Not Pitiful at All

A Yorkshire Terrier, not quite five months old, sat on the exam table in the consultation room at Mongmong Animal Hospital.

Watching Maru delightedly lick and lick the Mr. Cow cloth doll Go Gi-jin had given him as a gift, the little dog's guardian let out a long sigh.

"I just can't decide. If I don't do it, that doesn't sit right — but if I do, I start thinking about taking a blade to this tiny body, and that feels like something I can't bring myself to do either, Doctor."

"You take your time thinkin' it over. Maru's only five months old, y'know, and he's such a tiny little fella besides."

Go Gi-jin answered the guardian seated across from him as he administered Maru's vaccine.

"But I heard that if you're going to do it, it's best to do it right after the vaccinations are all finished?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The guardian's eyes asked him if that wasn't the case.

"If Maru were a girl pup, I'd be tellin' you to go ahead with the surgery. But Maru's a boy, so you do as you see fit."

"……Is that so? Then it's all right to wait? I heard that if you don't do it, they get sick……"

"Well now, illness, you say? Let's see… problems can crop up in the prostate, y'know. And rare as it is, tumors can grow on the testicles too."

"T-tumors — you mean cancer?"

The guardian asked, startled, and Go Gi-jin nodded.

"Cancer's a rascal that'll crop up anywhere, that's just how it is."

"Then I should do it. It would be better to do it, then."

"Then you won't have to worry about those things I mentioned, which is nice. Testicular cancer and such. And you can expect some behavioral correction too."

"Behavioral…… ah, you mean lifting his leg to pee? Our Maru doesn't do that, though……"

The guardian stopped there, waiting for Go Gi-jin's opinion.

Having learned from enough appointments that the kindest thing in a moment like this was simply to give someone time, Go Gi-jin stroked Maru instead.

"Well now, our Maru. You've had your fun, so let's get one little poke, hmm?"

So saying, Go Gi-jin gave him the injection.

Maru must have been in a good mood — he took the shot without so much as a whimper, and a faint smile bloomed on the guardian's face at the sight.

"Aigoo, our Maru takes his shots so well."

"That's right. Maru's a brave one, ain't he? Right?"

Yap!

Small as he was, Maru gave a darling little bark and hugged the Mr. Cow sitting right in front of him.

Then he tried to mount it — the kind of humping people tend to giggle about.

Go Gi-jin let out a booming laugh and opened his mouth.

"Well now, this little fella sure looks like he's havin' himself a time."

Across from him, though, Maru's guardian's eyes went wide. And then —

"Oh my. Oh my, oh my. Oh my my my, what's he doing? Maru!"

Red all the way to her ears, she scooped Maru into her arms and turned to Go Gi-jin.

"D-Doctor, the surgery…… we should do it, right? If we do it, he won't act like this anymore, will he?"

"I can't go tellin' you he'll stop completely. But it oughta ease up some, I reckon."

Go Gi-jin, who could not tell a lie, answered her honestly.

"Aigoo, I don't know why a baby who's only five months old is doing this."

"From what I saw a second ago, I don't think it's that kind of thing."

Meaning it wasn't sexual behavior. The guardian looked at him.

"You may've seen it just now, but I think Maru's doin' it 'cause he's happy. What's the word… I think he was tryin' to get attention."

"Get attention? Looking that indecent?"

"Well, see… that is… the thing is… the ones who do that, uh, indecent thing, they go like this……"

Go Gi-jin glanced around, pulled a book from the shelf, and slapped his own face flat against it.

With his face mashed to the cover, he went on.

"They press their face and body smack up against the other dog, like this."

He lifted his head.

His face had gone a little red, though it hardly showed on his naturally dark complexion — not unlike how difficult it was to tell when Gkamnyangi blushed.

"Ahem. But a second ago, Maru, see, he went like this."

Go Gi-jin lowered his face again, this time leaving a little space between himself and the book.

