Certain details have been changed to protect anonymity.
He was a familiar sight in the town for many years. Nobody knew where he came from; he just arrived one day and remained to become another stray. A street dog living on his wits, scrounging food from whatever he could find. The life of any homeless animal is a precarious one, never knowing where the next meal will come from, and not having a regular supply of water to drink, despite temperatures in the high twenties and thirties for months on end. Where do you sleep? In the summer, it’s not too bad as the high temperatures ensure that no shelter is necessary, but when winter comes, the rain and bitterly cold weather arrive. How do you find shelter?
There are some dogs that not only survive this precarious existence but possibly thrive. An example was the “Fat One.”
He was a very large crossbreed with a Labrador appearance, which, as everyone knows, is a breed that is known for its love of food. I read an article years ago that explained the Labrador’s manic desire to consume anything remotely edible, with the resultant increase in girth, is down to their DNA.
The Fat One developed a routine. In the town, shops are usually open from 9 am to 2pm and then are closed in the afternoon until around 5 or 6 pm. So his mornings took an identical pattern. He would wander slowly past the shops, stopping at each one where he would push his head round each doorway, never entering, but indicating his presence in the hope of acquiring a tasty titbit. As time passed, his perseverance paid off as more shop proprietors and staff produced food, and it emerged that some premises even bought dog treats in anticipation of the Fat One’s arrival. He was so familiar that he was given a name, and the Fat One was christened Kyon. By lunchtime, he had developed a different approach. He now targeted the holidaymakers. Whilst the locals were not so easily conned, the visitors, particularly from Northern Europe and Scandinavia, were prime targets. Kyon now developed a technique that would serve him so well, he would lie down or sit in a non-threatening pose and wait for the tourists to take notice. The inevitable result was that tasty morsels were thrown in his direction. There is no evidence that Kyon understood English, but it became obvious that he appeared to understand that the British, in particular, were easy to manipulate. Looking doleful with his sad eyes and droopy ears, he realised it was a winning approach and led to a very successful outcome. His diet regime, however, was horrendous; a daily consumption of sausage rolls, burgers, bacon, frankfurters, pies, chips, chocolate, and pastries could not continue. By now, you will have realised that after a few years, Kyon was no longer the Fat One but was becoming the Obese One. Something had to change.
The local animal charity decided to act, and Kyon was taken to meet the veterinary surgeon, who was horrified at his size and prescribed a strict diet. An attempt was made to convince the shopkeepers not to feed Kyon, but it was all to no avail.
The problem was pretty simple. Kyon had spent years free to roam and had created a lifestyle that he enjoyed immensely, and to the best of his knowledge, he had never had a proper home. A charity member called Maria indicated that she was willing to take the oversized canine to her house and keep him from roaming, and so began the rehabilitation of Kyon. He had been on his own all his life, so getting to know and being accepted by Maria’s pack of adopted strays was initially not to his liking. He was aloof and declined to integrate into the group.
Unfortunately, there was a further problem; having never been constrained, Kyon strongly objected to the new regime. It transpired that Kyon was a historical escapologist of proportions. He would have been a valuable member of the Great Escape team. If the Steve McQueen character Hilts (the Cooler King) had chosen Kyon instead of Ives (the Mole) to go with him for the “mole escape”, it would have been successful. He could dig down to Australia without even straining himself. The difficulty was that, despite everything being done for his benefit, Kyon did not appreciate the restrictions to his freedom, and as for the diet, he wasn’t too keen on that idea either. From his point of view, his daily diet of human food was replaced with healthy dog food, carefully manufactured to the highest standards, complete with all essential vitamins and minerals. As he indicated, it didn’t come close to burger and chips! In fact, the whole enterprise didn’t meet with his approval. There he was in total control of his destiny every day, and suddenly, without warning, he was snatched from the streets and kept prisoner in a strange building, albeit with access to a large garden. Kyon was not happy. The matter was extensively discussed, and I was asked for my opinion. This was one of the most challenging decisions to make.
What was the priority? His physical health or his emotional well-being.
If he were allowed to continue, his lifestyle, which he had made for himself, was creating an enormous strain on his heart and damaging his joints, which in turn would leave him crippled or dead. By the same token, if he was enduring a thoroughly miserable existence, then intervention was not the answer. I’ve always advocated that, regardless of whether it’s animal or human, contentment is more important than longevity. Surely a happy, shorter life is preferable to a longer, miserable existence. It was agreed that Kyon would stay a while longer, but if he continued to be distressed, then he would be returned to the streets.
It would take many weeks, but Kyon eventually settled down, he accepted his change of circumstances and started to lose some weight. His final years were spent in the only real home he had ever known. His attempts to escape finally stopped as he appeared to accept that regular meals, a garden to play in with his newfound mates, a soft, comfy bed and dry accommodation in winter were a distinct improvement on his previous lifestyle. He was never going to be the Slimming World slimmer of the year, as he always remained a trifle portly, but his weight loss was sufficient to extend his life.
Having spent his final years in the lap of luxury, Kyon eventually passed peacefully in his sleep.
Big dogs are like teddy bears, large, soft and always ready for a comforting cuddle.
Anon
With subtitle or not?