A poor boy who worked in a warehouse next to a closed bicycle shop noticed that a shaggy dog invariably entered the shop every day. Curious as to where it was going, he followed it one day and discovered a heartbreaking secret.
Chris, 18, was an experienced market worker and had seen many street animals. But Ollie, a shiba inu, was different. He was friendly, well-mannered and too well-groomed to be a stray dog.
When Chris first met Ollie, he found him standing in front of a closed bike shop just staring out the huge panes of glass. Friends at work told him that the dog belonged to the shop owner who had suddenly stopped coming into work for a few weeks.
Chris got upset whenever he saw the poor dog. He loved dogs, and it annoyed him how someone could leave their favourite pet on the street and just disappear like that. So one day, before going to the cafe for lunch, he stroked the dog on the head and said affectionately: ‘Hi Ollie… Would you like a sandwich, boy?’.
From that day on, the curious dog ran to Chris every lunch hour, wagging his tail excitedly at the sight of Chris’s lunch box. But instead of eating the snack, the dog would snatch it up and disappear with the dish clutched in his jaws….
Watching Ollie run off each day with his food and then return to the same spot until just before closing time, Chris felt anxious and curious. At first he assumed that Ollie must have had a litter of puppies somewhere and was taking the food away to feed them. But Ollie was a male dog, and his unusual behaviour didn’t fit his mind.
Chris grew more worried by the day as he watched the mongrel’s energy fade. Ollie’s once lustrous coat had become dull, and it seemed that an unknown source of distress was troubling him. Chris even thought it might have something to do with being abandoned, but couldn’t determine anything.
‘Where does he put his food without even taking a bite?’
One day during lunch, Chris watched Ollie wagging his tail, licking excitedly at the sight of a sandwich, but snatching it up and running away as usual. This got Chris thinking and worried.
‘If Ollie has no puppies and his owner has abandoned him, where does he get his food every day?’ – he suspected.
‘Ollie, where are you going?’ shouted Chris, chasing after the dog. But the mutt didn’t slow its step or look back, but simply disappeared from the market, leaving Chris in a cloud of dust.
‘Weird dog!’ Confused and bewildered, Chris shook his head and went back to work, unable to shake off the thought that Ollie had run off with the food.
Several thoughts ran through Chris’s mind about where the dog went on a daily basis, but he couldn’t determine anything.
When Chris finished his shift and stepped out into the frosty night air to go home, he spotted Ollie sitting outside a closed bike shop. The dog’s eyes were fixed on the glass, and he whined softly as he saw Chris approaching.
Chris’s heart squeezed at the sight of the poor lonely dog, who had become very dear to him over the past few days. The bond between them was growing stronger and Chris realised that Ollie was more than just a strange dog.
He was a loyal and loving friend who touched his heart, and the sight of Ollie sitting there, lonely and sad, touched Chris’s heart strings. He realised he had to do something to help him.
Walking over to Ollie, Chris silently promised himself to never let the poor animal feel lonely again. He knelt down, gently stroked Ollie’s head with a heavy heart and whispered: ‘You’re not alone, mate! I’m here for you.’
Compassion and concern for Ollie drove Chris to make the difficult decision to take the poor dog into his home. However, a small problem stood in his way. Chris lived in a rented flat with his girlfriend Mila, who was not very fond of pets, especially dogs.
Chris realised that getting a dog in their house was a risky business, and his girlfriend certainly wouldn’t agree with him. But he couldn’t leave the poor thing alone on the street.
So in the evening he silently approached the dog and offered him a biscuit, and then fastened a leash to his collar. Ollie was scared and tried to break free, but Chris calmed him down and took him with him.
Chris’s heart pounded with joy and anxiety as he walked home with Ollie. He knew Mila wouldn’t be thrilled about the new addition to their family. But he believed in his decision and was determined to somehow convince her to keep the dog.
With each step, Chris promised himself that he would provide Ollie with a safe haven. But his heart sank when he returned home and looked into his girlfriend’s furious eyes. Mila was beyond furious when she saw the dog.
‘What is that dog doing here?’ exasperated Mila when she saw Ollie peeking out from behind his legs and looking at her with his big brown eyes glowing with despair.
‘Put that thing away,’ she added, stepping back in disgust.
‘Baby, there’s no one to take care of him… and he doesn’t want anything bad, you know? Please, can we have him? He’s abandoned and I found him at the market… Just look at him… he’s such a wonderful dog and I’m sure you’ll fall in love with him… just give him some time, baby… please. He needs us…he needs a loving home and we have plenty of room in our flat.’
But Mila was too annoyed and stubborn to listen further.
‘You want us to wake up to his morning howls gnawing at our brains to take him for a walk, Chris? Are you out of your mind? You can’t just bring any stray dog in here… This isn’t an animal shelter. We’ve got a lot of problems and we’re already struggling as it is. We can’t take him,’ she yelled at Chris.
‘And I’m not going to wake up every morning with a doggy bag in my hands, expecting to have to pick up fresh, warm poo, OK? And this critter is going to be shedding a lot…just look at his thick fur. You know I’m allergic to dogs…and I don’t want to get bitten. Look, I’m not taking this dog home, full stop. Get him out of here before I leave.’