"This here's what they call sortin' out the pecking order — or tryin' to get some attention, from what I've heard."

"Ah, so that's what it was? And here I thought……"

Maru's guardian looked a little easier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as she stroked him.

"I still want to have the surgery done, though. I was worried they wouldn't operate because our Maru is so small, but if it can make him sick, I think it's better to do it, Doctor."

"All right, then."

"Yes. Next month should be fine, right?"

"That's just fine."

"Then I'll book the surgery, Doctor."

Just as Go Gi-jin was booking Maru's surgery, Lee Jun was examining another dog in the director's office.

"Director, we're not going to have Kkoma spayed."

"Ah. I see."

Lee Jun answered as he looked at Kkoma, a Shih Tzu grinning goofily from her guardian's arms.

"They say they put on a lot of weight after a spay, don't they? Our Kkoma already has such a strong appetite — I don't think that's a good idea. And her legs are weak, you know."

Kkoma, nearly seven months old, had a problem in her right hind-leg joint. It was a patellar luxation, still only grade one, but it was better to be careful.

"That's true enough."

"So. I think wrestling with Kkoma over food would be hard enough as it is. And cutting her belly open for surgery just feels too sorry, besides."

Since it was a fact that the surgery meant opening the abdomen, Lee Jun only gave a small nod.

"But everyone around me keeps scaring me, saying she'll get sick if I don't have her spayed. That she nearly died of pyometra, that a dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge because of a mammary tumor…… Director, are those diseases really that common?"

"They occur fairly often, yes. Even looking at the papers, the probability is quite high."

The guardian's eyes widened. Lee Jun began to explain in careful detail.

"As you said, the reason we recommend spaying female dogs is precisely those two diseases. In the case of mammary tumors, if we operate before the first heat, we can prevent them ninety-nine percent of the time."

"And if we don't operate?"

"There's a paper that did a cohort study — ah, a cohort study means they follow subjects from birth until death."

"Ah. Yes."

"In that study, dogs that weren't operated on developed mammary tumors at an average rate of about thirty to forty percent. And of those, about half were malignant."

"Is that quite dangerous, then?"

The numbers didn't quite land for Kkoma's guardian. Underneath the question sat the quiet conviction that her dog would never get a disease like that.

Reading that heart, Lee Jun spoke.

"Well. I'm someone who treats, and someone who operates, so maybe that's why I see it this way — but the ones who get these diseases suffer a great deal. Their mammary tissue is packed in very densely. It's no exaggeration to say it's spread across the entire belly."

"Ah…… come to think of it, they have ten nipples, don't they."

"Yes. Cancer cells can travel along the lymph nodes and the blood vessels, so if it metastasizes, there are far too many places it can go."

Kkoma's guardian's face went stiff.

"But at least this one you can see from the outside. A lot of people come in because they've felt a lump. Pyometra is harder than that."

"I suppose it would be."

"Most of the time, people bring them in because the dogs have stopped eating well. If it's caught that way, that's fortunate — but sometimes it slips by unnoticed, and the window is missed."

"You mean……?"

"I mean the bacteria progress into a systemic infection, and they lose their lives to sepsis."

"Oh my! They can't even tell us in words — if something went wrong, our Kkoma…… Director, I want the surgery. Please spay her. We can always put her on a diet, and honestly, putting on a little weight isn't going to kill her."

Just as Kkoma's guardian was asking Lee Jun to book the surgery, Jang Sora was in the middle of a consultation with a guardian who wanted to cancel one.

"You're canceling the surgery?"

"Ah, I see. Then I'll cancel next Monday's surgery."

"Not at all. You must be the one who's more upset, Gangi's mom."

A heavy sigh spilled from the receiver in Jang Sora's hand.

"There are a lot of dads who talk like that."

"It is surgery, after all. He's probably just worried. Because he cares about Gangi."

When the Dachshund Gangi's guardian hung up, Jang Sora opened the schedule window and canceled the surgery that had been booked.

