Don't Go to the Dog Star
"Squid?"
Go Gi-jin's eyes flew wide.
Squid was a terrifying forbidden food in the veterinary world — a snack every clinic treated as off-limits. It wasn't a poison, not the way onions, chocolate, or grapes were. So why did veterinarians treat it like taboo?
When the body converts carbohydrates into glucose for energy, it needs vitamin B1 — thiamine. Squid, however, contains an enzyme called thiaminase that breaks thiamine down. If that enzyme depletes the body's stores and a thiamine deficiency sets in, carbohydrates can no longer be turned into fuel, and the brain and muscles pay the price. Convulsions and other neurological trouble can erupt. The animal might even struggle to breathe.
Thiaminase lives in raw squid, so boiling or grilling deactivates it. And it takes a large amount of raw squid eaten all at once to trigger a true deficiency. A little nibble wouldn't do it. So would a small portion of squid — rich in protein and taurine — actually be fine? One might think so.
It would not.
Even setting the thiamine headache aside, squid is something dogs and cats are better off never eating. The squid they typically get their teeth on is the dried kind. With the moisture evaporated and the flavor concentrated, dried squid is irresistibly tempting to a dog's keen nose. But that concentrated snack is punishingly salty — loaded with sodium. And another problem lies in wait.
Once that moisture-stripped squid meets the fluids of the stomach and intestines, it swells to several times its size. The belly balloons tight as a drum. Breathing becomes hard. Digestion becomes harder. Sometimes the aftermath is a full-blown intestinal obstruction.
Exactly like Gamja, panting in short, labored breaths in Go Gi-jin's arms.
"Eutta, you poor thing. That belly's gotta be hurtin' somethin' awful."
Anyone who'd ever suffered from overeating could imagine it. Go Gi-jin looked down at Gamja with a worried face.
"Hah... I know. Our Gamja must be in so much pain."
Then a voice called from the entrance.
"D-Doctor, is our Gamja going to be okay?"
It was the son. Gamja's owner turned on him and let fly.
"Why would you leave squid in your room? And if you're going to eat it, eat it all — why leave leftovers for Gamja to find?"
"I-I was eating it and my stomach suddenly hurt, so I went to the bathroom, and in that time Gamja..."
Pinch. The owner glared at her son and tweaked him hard in the side.
"Ugh, I can't live like this. I really can't live like this."
She said it aloud, then dropped her voice and spoke to her son — radiating a truly terrifying force.
"You. From now on, you quit drinking. Got it?"
"......"
The son ducked away from his mother's fearsome gaze. Even so, he never did answer. She stared at him a moment longer, and Go Gi-jin spoke up.
"I'll take Gamja on back and run some tests. Figure I'll do blood work and an X-ray first. And if it ain't no trouble, might be wise to check for pancreatitis too..."
His voice trailed off, and Gamja's owner picked it up at once.
"Of course, Doctor. Please run every test he needs."
"Will do."
Go Gi-jin answered and started toward the treatment room. Behind him, the owner called out.
"Doctor, our Gamja... he'll be all right, won't he?"
"Starve him a few days, put him on an IV, and he'll come around just fine."
"He will, won't he?"
Go Gi-jin's hopeful answer put strength back in her. He stepped into the treatment room, and voices carried in from outside — the owner and her son.
"I'll stay and take care of Gamja."
"What kind of nonsense is that? So you can order chicken again and not even clean up after yourself? What happens when Gamja eats that too? Forget it. I'm just going to have him admitted. I was going to leave him here tomorrow anyway."
The owner's sharp rebuke drew a sigh from Go Gi-jin.
"Eutta, I sure hope this holiday stays quiet..."
"Seeing how it's starting before the holiday even begins, I think we'll need to stay on our toes this time."
Yoo Mu-hwan, coming into the treatment room after checking on the inpatients, picked up the thought.
"Ain't that the truth."
"I overheard outside — Gamja ate squid?"
"That's what they said. Sounds like he ate a whole one, too..."
"Poor guy. He's in for a rough time. Let's draw blood first."
"Right. Ah, and that other thing — them rascal boys~."
"Kkotnimi and his bunch?"
"Mm. Sounds like they're under the weather. They're on their way in."
Before Go Gi-jin had even finished, Jang Sora's voice floated in from the front, greeting new arrivals.
"Sounds like Kkotnimi's crew is here, just like you said."
"Sure does. I'll just draw this little fella's blood and head out there."
The two of them found a vein in Gamja's foreleg and drew the blood without any trouble — thanks to Lee Jun's training, Gamja no longer feared the tests.
"Dr. Yoo, you take this little fella and go get pictures with Dr. Cha~."
"Yes, understood."
After handing Gamja off to Yoo Mu-hwan, Go Gi-jin went out to receive the Rascal Trio — and his eyes went round as saucers.
"Eutta, what's gotten into you lot?"
Kkotnimi, Little Grey, and Juhongi were sprawled on the floor, all three panting so hard they could barely breathe.
