“Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware, of giving your heart to a dog to tear”. In The Power of the Dog, Rudyard Kipling warns us of the intensity of the relationship between canines and humans and the heart-wrenching sorrow that is inevitable when the dog eventually dies. Over the years, I’ve given my heart for nine dogs to tear, yet it never gets any easier to say goodbye at the end of each faithful friend’s life. There are, however, thousands of applicants available to fill what we call the dog-shaped hole in our lives. Two weeks ago, Skype, a Manila Mutt, fit that space perfectly, just like the right shape in a jigsaw puzzle.

READY FOR ROASTING

Skype’s story is that of just one dog who personifies the work of CARA. Skype is a mid-sized Labrador cross and we know little of him, apart from what Nancy Cu-Unjieng, President of CARA, has told us. Mourning the loss of our ancient Taipei rescue mutt, we knew it was time to adopt another. As soon as we met Skype (we named him after the VOIP telephone service – international and cheap!) we knew we would love him. We confirmed our attraction when we heard his story from Nancy. From what she is able to tell us, not only had he been housed in a dark crate with no outside light, but he had been captured, bagged, “ready for roasting” and cast under the truck by garbage collectors. Before the inevitable stabbing and cooking over a wood fire, however, Skype wriggled so violently in the bag that observers questioned the garbage collectors, only to be told that there wasn’t an animal in there. At that point, he chewed a small hole in the sack and his nose appeared, proving that he was quite definitely alive!

Skype has wounds, both emotional and physical. We cannot bear to ponder upon what caused the scars on his legs and the fear in his toffee-colored eyes. We know that Nancy nursed him to good health and restored his lovely golden coat from an insidious case of mange. In fact, when we introduced him to our vet she pronounced him “chubby”! After two months with Nancy and two weeks with us, Skype is learning “how to be a dog”…and more importantly what he can expect in return. Each time we return to the house, he greets us with a happy dance. His greatest joy is when we appear each morning. His nature is so kind and generous that he even allows the cat to share his dinner.

AN ACT OF FAITH

Yet, he still has a long way to go before he trusts people in general and displays the cheerful, robust personality that defines Labradors. A sudden move, a stranger coming through the door or a sharp word will have him fearfully shooting underneath the coffee table, tail between the legs. He is, indeed, an act of faith and yes, we’ve given him our hearts to tear.