’t stand up.

Most dogs in the shop were kept inside the display cabinets. The mini poodle had finally found a companion of similar age and size as itself, so it didn’t want to give up easily. It circled around the Pomeranian.

The old lady told them that she was there to ask about the Pomeranian, which made everyone stare at the dog at the same time.

It was still early, yet there were already two or three other customers in the shop. They might not be real customers, but they were there to take pictures with Famous while the shop was empty in the early morning.

One of the young male customers looked at the Pomeranian and asked immediately, “Is it a mutt? Why is it brown under its eyes? Grandma, where did you buy it? Did the merchant lie to you?”

As he spoke, he looked at the Pomeranians in Zhang Zian’s shop. “You definitely didn’t buy it here. There are only Spherical Pomeranians here. Look, they are Hadleigh Pomeranians!”

Occasionally, the pet shop received customers that knew a lot about pets. Zhang Zian was not surprised. Chu Manhua interrupted curiously, “What are Spherical Pomeranians?”

“Spherical Pomeranians are spherically-shaped Pomeranians. Hadleigh Pomeranians are the best among them.” The male customer began a long speech. “I heard a long time ago that the pets in this shop are of a high quality. I agree with this after my visit here today. You must know that other shops sell regular Pomeranians along with Spherical Pomeranians at the same high price…”

He looked at the old lady’s Pomeranian once again and said, “This Pom looks quite ‘spherical,’ but what are the brown circles under the eyes? My guess is that it’s a mix with some other breed. Grandma, don’t get ripped off! Just return it to wherever you bought it from! If the breeder refuses to refund you, this is what you should do: just lie on the floor and don’t get up. I’m sure he will refund your money…”

Chu Manhua and Lu Yiyun looked at each other as they heard him speak. What the customer said seemed to make sense, yet it seemed a bit inappropriate… Wasn’t it promoting bad behavior to encourage the old lady to take advantage of her age?

Zhang Zian thought that the customer had suggested a terrible idea. Even if she did get ripped off by an immoral breeder, she should file a complaint at the Consumer’s Association. If they wouldn’t accept her complaint, she could still figure something else out. She shouldn’t make a scene like that.

Wang Qian nodded and smiled with appreciation.

Nobody expected the old lady to smile gently with her wrinkled face. She waved her hand and said, “No. It’s not like that. I didn’t get ripped off. I am old, but I haven’t lost my mind. I don’t get cheated that easily… I didn’t buy this dog. I found it.”

“What?”

Everybody was astonished, unable to believe that the old lady was such a great hunter that she could find a dog like that at her age.

Zhang Zian soon realized what had happened. He asked, “Madam, did you find it during the Chinese New Year?”

“Yes! Right during Chinese New Year!” The old lady smiled.

Then, she told the story of how she found the Pomeranian.

It all happened about a week before Chinese New Year’s Eve.

One evening, the old lady headed outside as she normally did to collect plastic water bottles to sell for money.

Not many people knew that even the plastic bottle collectors had their own territories. If she arrived too late, there might not be any more bottles, and she stood the chance of getting into fights with other old bottle collectors.

The old lady had been collecting bottles for over a decade. She had found a route with very few competing collectors. It was a bit remote, and there were no busy places along the way, such as cinemas and parks. It was quiet and free of competitors. She could take her time and collect as many bottles as she could.

She was lucky that day––maybe because it was almost Chinese New Year. There were more plastic bottles and other soft drink bottles than usual. She had filled up her bag very quickly then headed home, feeling satisfied.

As she heard the fireworks and firecrackers from the distant suburb, she was happy about the city government’s decision to forbid them in the urban area. A dozen years ago, kids’ firecrackers had burned holes in her new clothes during the Chinese New Year, making her upset for a whole month. After the firework ban, it was much safer to collect bottles.

As she walked, she suddenly heard rustling from the roadside.

It was dark, and the street lamp was flashing from time to time. She had poor eyesight, so at first, she thought she saw a big rat and wanted to chase it away with her cane.

But as she looked carefully, there was a ball of white fluff wriggling in a pile of snow. It didn’t look like a big rat, as rats were either grey or black.

Then, she tried to prod the white fluff with her cane. A furry creature––a little dog––came out of the snow pile.

The old lady didn’t know what breed the dog was. She simply felt that it was very cute and it was staring at her with a pair of big round eyes.

“Oh, it’s so cold outside. Where did this little dog come from?” she murmured to herself.

It was freezing cold. The northwest wind was cutting her face like a knife. The dog was so tiny. It shuddered in the cold, and curled up in the snow pile to stay away from the wind. It was hard to get it out of there.

“Whose dog is this? Who lost this dog? Did it run away? Who lost a white little dog?” she yelled loudly. As she felt the dog was adorable, it was very likely that it was a lost dog.

She was on a secluded road. It was late and almost holiday time, so there were barely any pedestrians on the road. As she looked around, she could not see anybody around her. Nobody responded, either.

At night time, the wind was growing colder and colder. If it continued like so, the dog would freeze to death before long.