While the staff of Mongmong Animal Hospital threw themselves into their appointments, the dogs were gathered and playing in the 1st Floor Animal Playground.

Then the door eased open a crack, and Haru came pattering in on tiny feet.

Ttangkhongi, who had been standing on a Balance Disc and swaying as he played at keeping his balance, greeted her.

"Little Haru, are you well now?"

"Yes! Elder Hyungnim. It doesn't hurt anymore, hehehe."

Jamong, who had been bouncing around on a bone-shaped toy, pricked up his ears and came running over to her.

"Heehee, Haru-hyung, it doesn't hurt?"

"Unh-unh! Hehe."

Big Jamong and tiny Haru. Jamong, who loved roughhousing and tearing around, and Haru, who was so gentle. They were opposites in both looks and temperament, and yet they were close.

"Haru-hyung, let's go play on that."

What Jamong was pointing to was a corner lined with a long row of upright poles — a makeshift spot where they could play at agility.

"Okay! Let's go."

Gkamnyangi, who had been sprawled on the cat pole, lifted only his face and watched Haru trot after Jamong, looking faintly sorry for her.

"Tsk. So that one ended up like that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too."

"Still, Gkamnyangi, Haru looks happy at least-ong."

Hoesaegi, lying one level up, muttered it almost to himself. Then he turned his head and looked toward the corner.

In the corner, the French Bulldog Salgu was crouched down with his head rammed against the wall.

Exactly the same as when he had first come to Mongmong Animal Hospital before Chuseok.

When Hoesaegi turned to look at Salgu, Gkamnyangi flicked his tail tap-tap and turned his own head that way as well, still lying down.

"That Salgu looks like he's already lived a whole life."

"That's right-ong. They both had their Precious Parts taken-ong. But Haru's awfully happy-ong. Salgu's like that-ong."

Two days apart, Haru and Salgu had both been neutered.

Lee Jun and the family at Mongmong Animal Hospital had all agreed that Haru's previous owner had probably been trying to save money on her. They guessed that her never having been spayed was part of the same reason.

So Haru had been spayed only after she had recovered her health in her new home.

Salgu, who had been neutered two days before Haru, was a slightly different case.

As a French Bulldog, Salgu snored badly.

Being a brachycephalic breed had something to do with it, but Salgu's nostrils were unusually small. He had been breathing almost entirely through his mouth.

His guardians had refused to have him operated on, afraid something might go wrong under anesthesia. After they met Lee Jun, though, they changed their minds.

They went through with the surgery to open his nostrils. And the neuter, at the same time.

Salgu was glad he could breathe better. What he hated was that his peanuts had vanished.

Unable to accept a world in which his precious peanuts had simply disappeared, Salgu had sunk into a depression.

"Heehee, heeheehee. Jamong, come catch me!"

Tiny Haru went zigzagging out between the twelve poles, and Jamong pounded after her.

"Hehe, hyung! Here I coome~!"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Every time Haru passed through, another pole went down.

Watching them, Kakkong-i cackled.

"Aigoo, Jamong, you weavin' or just knockin' the whole lot down?!"

Weave. It was a word Sapsaree had learned from Bangwool-i and passed along to the other dogs.

They felt a swell of pride every time they used it.

"Heehee, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this is how you do it, yes!"

Sapsaree picked up the fallen poles with his long snout and popped them neatly back into their holes.

In an instant the twelve poles that had gone down were standing again, and the zigzag obstacle game — the weave — was rebuilt.

Sapsaree slipped through the poles he had just set back up, talking as he went.

"Jamong, this is how you do it, yes."

"Like this?"

"That's right, yes."

Beaming, Sapsaree gave Jamong a demonstration of the weave. Then he joined Haru and Jamong, and the three of them went weaving merrily in and out of the poles.

After they had played a good while, Sapsaree praised Haru.

"Haru! You're so, so good at it! You don't hurt, so you do it well, yes?"

