Lost Dog

Yesterday morning at 9 am, one of our neighbors got the surprise of their life when they opened their door and a golden retriever came walking into their apartment as if he belonged there. The family is not used to dogs--four daughters who all think big dogs are scary (imagine the scene)--so, while the kids freaked out, the dad tried to get the dog out of their home. The dog would not budge. So, the management ajeossi was called and the only way he could get the dog out was to carry him. We discovered the dog as we were leaving for school in the morning--the ajeossi and an ajuma were herding the dog away from kids. The dog--obviously friendly and used to children--was wagging his tail and trying to follow people around.

When I returned from a forum in the afternoon, the dog was still there with a crowd of kids (including our kids) around him. The ajeossi had fed him some lunch that day and kept him tied up by his watchout post so that he would not be loose running around the area. I spoke with one of my neighbors who said that first people would try and find the owner. If the owner can't be found, then we would see if we could find a home for the dog. At around 8 pm the ajeossi made an announcement over the speaker system that a golden retriever was found and if anyone was the owner to come and get him. I really don't think the owner is someone who lives here. I was tempted for a moment, but remember what a handful golden retrievers are; and, honestly, we cannot take on a pet right now. My neighbor and I both agreed that we think he was abandoned. Because he was so friendly--he shakes hands, sits, and retrieves--we know he's been taken care of. My neighbor said that, it seems, when the dog grew from a cute puppy to a big dog (he is, actually, still a puppy) and got to be a handful, the owner decided to dump him. I think he was purposefully dumped here, a place with a lot of families and also relatively far from a street.

I made some scrambled eggs and mixed it with rice and fed it to "Buddy" (the name the kids gave to him). He gobbled it all up within seconds. The ajeossi kept a bowl of water for the dog and I made sure that it was ok to give him something--don't want to overfeed him. I told the kids surrounding Buddy not to bring him any food--some kids had already given him crackers and nuts.

Well, I'll keep you updated on the Buddy saga. It was so good to see so many people concerned about his welfare and taking action to take care of him. Particularly since I had taken a picture--just a week ago--of a couple of dogs caged on the back of a truck headed toward certain fate as 'dog stew.' (Jack confirmed this when I said to the boys--"Oh look, puppies" and Jack said, "Those aren't 'puppies'---those are dogs for eating." Here--there is a big divide between expensive pets and 'ddong gae'--literally, 'shit dogs'). Luckily, Buddy fits into the brand name category since he is a golden retriever. I was especially grateful to the management ajeossi who took on the task of watching him throughout the day. I am thinking he took Buddy inside the management office so he could sleep since I didn't see Buddy outside when I was wandering around early this morning.