By: Xi Luo

 

“Come in here, Gougou.” My classmate Chris Zhu calls a dog loudly. The dog hears him and runs towards him, and Chris give some dog food to the dog. The dog eats the food and follows Chris. Chris has kept a stray dog for eight years. The dog’s name is Gougou. Gougou grows healthily and happily. Chris often plays with him and takes him for a walk. He said, “I like Gougou very much. He is very smart. I am happy to be with him.” When Chris calls Gougou’s name, Gougou always runs towards him even if they are not on the same floor at home. When Chris is not at home, Gougou will not wreck the furniture or soil the floor. Chris’ friend Gang said, “Every time I go to Chris’ home, I will play with his dog for a while; we are lucky to save a stray dog.” Gang also likes the dog and sometimes brings food to the dog. Chris does not know how old Gougou is, but his friend, his family and he consider him as eight years old. Chris takes Gougou for a walk several times a week. They are good friends now.

Before Chris kept this stray dog, he had kept another dog who was bought in a pet store because his parents and he like animals, especially dogs. Eight years ago, he went back home as usual and noticed a stray dog in a building near his home. He went towards the dog, but the dog ran away. After that, he often saw the dog in the same place and noticed that the dog’s fur was messy. Besides, the dog looked very weak. He told his parents about the dog. Chris’ parents loved animals, so they thought that taking the dog home could give him better living environment than just leaving him on street or taking him to a stray animal shelter. They could also take care of him whenever they wanted. For these reasons, Chris’ mother decides to catch the dog with Chris and keep the dog. Chris also told his friend Gang. Gang agreed with this idea and wanted to help him. One day, Chris was on his way home and saw the dog again. He called his mother and took out a leash that he prepared before with Gang. His mother arrived soon. The dog saw them and tried to run upstairs but they caught him quickly, and finally he was taken home by his mother’s car. When the dog was in car, he looked around. At first, the dog was very quiet but did not feel scared. Chris took him to pet hospital and pet food store to make sure the dog was healthy. After that, Chris named the dog Gougou. On the second day, Chris’s father took Gougou to the company because Chris had to go to school, so nobody was at home. Gougou had not defecated until Chris’ father took him out. After several weeks, Gougou became familiar with the new environment and healthier. He also learned many skills and could understand what people said, especially when people gave commands.

Chris said, “Keeping stray animals is very interesting and happy. Stray animals care more about their adopter and are more emotional. I know if stray animals are not adopted, they will face euthanasia. When I get married and have a new family in the future, I would like to adopt one or two stray dogs.” He prefers adopting to buying, so he plans to adopt more stray animals in the future.