Gkamnyangi and Hoesaegi, who had sat up at some point, looked at Sapsaree with identical expressions and shook their heads hard, one to the right and one to the left.

"That one doesn't get it either!"

"Seems that way-ong. Last time he saw that incredibly pretty lady and still acted just like this-ong."

Not long ago, a Sapsali had come to Mongmong Animal Hospital. Even to Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's eyes, she had been an extraordinarily elegant, beautiful Sapsali.

And the best Sapsaree had managed to say to her was that he was really, really good at agility.

And that Bangwool-i was really good too, so they should all get together and have a match. To see who was better.

The way he treated Bangwool-i and the way he treated that Sapsali had been exactly the same.

Just then, Haru walked over to Salgu, who was still rammed into the corner.

"Salgu, come play with us."

"……I don't want to play."

"Why? Are you hungry?"

"……No."

"Then what's wrong? Does your leg hurt?"

This time Salgu whipped his head around and looked at her. Then he asked,

"Aren't you okay?"

"About what? Ah, does it still hurt?"

"Not that!"

"Then what?"

Before they knew it, the dogs in the playground had come padding over in a cluster to the two of them. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi, and a little farther off, One-eye and even Jjaek.

They gathered and watched.

"The p-Precious Part is gone! I-I'm so sad about that!"

Nod, nod. Elder Hyungnim Ttangkhongi nodded, and all four cats nodded too.

Then Kakkong-i opened his mouth.

"I was wonderin' what the fuss was — you were goin' on about THAT?"

"About that? Do you know how important this is?"

"What's there to fret over somethin' like that? It's fine! Hey, it's fine — you don't even need 'em."

"No! My dad, my dad……!"

"Huh? What's your dad been sayin'?"

"He said I was pitiful! He said I was pitiful!"

Mm-hmm. Pitiful, all right.

The cats, remembering the ordeal and the grinding effort it had taken to win their territory fights after going through TNR, wore faces full of bitter recollection.

Then Sapsaree asked, eyes round as saucers.

"Why would he be pitiful? Salgu isn't pitiful! He has a mom, yes! He has friends, yes! He has a dad too, yes!"

Having said that, Sapsaree went on.

"I have Hyungnims too! I have Benefactor Hyungnim, and Hoesaegi Hyungnim, and Gkamnyangi Hyungnim! I have lots of friends! Not pitiful at all!"

It had nothing whatsoever to do with the point — but Sapsaree genuinely could not understand why Salgu would be pitiful.

Then Haru chimed in on Sapsaree's side.

"Hehe, I'm not pitiful either. I have a grandpa, and a grandma, and a big sister, and also……"

Haru turned in a slow circle, taking in the whole playground as she spoke.

"I have hyungs, and I have a dongsaeng too. And I have the very, very best Meongmeong Teacher! So Haru is very, very happy. Not pitiful."

"I-I'm not pitiful either. I have my big sister, and I have hyungs, and Meongmeong Teacher likes me too!"

"Ain't that so? I got my mama, I got my papa. I got Meongmeong Teacher, I got my hyungs, I got my little ones — I'm happy. So what if the Precious Part's gone?"

All of a sudden a relay of happy self-praise broke out.

As the dogs all cried out that they were happy, Salgu — still wilted over his missing peanuts — tilted his head.

"Huuh? But Dad said I was really pitiful?"

And he'd looked at me with such a terribly, terribly pitiful face, too. Hadn't he?

While he was thinking that, Gkamnyangi spoke up.

"Still, having a Precious Part is better! I miss those days!"

Gkamnyangi gazed off somewhere with a faraway look. Beside him, Jjaek put in his own word.

"Me too! Back then I packed a real punch myself…… tch!"

"I miss it-ong. But now is good too-ong."

When Hoesaegi added that, every gaze in the room turned toward him.

And then the playground went quiet. At Hoesaegi's words, each of them sank into their own thoughts.