"Hello, Doctor. After I hung up the phone, I found these guys had ransacked the storage room. There was an unopened bag of kibble in there..."
"They ate the whole thing?"
"Hah... seems that way. There were a few pieces rolling around on the floor, but gathered up it wouldn't have filled a fist."
"Aigoo, you little rascals. What were you thinkin'?"
Go Gi-jin looked down at the collapsed dogs and gave them an earful. Then he turned back to the owner.
"So how many kilos was it? Wasn't a fifteen-kilo bag, was it?"
"No. Smaller than that."
"You feed them the 6.8-kilo Hols large-breed bags."
Jang Sora, standing beside them, put in, and the owner nodded.
"Yes, that sounds right. The director said that in summer, if you open a big bag and don't store it properly, the kibble can grow mold, so since June, I think? We've been buying the small ones."
"That so? Well, that's a mercy, at least."
"Will they... be all right? They'll be all right, won't they?"
"Them boys are big enough. A digestive-enzyme shot and a bit of fasting, and they'll come around just fine."
"They'll need to be admitted... won't they?"
"Be better if they were, yeah."
"Then please take good care of them. But they'll be okay?"
"They'll be fine. Eatin' that much ain't gonna do 'em in. And it was kibble, nothin' else. They didn't get into anythin' besides that, did they?"
"I don't think so. And what I'm really worried about is... well, if you have to look after all three of them at once, I was afraid it might be too much for the staff."
"Eutta, worryin' about the silliest things. They'll be just fine. They're good kids. Ain't their first time stayin' over, neither."
"Then I'll leave them in your care."
"They'll be better by tomorrow, so come by tomorrow afternoon or whenever suits you."
"Ah, yes..."
At Go Gi-jin's words, the owner hesitated, then added something more.
"Um... Doctor. About these guys. Could I leave them a few extra days?"
"Eutta, headed home for the ancestral rites, are you?"
"Yes, our family home is in Chuncheon. If you could take them, I was thinking I might stay a few extra days while I'm there."
"Go right ahead."
The Rascal Trio's owner brightened at once.
"Aigoo, thank you so much. Doctors. I know our kids will be a handful, and you're still willing to take them."
"Don't mention it. I already told you, didn't I? These little ones are good kids. So don't you worry, and have a good trip."
"Yes, Doctor. Please take good care of them. And if there's any test they need, please run it."
The vote of confidence in Mongmong Animal Hospital brought a light to Go Gi-jin's and Jang Sora's faces.
"Will do."
"Well then."
The owner bowed to Go Gi-jin and Jang Sora, then turned to the three dogs.
"Listen to the doctors, don't make trouble, and be good!"
The three of them were still panting, still struggling — but they wagged their tails.
Hoesaegi, Kkamnyangi, and Sapsaree were in the dog inpatient ward with Aji.
Hoesaegi had taken the spot on Aji's right, Kkamnyangi on her left, and Sapsaree had settled in above her head. Aji's face was so swollen she could barely see, and the bee stings still prickled and burned. But the joy of having the three of them beside her was stronger than the pain.
"Hehe, this is nice!"
Hoesaegi looked at Aji, who was smiling through her puffed-up face, and asked,
"Aji-ong. Doesn't it hurt-ong?"
"Hehe, it hurts. But I'm okay."
It hurts, but I'm okay. At that, the three of them smiled. They knew that feeling all too well. Hurting alone is miserable — hard and heavy. But if someone is there worrying over you, the pain somehow seems to hurt a little less.
Then Hoesaegi brought an ice pack to Aji's paw, tilted his head, and gave the ice pack Aji was using as a pillow a light tap.
"It's not cold-ong. I'll go tell Hyungnim-ong."
"I'll go fetch it, I will."
Sapsaree was just taking the melted ice pack in his mouth when all three of them pricked up their ears at once.
"It's those rascal boys-ong."
"Did they come to play? What's today? That Gamja fellow came too."
"That's right, it is. This is nice, it is."
Lots of friends coming — that was a good thing. Hoesaegi grinned.
"Good thing we didn't go to Golmokjib today-ong. Lots of friends here-ong. Sapsaree-ong, tell our friends we're here-ong."
"Yeah. Tell them if they get bored at the playground, they should come over. Oh, and Aji's hurting, so tell them they can't come stomping and crashing in."
"I-I'm okay, though..."
Aji smiled bashfully, looking pleased, and Hoesaegi cut in.
"No-ong. Hyungnim said not to bother Aji-ong. He said she has to lie still so it won't hurt-ong."
"That's right, he did. He said that, he did. Then I'll go tell our friends just that, I will."
With that, Sapsaree picked up the melted ice pack from the floor and went out. A moment later, he came scrambling back in.
"Hyungnims! Gamja's hurting, he is! He was all hunched over going ugh-ugh, he was!"
"What? Gamja? D-did he eat something weird?"
