A Dog’s Long Wait

One day in February 2020,when the COVID-19 epidemic was rampant,a yellow-and-black dog unexpectedly appeared in Taikang Hospital located in Dongxihu District,Wuhan.

Many medical workers and cleaning ladies fed the dog in turn.The owner of the hospital grocery store took him in,and named him “Xiao Bao.” One nurse wrote a story about the dog and posted it on Douyin and WeChat Moments,calling him a Wuhan version of Hachiko.

According to the sanitation regulations,the hospital could no longer keep Xiao Bao there.When the volunteers at the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association read the story,they came to the hospital and took Xiao Bao with them.After a physical check-up,the volunteers began to seek out an appropriate owner for him and hoped that Xiao Bao could soon have a new home.

二月的武漢，正是新冠肺炎疫情最嚴重時。位于東西湖區的太康醫院，出現了一只黃黑相間的狗。

狗的故事在醫院里流傳。有醫護人員說它的主人是一名患新冠肺炎的爹爹，主人入院它就跟來了，主人不幸病逝，它卻癡癡守在醫院，3 個多月不離不棄。

不少醫護人員、保潔員給它喂過食；醫院超市老板收留了它，給它取名“小寶”；有護士將小寶的故事制成抖音短視頻發朋友圈，稱它為武漢版“忠犬八公”。

出于衛生考慮，小寶不宜長久留在醫院。武漢市小動物保護協會志愿者聞訊將小寶接走，給它檢查身體，并努力幫它找尋新的主人。大家都盼望，小寶能有一個好的歸宿。

Three Months’ Waiting

Zhu Youzhen,a cleaning lady working in Taikang Hospital,remembered clearly the first time when she saw Xiao Bao.It was three months ago,in February,and the dog was wandering outside the outpatient building,too timid to sneak in.

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Zhu was told by some medical workers that the owner of the dog was an old man who had been infected and passed away only five days after his arrival.Since then,the dog had been waiting outside the hospital for an impossible reunion.

“He may think that his owner is still in the hospital,” said Zhu.

Many medical workers and cleaning ladies learned about the story of the dog,and would help to feed him.The dog had thus stayed at the hospital for a while.

Fed and Loved by All

Wu Cuifen,the owner of the hospital grocery store,managed to reopen her business on April 13,when the epidemic slowed down.

Wu loves dogs and has a golden retriever at home.When she heard about the new comer in the hospital,she decided to do something.Wu lured the dog to her store with some sausage,and fed him there everyday.They soon became friends.At 8:00 in the morning,the lady and the dog would meet at the door of the store on time and spend their day together.Then,at 7:00 pm,the dog would bid farewell to the lady,watching the latter leaving on an electronic bike.

Wu had named her golden retriever “An Bao” (literally “peaceful baby”),so she gave the new smaller dog the name “Xiao Bao” (“Xiao” means “small”).She had happy days with him.The medical workers also visited Xiao Bao now and then,buying sausages or other food for him.A nurse posted a video clip of the dog on Douyin which soon went viral.When a dog lover living in Hanyang saw the video,he came to the hospital,asking for permission to adopt Xiao Bao.However,after he brought Xiao Bao back home,the latter refused to eat or drink at all.The man had no choice but to send the dog back to the hospital.

Waiting for a New Home

When the epidemic was under control,the hospital resumed medical services.With more patients coming in,the staff found it no longer appropriate to keep the dog there.Some netizens learned about it and asked the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association for help.

On May 20,the volunteers at the Association came to Taikang Hospital,played with Xiao Bao for half an hour,and the dog was finally “willing” to leave with them.“I don’t want to see him leave,but I know he deserves better,” Wu said.Then the volunteers took Xiao Bao to a pet clinic,where he had a physical check-up and got sterilized.

On the afternoon of May 24,I met Xiao Bao in Du Fan’s apartment building.Du,the head of the association,told me about how they were moved by the story of the dog and his owner.According to Xiao Bao’s teeth conditions,Du said,he was around seven years old—a mature dog.We also had good news about Xiao Bao’s adoption.Two citizens had submitted their applications to the Association,and the Association was checking their qualifications before making a choice for Xiao Bao.

“We are still open to more applications,” said Du,“because we want Xiao Bao to have a home as good as possible.”“I hope Xiao Bao will have a new owner soon,and that person would treat him well,” said Wu with tears in her eyes.(Translation: Wang Xiaoke)

Xiao Bao is now cared by the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association 忠義犬小寶暫被小動物保護協會收留

主人離世，狗狗癡守三個月

保潔員朱友珍記得，第一次見小寶時是在2月份。一開始，它很怕生，只在門診樓外徘徊，不敢進來。

朱友珍是從醫院醫護人員處得知，狗的主人是一位年紀蠻大的患新冠肺炎的爹爹。爹爹病情嚴重，來了5 天就不幸病逝，狗卻一直癡癡地守在醫院。

“它可能以為主人還在醫院，不愿離開吧。”朱友珍說，很多醫護人員都知道這只狗的故事，有時看到它，就給它東西吃。在醫院保潔員、醫護人員的照顧下，狗在醫院生存了下來。

被眾人投喂寵愛成網紅

吳翠芬在醫院開了一家超市，因為疫情的緣故，直到4月13日才開業。

吳翠芬愛狗，自家養了一只金毛，聽說這只狗的故事后，更對它產生憐愛。她用火腿腸將狗引到超市，每天給它喂食，慢慢地跟狗熟起來。每天早上8 時，吳翠芬到超市，狗準時報道，直到傍晚7 點目送吳翠芬騎電動車離開。

吳翠芬家的金毛叫“安寶”，她就給這只狗狗取名“小寶”。這段時間，吳翠芬每天和小寶作伴，樂在其中。醫護人員也經常來超市看小寶，買火腿腸之類的食物給它吃。有護士給小寶拍了視頻發到抖音，曾有一位家住漢陽的愛心人士看到消息后，來醫院領養小寶。但小寶到了新的環境下，不吃不喝。這位愛心人士只好又將它送回醫院。

愛心人士紛紛申請領養

隨著醫院復診，來醫院看病的人增多，小寶不再適合留在醫院。有網友向武漢市小動物保護協會反映，希望能救助小寶。

5月20日，協會的志愿者們來到太康醫院，逗小寶玩了半小時后，小寶終于愿意跟著他們離開。“跟小寶相處了這么久，心里也舍不得，但它總要有個好的歸宿。”吳翠芬說。志愿者們將小寶送到寵物醫院檢查身體，并做了絕育手術。

24日下午，在協會會長杜帆家的樓下，我見到了小寶。杜帆說，他們聽說了小寶和主人的故事后，很感動，將它接到寵物醫院進行消毒、做體檢。杜帆根據小寶的牙齒推斷，它應該有7 歲，算大齡狗。目前，已有兩位愛心人士向協會提出申請，想收養小寶，協會也在審核這些愛心人士的資質。

“若有符合條件的愛心人士愿收養小寶，依然可以聯系我們。”杜帆說，他們也希望小寶有一個最好的歸宿。

“希望小寶盡快找到新主人，得到善待。”吳翠芬眼角閃著淚花說。