Chapter 10

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“Lie down for a while. I’m a professional when it comes to baths and massages.”

Animals were at their most vulnerable when they were ill. Because of the nature of her work, Wen Youning often came into contact with injured little creatures, and getting dirty was unavoidable. In such situations, she always handled the washing herself. She had never studied it systematically, but practice made perfect.

Wen Youning worked the soap between her hands until it formed a dense lather, then gathered it and piled it on the German shepherd’s head. “Let’s put on a shower cap first.”

The German shepherd raised its head, trying to reach Wen Youning’s hand. Its nose brushed against a drifting bubble, which burst with a soft pop. The dog blinked, then pawed at its nose.

“Whine…?”

The bathing products used in the pet shop contained safe ingredients, mostly natural extracts. Their fragrance was mild as well, well within the range most people could tolerate.

[Hahaha, what a magnificent foam tower on its head.]

[The German shepherd and the streamer are both so adorable. Who understands this feeling? I watch the livestream and somehow the corners of my mouth just start lifting.]

Wen Youning rubbed the remaining foam from her hands onto the German shepherd’s neck. The bathtub was sloped, with a raised section at the far left that made a perfect pillow for the dog.

She only had to be careful while bathing it not to become too absorbed in massaging its fur. Otherwise, the German shepherd might accidentally slide down the slope.

Much of the filthy fur covering its body had already been clipped away, making the washing far less laborious.

Otherwise, with the size of a large dog like this German shepherd, even soaking it under running water for half an hour might not be enough to penetrate the outer layer of fur and wet the coat underneath.

Some pet shops would not accept large dogs at all. At times, the fee for bathing one large dog was not even enough to cover the water bill.

“There are still a few wounds.” Wen Youning parted a section of fur with her fingertips. “But they’ve already healed.”

It seemed the German shepherd had been lost for more than a day or two—at least half a month.

New pink flesh had grown over the wounds. Fortunately, the German shepherd had a powerful ability to heal itself. Otherwise, in those conditions, it would have died long ago.

That stall owner had probably not only failed to care for it, but might not even have given it a sip of water.

He had been in the business of making quick money, thinking only of getting rid of the dog as soon as possible. Why would he have bothered to look after it?

“Come on, turn over.” Wen Youning was wearing short sleeves, which she rolled up a little farther. She reached into the water and supported the German shepherd as she turned it over.

With the buoyancy of the water, turning over in the tub was easy and took almost no effort.

The German shepherd obediently let Wen Youning arrange it however she pleased. Its eyes, however, were constantly searching for her. Even after its body had turned over, its head strained backward in an effort to keep her in sight.

Wen Youning raised a hand to support it. “Your shower cap fell into the water.”

“Woof!”

The German shepherd pawed at its head as though trying to hold it in place. Both paws worked desperately, but the foam shower cap dissolved the moment it touched water. Once it reached the paws, only a little foam remained.

Wen Youning gathered up the leftover suds. “It’s all right. I’ll make you a new one.”

“Ta-da!” Wen Youning turned the livestream camera around, then moved around as well until she was facing the German shepherd. “A double-layer shower cap. Entirely handmade. It neither absorbs water nor repels it. Purely decorative.”

“Whine!”

Decorative!

“Haha.” Laughing, Wen Youning splashed water over the German shepherd and began scrubbing the other side.

She massaged it as she bathed it. Massage and acupuncture were both effective ways to help the German shepherd recover.

The dog clearly found it very comfortable.

Once its fur was wet, the German shepherd looked even more painfully thin, all skin and bones.

As Wen Youning pulled the plug and let the dirty water drain away, she was already considering what meat she should buy later to give the German shepherd a proper meal and help it regain its strength.

After the water had drained, Wen Youning used a towel to clean out the mud and clumps of dog hair from the bottom of the tub, then filled it again.

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The fur remaining on the German shepherd’s body made it look as though it had patches of baldness—dark in some places, with missing sections in others.

[If I didn’t know better, I’d think the German shepherd had gone off to steal land mines. It looks like it was blasted by explosives.]

[It’s not a big problem. The German shepherd is incredibly handsome. Even after being clipped like this, it’s still gorgeous.]

Wen Youning used the showerhead to rinse away the remaining foam. “It’ll grow back soon enough. Once we finish washing and drying it, the missing patches won’t look so obvious.”

“Woof!”

The German shepherd tilted its head and rested it against the back of Wen Youning’s hand.

The dog at the center of the livestream’s discussion about the uneven clipping seemed completely unconcerned. It was honest and docile, without the slightest trace of temper.

Two rounds of soaking, two rounds of rinsing.

Only when there was not a trace of foam left on its body, and even its ears had been cleaned, did Wen Youning lift the German shepherd from the tub.

There was a dryer in the pet shop, though it was a little small.

Wen Youning imagined that putting the German shepherd inside would leave it cramped, so she decided to dry it by hand with blow-dryers instead.

She started at the lowest setting. When the dryer began to hum, she gently rubbed the German shepherd’s ears at the same time. Only after seeing that the noise had not frightened it did she turn the air up fully.

All the other blow-dryers on the counter were mounted on racks. Wen Youning adjusted their angles and set them to a suitable temperature, then moved from one spot to another with the dryer in her hand.

Otherwise, if she used only one dryer herself, it would take until the end of time to get the dog dry.

