This is going to be sad, yet very true……
When my grandfather was alive, he told me a story, a story about him and his pet, when he was still a child.
Back in the 80s, when he was still a child, he had a dog. He didn’t tell much about it. All that I knew was that its name was Bonnet. He refused to talk more as he referred it as “a sad experience”.
Now the first thing I have to declare is that owning a pet, or a dog, if to be specified, was really dangerous back then. People were poor and the communist government would only distribute just enough food for people to survive. The government was corrupted. People were angry and hungry. Owning a pet means they had their own properties, or, they were rich. Most people tried to avoid that, or they would soon attract a bunch of useless police.
Each time when he went out with Bonnet, he had to be super careful as many people would stare at it with their mouths wide opened. He was afraid that Bonnet would be eaten.
Little grandpa spent most of his time avoiding that. But sadly, his nightmare arrived. Once when he was going out with Bonnet, some of his neighbours finally couldn’t stand it. They rushed out with weapons liked chairs and sticks, pushed away grandpa and grabbed Bonnet. Once they succeeded, they ran away. Since he was just a little kid, it was impossible for him to run fast, and wasn’t even close to catch up on the adults.
He remembered every detail of the scene, and most importantly, the pain. “I was terrified and shocked in the first place, then anger and sadness came upon my heart. I didn’t understand why they would do this to me. I collapsed instantly. My brain couldn’t handle the pain in my heart.”
Now, I have never owned a pet, as most places in Hong Kong aren’t dog-friendly, but I can still understand grandpa’s pain and sadness. Witnessing his own dog being abducted, taken away from his hands by his own eyes, was too much pain for an 8-year-old kid to handle.
My grandfather had passed away for 2 years. Now, he can finally live with Bonnet together happily and safely in the heavens, without worrying about another nightmare of his best friend being taken away……