Kkamnyangi's eyes went round as coins — and in that same instant, Hoesaegi burst out of the inpatient ward and took off running.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Hoesaegi, who almost never ran inside the animal hospital, flew down the hall so fast his paws were a blur, crying out as he went.
"Th-that's right. You can't go to the Dog Star. Don't you go."
Kkamnyangi tore after Hoesaegi, shouting as he ran. Sapsaree started to follow, then doubled back.
"Aji, you stay here, you hear. The pokey things mustn't come out, they mustn't."
"That's right. You stay put."
Kkamnyangi had somehow already looped back too, and he added his own warning. Aji nodded.
"Mm, okay."
Hearing her promise, the two of them bolted outside again.
That was when it happened.
Prrrt-splurt-squelch — SPLAT-SPLAT-SPLAT!
A tremendous noise slammed all the way up to the second floor of the animal hospital. At the same time, a thick, earthy stench rolled through the building — the smell of a country rice-paddy ditch.
In that instant, Hoesaegi, Kkamnyangi, and Sapsaree locked eyes. Then all three heads tilted.
"Th-that's strange-ong. Back then it was a terribly strange and frightening smell-ong."
That strange and terrifying smell had been the smell of bloody stool. Hoesaegi and Kkamnyangi had always believed that if you pooped blood, you went to the Cat Star — so the smell of bloody stool had been the smell of death. But both cats cocked their heads, certain this was different from the smell that had filled the air when Gamja ate Castor Oil Meal Fertilizer, passed bloody stool, and nearly died.
"That's right. But this is the smell from when Kkotnimi walked around like this."
Kkamnyangi toddled along in a waddling little gait, imitating Kkotnimi — and his face had already grown easier than it had been a moment before.
Kkamnyangi was not the only one who had realized it was not the smell of death. Hoesaegi, who had been sprinting in a panic, slowed to a leisurely walk and headed down to the first floor.
And there he witnessed it.
The three of them, producing mountains of stool on a truly staggering scale. And beside them, Strong Hyungnim — Go Gi-jin — laughing huh-huh-huh and cheering them on.
"That's it, keep goin'~! Push it all out! Empty them bellies!"
After that, Mongmong Animal Hospital was filled with the smell of a country farm.
Jang Sora had left the door wide open for a full hour. She was just closing it when clients walked in, pinching their noses.
It was Ttangkhongi's owner and Choco the poodle's owner. They came in looking around.
"Oh my, Doctor. Did a septic tank burst somewhere?"
"It smells exactly like a country bus-terminal bathroom."
"N-no, a septic tank bursting? That's not it at all."
"Then why does it smell...?"
"It just turned out that way."
Jang Sora kept it short, and Ttangkhongi's owner and Choco's owner laughed as they answered.
"Goodness. So they're all right, then?"
"They're doing better than when they first came in."
"That's a relief. Honestly, you can't take your eyes off them for a second. When our Ttangkhongi was little, I can't even count how many times he got into trouble."
"Ttangkhongi? He's so dignified, though."
"Oh, that's because he's gotten old. When his food obsession was at its peak, you couldn't leave anything out. That's right — one Chuseok, Ttangkhongi stole the jeon pancakes and came down with pancreatitis."
"Really?"
"Oh yes. Doctor, could I get Ttangkhongi's food, please?"
"I came to buy the treats Choco eats. The ones small as beans? Those, please."
"So you can hand them out when the relatives come?"
"Mm. Everyone wants to give Choco something. There'll be little kids too, and they all want to feed him. So I have to have treats on hand. Doctor, those are tiny, so it's okay to give a bunch, right?"
"Even so, giving too many isn't a great idea. Just a moment — I'll grab Ttangkhongi's food and Choco's treats right away."
While Jang Sora went to fetch what they wanted, Ttangkhongi's owner turned to Choco's owner.
"You're doing the ancestral rites at home too, right? Keep a close eye on Choco. If he eats jeon or anything like that, it'll be serious."
"It's fine. Our Choco's well-behaved. He doesn't get into things."
"I'm telling you not to let your guard down."
"Okay, okay."
Choco's owner laughed as she took the advice.
"Here you are."
"Thank you, Doctor. I can't tell you how glad I am that Mongmong Animal Hospital stays open late."
"It's really wonderful. Oh, Doctor, are you open tomorrow too?"
"Yes, of course. We're open on Chuseok day as well."
"Oh my. Then when do you all rest?"
"We rotate, so it's all right."
"Still... it's good for us owners, but..."
"You really ought to rest when it's time to rest..."
"I'm grateful just to hear you say that. But it puts your mind at ease knowing our animal hospital isn't closing, doesn't it?"
Jang Sora asked it with a bright smile, and the owners smiled back as they answered.
"Well, that's true, but..."
"Yes, it is, but..."
"Then have a wonderful Chuseok."
Jang Sora saw them out with a smiling face.
"I don't like this, though. When it starts like this before the holiday, something big always happens..."
Please, let nothing happen. And if something does, let it just be animals coming in from overeating, like today. Looking at the moon shining bright beyond the window, Jang Sora prayed.