The warm air made the German shepherd’s eyes narrow. Unable to stand and lying on its side, its abdomen gradually began to rise and fall in an even rhythm.

Wen Youning spread her fingers like a comb, smoothing the fur as she dried it.

Before long, the German shepherd had fallen completely asleep.

Perhaps being beside Wen Youning made it feel safe. When it had been trapped in that filthy, cramped cage, it surely had not been able to sleep peacefully.

Once its fur was mostly dry, Wen Youning switched off all the dryers, removed the apron she had worn to keep off the water, and carefully picked up the German shepherd.

“Bathing a large dog really is an exhausting, complicated undertaking.” Wen Youning moved her aching arms. She had carried the German shepherd back and forth several times, yet she had never been this tired after bathing a dog.

The German shepherd whimpered softly in its sleep. Wen Youning stroked its fur, smoothing it down.

After its bath, the German shepherd was wonderfully fluffy, carrying a faint, clean fragrance. As it slept, it looked especially gentle.

Wen Youning carried the dog downstairs. Xiao Lu, who had been arranging the shelves, came forward and paused before speaking in a very low voice.

“Is it asleep?”

“Mm.” Wen Youning nodded. She brought up the list she had prepared the night before of things to buy from the pet shop. “Please get one of each of these, along with two packs of pee pads and a leash.”

Xiao Lu took a picture of the list and turned to prepare the items. “There are quite a lot of things. Can you carry them all? We offer home delivery for purchases over three hundred, and your order qualifies.”

“Then please have them delivered.” Wen Youning was also beginning to worry about how she would get everything home. She had originally planned to take a taxi after shopping and figured she could carry the bags home somehow.

But with a German shepherd in her arms, there was no way she could carry anything else.

“All right. Let’s add each other as contacts. Send me your address, and we can deliver everything between three and five this afternoon. Is that all right?”

“That works.” Wen Youning scanned the contact code.

As soon as Xiao Lu added her, the payment arrived. She took the initiative to ask, “I saw you carrying quite a few things to the shop next door earlier. Would you like me to have those delivered as well? It looks like they’d be difficult for you to carry.”

“Would that be too much trouble?”

Xiao Lu waved her hand. The pet shop was in a remote location, and they usually had to make up most of their sales online. When a customer finally came in and spent money without any fuss, Xiao Lu practically wanted to escort her home personally.

“Not at all. We’ll be driving, and it’s only a few more boxes of supplies. They won’t take up much room. Just leave them there, and I’ll arrange everything.”

“Then I’ll trouble you.” Wen Youning sent her another red packet. “Please pack one serving each of the cat treats, canned cat food, and freeze-dried chicken. I’ll take those with me now.”

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“Sure thing.”

…

These were for the little orange kitten and the calico mother on the way home.

For easier feeding, Wen Youning also bought two small dishes.

The kittens were still too young. At present, they could not eat anything except milk, so she did not buy food for them.

The examination report from the pet hospital next door was already ready.

Wen Youning flipped through it with one hand, her eyes moving down each line. “It looks all right. Just a little malnutrition and… Please give me a box of anti-inflammatory medicine.”

Normally, once a report was available, the doctor was responsible for explaining it to the pet’s owner. But after seeing what Wen Youning had done earlier, the doctor had no intention of showing off her limited expertise in front of a true master. She had simply printed out the report without saying anything, and she had not dared to prescribe any medication.

Only after hearing Wen Youning’s request did the doctor retrieve the medicine she had asked for.

As they spoke, the German shepherd woke up. Its brief sleep had clearly been comfortable. It rubbed its chin against Wen Youning’s shoulder.

“Would Boandifen be suitable?” The doctor took out a small box of anti-inflammatory tablets. “This works best and has almost no side effects. The only problem is that it’s difficult to administer. When you get home, you can hide it in a piece of meat and let the dog swallow it whole.”

[Dog owner here. My dog was prescribed this after surgery last month too. You can’t crush it or break it—you have to give it whole. Every time I tried, it turned into a three-hundred-round battle between me and the dog.]

[Speaking from experience: hiding it in meat doesn’t work. My cat swallows the meat, then spits out the medicine.]

[It’s fine. The German shepherd is paralyzed and can’t run away. Just use a pill dispenser.]

[What kind of cruel method is that? Don’t bully the disabled fluffy one!]

…

The doctor had evidently thought of the same solution. “Would you like a pill dispenser?”

She took one from the drawer. The device could place the pill directly in the dog’s throat. Once the dog’s mouth was closed and its head tilted upward, it would naturally swallow the tablet.

“I’ll try first.” Wen Youning did not yet know how resistant the German shepherd was to medication. Judging from the comments, this particular medicine had received unanimous poor reviews when it came to administering it.

Medicine could not be forced, nor could it be given in haste.

Wen Youning decided to discuss it with the German shepherd and take things slowly. She had never heard of the brand, but according to the instructions, it was suitable for the German shepherd’s current condition.

She wiped her hands with an alcohol pad, opened a tablet, and placed it in her palm. “Good dog, look at this medicine…”

Before she could finish speaking, the German shepherd lowered its head and swept out its tongue. The small white tablet vanished from Wen Youning’s palm.

Doctor: “???”

That dog must be starving.

Absolutely starving.

[My dog watched that and said it was staged. It told me not to watch.]

[Wait… it just ate it? Then what was that daily human-dog mixed martial arts tournament I went through last month when I had to give my dog medicine?]

[It means you’re strong.]

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