Chapter 14 [The Past] Mad Dog Hotel
The girl groggily opened her eyes.
She didn't go to school; when she had a depressive episode, she didn't want to do anything and couldn't do anything.
The phone vibrated beside her, only a dozen centimeters from her fingers, but Lu Qi didn't have the strength to grasp it.
When Lu Qi saw that the caller ID showed it was Dr. Qi, she slightly opened her eyes.
She strained to grab the phone and pressed the call button.
“Master Lulu,” Dr. Qi’s voice was more relaxed and excited than ever before, “I’m calling to tell you that Lulu just ate something.”
Lu Qi was stunned.
"Hello?"
"Master Lulu? Can you hear me?"
She suddenly sat up in bed.
The curtains fluttered and danced, and the dazzling sunlight streamed into the old rental room.
The winter sun, like Lulu, is warm and soft.
Whether it was the bag of blood or the medicine that worked, Lulu finally began to recover.
It ate a little bit of the liquid food prepared by the hospital, and then gradually transitioned to mousse canned food.
"The parvovirus has been resolved, and you can be discharged at any time, but there are some things I still need to emphasize to you."
The doctor approached Lu Qi, "Its lower body..."
“I know, you’ve already told me,” Lu Qi said calmly.
"One problem is its gastrointestinal function; its digestive ability will be very poor, and it will be able to eat very limited things. Vomiting and diarrhea will be commonplace in the future."
"In addition, the virus has damaged the nerves, so in the future... there is a high probability that the lower body will be unable to move."
“I will pay attention to its diet. As for paralysis,” Lu Qi said, “I’ve heard that many dogs with nerve damage have been cured through acupuncture.”
“This is very rare. Neurological problems are very complex, and no one can say for sure. Currently, there is no incontinence, and given the young age, there is a possibility of recovery in the future. However, it is also possible that it will remain like this for life, or even get worse and worse, until the patient can no longer control their urination and defecation.”
Lu Qi hummed in agreement.
"Can I take it home today?"
The doctor had witnessed Lu Qi's persistence. This girl was fair-skinned, thin, quiet, and didn't talk much, but she was very opinionated, and no one could interfere with her thoughts.
“Okay.” He was used to it. “I’ll have the receptionist pull out the bills for the past two weeks for you.”
Lu Qi bowed to the doctor and said, "Thank you for your help during this time."
"You're welcome," the doctor said with a smile. "You're the one who saved it."
Lulu returned to the rented room.
It could no longer wag its tail and crawl around, so Lu Qi prepared a support wheel for it before it was discharged from the hospital.
The puppy ran on its front paws, while its two wheels spun rapidly behind it.
It frolics and leaps around in its ten-square-meter rented room, still just as happy, and doesn't feel sorry for itself because of its disability.
Lu Qi put the collar that the doctor had removed back on the dog's neck; Lulu's name was on the front, and her phone number was on the back.
To revitalize the necrotic nerves, Lu Qi spends half an hour each day after school accompanying Lulu during her rehabilitation.
She removed the support and let it move around on its own; she bought a long blanket and laid it from the doorway to the window to prevent it from getting scratched by the floor.
"Lulu, go chase T-ball."
The yellow-green tennis ball rolled off the carpet. Lulu barked, hooked her front paws on the ground, dragged her lower body on the carpet, and crawled forward quickly.
A small golden nameplate swayed back and forth on its chest, reflecting a shimmering golden light that matched its fur color.
Unable to use its hind legs, it didn't catch up with the ball until it reached the window, then carried it back to Lu Qi.
This was its first time playing with a ball, yet it knew exactly what to do as soon as it heard the command. Lu Qi was surprised, "Have you ever learned to chase a ball before?"
Lulu spat the ball in front of Lu Qi and tilted her head to look at her.
It couldn't understand human speech, but it stared at her intently.
Lu Qi smiled and patted Lulu's head, "Smart baby."
