Three adopted Japanese shibas — eight-year-old male Hero, three-year-old female Wish and the latest addition to the family in 2017, a male named Tiger — are the main protagonists of a Facebook page created by their owner, called Hero&Wish, which has over 5,000 followers.
Tiger was originally a stray, although it is unclear what caused him to be homeless. Fortunately, he tramped onto a school campus in southern Taiwan. While classes were underway, the forlorn sound of feeble footsteps reverberated in the corridor outside. A teacher went out to investigate and discovered Tiger, with an astonishing trail of bloody paw prints in his wake. The teacher hurriedly brought Tiger inside the classroom and after deliberating about what to do, found some tins of cat food to feed the starving dog. Tiger didn’t much mind what was put in front of him and wolfed down the cat food, thankful for a square meal at last.
Meanwhile, the teacher enlisted the help of the school nurse to check on Tiger’s wound. They discovered a wound on Tiger’s front right paw so deep that you could see right through to the bone. He was taken to a vet for professional medical treatment and after a thorough examination, the vet determined that Tiger’s wounded leg would need to be amputated.
Photo courtesy of Facebook page Hero&Wish
照片：臉書粉絲團「兩個Hero&Wish」提供
Following an operation to remove the leg, Tiger went to live at the school. Teachers and students looked after him, including cleaning and changing the dressings on the amputated stump. It was a huge undertaking. Teachers also raised funds for his long-term medical care to ensure his health would always be provided for.
Originally, the school intended for Tiger to become the school dog. However, having been a stray for so long, Tiger found it difficult to trust humans and would often become aggressive as a way to protect himself. His fierce and aggressive personality put the school in a difficult position. Finally, after much consideration, the school decided that, to protect the safety of students, they would have to put Tiger up for adoption.
The teachers at the school carefully vetted potential owners, taking into consideration a range of factors including the quality of care, environment and training. After much deliberation, they finally settled on a new owner and sent Tiger up to Taipei, hoping that he would be happy in his new home. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned: Tiger found it difficult to adjust to the new environment and would bark and growl from the balcony of his new home. His owners couldn’t stand the noise, and nor could their neighbors, who complained about the disturbances. Eventually, Tiger was sent back to the school.
Photo courtesy of Facebook page Hero&Wish
照片：臉書粉絲團「兩個Hero&Wish」提供
Later on, Tiger was introduced to his current owner, who had already adopted two dogs, Hero and Wish. After arriving at his new home in Taichung, Tiger’s instinct for self-preservation rose to the fore again. He behaved aggressively toward both his new owner and the other dogs, would fiercely guard his food and left his female owner covered in cuts and bruises.
However, his new owner had no intention of giving up on him and spent time and energy communicating and interacting with Tiger until they were able to develop mutual trust. The love and patience of his new owner gradually rubbed off on Tiger. Now he, Hero and Wish get on like a house on fire.
Tiger’s owner says: “Although Tiger is an imperfect angel, he has made my life perfect.” She encourages anyone interested in adopting a furry friend to visit an animal shelter and give stray or “imperfect” animals a second chance in life.
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
在臉書粉絲團中，擁有五千多名粉絲按讚追蹤的「兩個Hero&Wish」，是飼主為了家中三隻狗寶貝所創，這三隻狗狗都是藉由「領養」而來，依照來到飼主家中的順序，分別是八歲的男生Hero、三歲的女孩Wish，及最後在二○一七年加入的男孩柴犬小虎。
柴犬小虎原先是一隻流浪狗，流浪的前因已不可考，剛好流浪到南部的某間學校。課堂間，安靜的走廊上響徹著虛弱拖沓的腳步聲，學校裡的一位老師循聲發現了小虎，以及牠身後一條長長的、觸目驚心的「血腳印」，於是他趕忙將牠暫時安置進教室，並想盡辦法找了食物「貓罐頭」來給小虎吃，餓壞了的小虎也不管眼前究竟是什麼，全都狼吞虎嚥只求飽餐一頓。
同時間，學校老師也先請校護來查看小虎的傷勢，發現右腳掌的傷口深可見骨，需要帶去獸醫院進行專業的治療處理。經獸醫師檢查處置，判斷只能截去右前肢。
手術後，小虎在校園裡安定下來，由學校老師們與學生共同照顧，尤其是截肢傷口的維護清潔和換藥，屢屢是個大工程；此外老師們也為了小虎的後續治療，進行募款，希望讓牠未來的健康沒有後顧之憂。
原本，學校想將小虎當作「校犬」，但是流浪太久的牠對於人類有太多的不信任，常常會做出保護自己的「攻擊性行為」，兇狠又霸道的性格，讓校方頗有為難，最後幾經思量學生的安全，還是忍痛決定將小虎送養。
學校老師為小虎精心挑選認養人，考慮包含照護、環境以及教養等問題，好不容易媒合了新主人，將小虎送往遙遠的台北，期盼牠此後能過上好日子。
但天不從人願，小虎因為不適應，而在台北新家的陽台上嚎叫唱歌，新主人覺得太吵受不了，左鄰右舍也投訴不堪其擾，最終，小虎又被送回了學校。
後來，小虎遇上了已飼有雙犬Hero和Wish的飼主，也就是現在的小虎媽媽。初到台中新家，小虎自我保護的防衛心再起，牠會兇同樣也在家中的狗哥哥和狗姊姊，甚至還有護食行為，讓小虎媽媽的全身都滿是傷口。
但小虎媽媽完全沒有「退養」的念頭，而是花時間、力氣去與小虎溝通、互動，建立彼此的信任感。在她的關愛和耐心下，漸漸地，小虎和其他狗狗相處融洽。
小虎媽媽表示：「小虎雖然是隻『不完美天使』，卻帶給我『完美』的生活」，她因此鼓勵想飼養毛孩的人，有空不妨去機構或愛媽處造訪一下，給這些流浪過或不完美的毛孩一個機會。
(自由時報記者賴玟秀)
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