A Dog’s Long Wait

One day in February 2020,when the COVID-19 epidemic was rampant,a yellow-and-black dog unexpectedly appeared in Taikang Hospital located in Dongxihu District,Wuhan.

Many medical workers and cleaning ladies fed the dog in turn.The owner of the hospital grocery store took him in,and named him “Xiao Bao.” One nurse wrote a story about the dog and posted it on Douyin and WeChat Moments,calling him a Wuhan version of Hachiko.

According to the sanitation regulations,the hospital could no longer keep Xiao Bao there.When the volunteers at the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association read the story,they came to the hospital and took Xiao Bao with them.After a physical check-up,the volunteers began to seek out an appropriate owner for him and hoped that Xiao Bao could soon have a new home.

二月的武汉，正是新冠肺炎疫情最严重时。位于东西湖区的太康医院，出现了一只黄黑相间的狗。

狗的故事在医院里流传。有医护人员说它的主人是一名患新冠肺炎的爹爹，主人入院它就跟来了，主人不幸病逝，它却痴痴守在医院，3 个多月不离不弃。

不少医护人员、保洁员给它喂过食；医院超市老板收留了它，给它取名“小宝”；有护士将小宝的故事制成抖音短视频发朋友圈，称它为武汉版“忠犬八公”。

出于卫生考虑，小宝不宜长久留在医院。武汉市小动物保护协会志愿者闻讯将小宝接走，给它检查身体，并努力帮它找寻新的主人。大家都盼望，小宝能有一个好的归宿。

Three Months’ Waiting

Zhu Youzhen,a cleaning lady working in Taikang Hospital,remembered clearly the first time when she saw Xiao Bao.It was three months ago,in February,and the dog was wandering outside the outpatient building,too timid to sneak in.

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Zhu was told by some medical workers that the owner of the dog was an old man who had been infected and passed away only five days after his arrival.Since then,the dog had been waiting outside the hospital for an impossible reunion.

“He may think that his owner is still in the hospital,” said Zhu.

Many medical workers and cleaning ladies learned about the story of the dog,and would help to feed him.The dog had thus stayed at the hospital for a while.

Fed and Loved by All

Wu Cuifen,the owner of the hospital grocery store,managed to reopen her business on April 13,when the epidemic slowed down.

Wu loves dogs and has a golden retriever at home.When she heard about the new comer in the hospital,she decided to do something.Wu lured the dog to her store with some sausage,and fed him there everyday.They soon became friends.At 8:00 in the morning,the lady and the dog would meet at the door of the store on time and spend their day together.Then,at 7:00 pm,the dog would bid farewell to the lady,watching the latter leaving on an electronic bike.

Wu had named her golden retriever “An Bao” (literally “peaceful baby”),so she gave the new smaller dog the name “Xiao Bao” (“Xiao” means “small”).She had happy days with him.The medical workers also visited Xiao Bao now and then,buying sausages or other food for him.A nurse posted a video clip of the dog on Douyin which soon went viral.When a dog lover living in Hanyang saw the video,he came to the hospital,asking for permission to adopt Xiao Bao.However,after he brought Xiao Bao back home,the latter refused to eat or drink at all.The man had no choice but to send the dog back to the hospital.

Waiting for a New Home

When the epidemic was under control,the hospital resumed medical services.With more patients coming in,the staff found it no longer appropriate to keep the dog there.Some netizens learned about it and asked the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association for help.

On May 20,the volunteers at the Association came to Taikang Hospital,played with Xiao Bao for half an hour,and the dog was finally “willing” to leave with them.“I don’t want to see him leave,but I know he deserves better,” Wu said.Then the volunteers took Xiao Bao to a pet clinic,where he had a physical check-up and got sterilized.

On the afternoon of May 24,I met Xiao Bao in Du Fan’s apartment building.Du,the head of the association,told me about how they were moved by the story of the dog and his owner.According to Xiao Bao’s teeth conditions,Du said,he was around seven years old—a mature dog.We also had good news about Xiao Bao’s adoption.Two citizens had submitted their applications to the Association,and the Association was checking their qualifications before making a choice for Xiao Bao.

“We are still open to more applications,” said Du,“because we want Xiao Bao to have a home as good as possible.”“I hope Xiao Bao will have a new owner soon,and that person would treat him well,” said Wu with tears in her eyes.(Translation: Wang Xiaoke)

Xiao Bao is now cared by the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association 忠义犬小宝暂被小动物保护协会收留

主人离世，狗狗痴守三个月

保洁员朱友珍记得，第一次见小宝时是在2月份。一开始，它很怕生，只在门诊楼外徘徊，不敢进来。

朱友珍是从医院医护人员处得知，狗的主人是一位年纪蛮大的患新冠肺炎的爹爹。爹爹病情严重，来了5 天就不幸病逝，狗却一直痴痴地守在医院。

“它可能以为主人还在医院，不愿离开吧。”朱友珍说，很多医护人员都知道这只狗的故事，有时看到它，就给它东西吃。在医院保洁员、医护人员的照顾下，狗在医院生存了下来。

被众人投喂宠爱成网红

吴翠芬在医院开了一家超市，因为疫情的缘故，直到4月13日才开业。

吴翠芬爱狗，自家养了一只金毛，听说这只狗的故事后，更对它产生怜爱。她用火腿肠将狗引到超市，每天给它喂食，慢慢地跟狗熟起来。每天早上8 时，吴翠芬到超市，狗准时报道，直到傍晚7 点目送吴翠芬骑电动车离开。

吴翠芬家的金毛叫“安宝”，她就给这只狗狗取名“小宝”。这段时间，吴翠芬每天和小宝作伴，乐在其中。医护人员也经常来超市看小宝，买火腿肠之类的食物给它吃。有护士给小宝拍了视频发到抖音，曾有一位家住汉阳的爱心人士看到消息后，来医院领养小宝。但小宝到了新的环境下，不吃不喝。这位爱心人士只好又将它送回医院。

爱心人士纷纷申请领养

随着医院复诊，来医院看病的人增多，小宝不再适合留在医院。有网友向武汉市小动物保护协会反映，希望能救助小宝。

5月20日，协会的志愿者们来到太康医院，逗小宝玩了半小时后，小宝终于愿意跟着他们离开。“跟小宝相处了这么久，心里也舍不得，但它总要有个好的归宿。”吴翠芬说。志愿者们将小宝送到宠物医院检查身体，并做了绝育手术。

24日下午，在协会会长杜帆家的楼下，我见到了小宝。杜帆说，他们听说了小宝和主人的故事后，很感动，将它接到宠物医院进行消毒、做体检。杜帆根据小宝的牙齿推断，它应该有7 岁，算大龄狗。目前，已有两位爱心人士向协会提出申请，想收养小宝，协会也在审核这些爱心人士的资质。

“若有符合条件的爱心人士愿收养小宝，依然可以联系我们。”杜帆说，他们也希望小宝有一个最好的归宿。

“希望小宝尽快找到新主人，得到善待。”吴翠芬眼角闪着泪花说。