She rolled the ball out again, pointed at it, and said, "Ball!"
"Woof!"
Lulu couldn't climb for long. When the time was up, Luqi picked her up and massaged and applied heat to her as shown in the video.
She gently rotated Lulu's hind leg joints and said to her, "You knew to fetch the ball the first time you played with it, Lulu. You must be the best Golden Retriever in the world."
"Woof!" Lulu obediently lay on her lap, remaining motionless as Lu Qi manipulated her.
It has grown a bit. Unlike when it was first found, when it could only whine and whimper, its chirping is now crisp and tender, like newly sprouted leek shoots.
“I’ve found a reputable neurology hospital in a neighboring province. They treat many dogs like yours every year and help them recover.”
"Woof!"
"I'm sorry, Lulu. The final exams are in a month, and I've taken too many days off lately. If I take any more, my homeroom teacher will call my uncle."
"Then they'd know I wasn't living on campus and had secretly rented a place outside."
She wrung out the towel and pressed the steaming hot towel against Lulu's lower body.
It's small; a folded towel can cover it.
"Perfect timing. Your body is too weak right now to travel to another province. You should rest first. I'll take you there after winter break."
“I’ve already called and asked over there. The winter break is 26 days, which is enough for the first phase of treatment. After the first phase, you only need to go once a week. I’ll take you every Saturday. Hmm… it’s a two-and-a-half-hour round trip, so we can go and come back on the same day.”
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and cupped the puppy's head in her hands. "What do you think, Lulu?"
Lulu answered in her palm, "Woof!"
Lu Qi couldn't resist kissing its little head.
Whether it's a mother's eye or not, Lu Qi always felt that her Lulu was prettier than the other Golden Retrievers.
Not only is she beautiful, but she's also very affectionate.
Every morning when Lu Qi goes out, Lulu follows right behind her.
She pushed Lulu back inside the door again and again, and it took her more than ten minutes to close the door.
Sometimes, when Lu Qi pushed Lulu back and closed the door, she would peek through the crack and see the little dog sitting alone on the ground, tilting its head and looking at her. Lu Qi couldn't help but open the door and pet it.
Lulu is weak, and without central heating in the south, the sub-zero room temperature is not easy for her. Luqi bought a heating pad, but worried about short circuits in the old house's wiring, so she turned on the heater for her before leaving.
The minor aftereffects were clearly visible in Lulu's case.
It's two months old and can't eat dog food. Even the softest mousse canned food mixed with goat milk will make it vomit after one meal.
Lu Qi kept searching for softer and more delicate canned goods, but canned goods that were mashed into a paste often meant that the ingredients were not transparent.
She began to learn how to make her own food.
The debate between "raw" and "cooked" dogs in the scientific breeding community has a long history, with each side having its advantages and disadvantages. Lu Qi has read many posts and joined several groups related to scientific breeding and dogs that have recovered from parvovirus.
Given Lulu's digestive system, she opted for cooked food.
Every Saturday morning, Lu Qi would go to the market to buy fresh meat, blend it with milk powder and calcium tablets into a paste, and then freeze it in portions.
When Lulu first heard the sound of the blender, she jumped back in fright.
It huddled in the corner, observed for a while, and after finding no real danger, hurriedly ran to Lu Qi's feet, barking at her to warn her to stay away from the terrible noise.
Lu Qi's heart softened, and she bent down and couldn't help but kiss it again.
This little ball of fur, dragging along a support frame, was more effective than any psychiatric medication she had ever taken.
The month leading up to the end of the semester flew by.
Lu Qi's grades have dropped significantly. Instead of reflecting on her performance and trying to improve them, she packed her things on the first day of her vacation and took Lulu by taxi to a neighboring province to see a psychiatrist.
It's hard to find a place to rent for 20 days, and during the Chinese New Year, hotels that allow pets are not cheap.
Lu Qi finally found an inconspicuous little hotel next to the hospital.
The hotel was probably older than her rented apartment. The stairs leading upstairs were steep and narrow. Lu Qi made two trips. The first time, she carried Lulu in one arm and used hypochlorous acid spray to disinfect in the other. She only brought her luggage on the second trip.
She booked a single room for twenty days. The room was small, with a beige wooden door, floral curtains, and green floral paper pasted on the window.
Besides a bed and a table, there was only a toilet; there wasn't even a television set.
Lu Qi gave the landlady an extra two hundred yuan and borrowed her kitchen and refrigerator to cook for Lulu.
The puppy was completely unaware that its living conditions had deteriorated.
With its paralyzed lower body dragging along, its forelimbs spread out, it occupied the center of the bed like a goalkeeper, keeping a close eye on the ball in Lu Qi's hand, ready to pounce at any moment, having a great time in the damp and cold room.
It was happier than ever before, because Luqi no longer had to go out, and even when she left, she would take it with her.
Lu Qi spent her winter vacation in a very simple way. Every day, apart from going to the hospital, she stayed in her room doing homework and accompanying Lulu to do rehabilitation exercises in bed.
She told her uncle and younger brother that she had gone on a trip with her friends during the Spring Festival, and it was the first time she had spent the Spring Festival alone in another city.
When the firecrackers went off on New Year's Eve, Lu Qi was sitting at the only table in his hotel room.
She watched the Spring Festival Gala on her phone horizontally, cooked a bowl of spicy hot pot in a small electric pot, added a packet of hot pot noodles, and the whole room smelled delicious.
Lulu nestled on her lap, sometimes perking up her ears to watch out for the fireworks outside the window, sometimes tilting her head back to touch Luqi's chin with her nose.
The old air conditioner was barely breezing out a little warmth, making the room a bit chilly, but Lu Qi was still amused by the amateurish skit.
She smiled, bent down and pinched Lulu's little ears, saying to it, "Happy New Year."
Lulu stuck out her tongue and licked her chin with a smacking sound.
Compared to when she was undergoing treatment, Lu Qi is much more accepting of the fact that Lulu is paralyzed.
Everything else is trivial, except for life and death.
She was very open-minded, but Lulu was even more open-minded, running incredibly fast with her support wheels.
Unexpectedly, things turned out quite well. Perhaps heaven felt that this poor little dog had suffered enough, because Lulu's progress in neurological treatment was surprisingly good.
“It’s always been able to hold its bladder and bowels, and it’s still young, so it has a chance to recover,” the traditional Chinese medicine veterinarian in charge of acupuncture told Lu Qi. “Even if it doesn’t fully recover, look how happy it is now, isn’t it? After all, puppies don’t need to go to school or work, right?”
As she finished speaking, she held Lulu's paws and chuckled sweetly.
“Yes,” Lu Qi said. “You’re right.”
As long as it's not painful, nothing else matters.
On the night of the first phase's end and their preparation to return home, Lu Qi removed the brace and had Lulu chase the ball once again.
Lulu crawled toward her with the ball in her mouth.
Its lower body was pressed against the bed, and its tail, which had been hanging behind its legs, suddenly trembled and lifted up.
It couldn't be raised too high, or even kept level; it hung awkwardly, half-raised, like a wolf's tail, and shook at Lu Qi, then shook again.
"Woof!" Lulu placed the ball in front of Luqi, looked up at her expectantly, and happily stomped on the bed sheet with her two front paws.
Lu Qi stared blankly at its slightly upturned tail.
After a long while, she turned to the side and sniffed at the curled green window paper.
"Woof!" Lulu stretched out her front paws and placed them on Luqi's pants in confusion and anxiety, showing her that it had brought the ball back to her. She should praise it and be happy.
Lu Qi turned around, hugged Lulu's still thin body, and smiled with red eyes, "Good dog, let's go home."
A note from the author:
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