The Scariest Day of My Life

My in-laws were visiting, so my wife booked a B&B in the countryside, about a 3-hour drive from Taipei. It was a nice hut with floor-to-ceiling windows midhill.

Waking up in the morning after a nice barbecue, I heard someone scream.

Dobby was inside the BnB. If I had paid closer attention, I would have noticed that Dobby was not wearing her harness with her AirTag, which we always have her wear on trips. I later learnt that there was a bug in the terrace outside the BNB. Dobby was so frightened by the bug (yes, she is scared of insects) that she flipped the table and broke free of her harness. My in-laws and wife managed to send Dobby indoors.

Not knowing any of that, I opened the door, wanting to go outside and help fix the mess.

Once I opened the door, Dobby slipped out.

At that point, I wasn't worried because I thought Dobby would never go far from my wife, me, and Luna. (Plus, there was a lot of tasty food on the terrace.) She would come back in no time. I was wrong. Dobby was so scared that she lost some of her senses. Instead of coming back, she went uphill.

I was not wearing shoes. And 2 months after my ACL surgery, I wasn't really in a position to run or go uphill. Yet, none of those mattered then.

I followed Dobby uphill as fast as I could. I even ran a little. My wife tagged along behind. Dobby was not really running (if she had been, there was no chance any human could have followed her), but she was not turning round either. The further we followed, the further Dobby went. It was almost like she wanted to test how far her injured dad could go up the mountain.

I tried to play smart, walked backwards, and hoped that Dobby would change her direction and follow me. That did not happen. Instead, my wife asked, "Where's Dobby?" Dobby marched on and left our eyesight. Immediately, I turned around and climbed a tiny slope. Fortunately, Dobby was still there. The whole process was repeated.

Soon, the asphalt road ended, and a hiking trail began. Without the harness, Dobby looked so wild among the trees, rocks, and soil. She was almost like the wolf in Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿), except that the wolf was not scared of a bug. I wished I had the leisure to take a picture back then.

My mind was racing - There was close to zero chance of finding Dobby again if she was lost in the countryside without her AirTag. Not wearing a harness or collar, she would be mistaken for a stray dog and may be seriously mistreated by sadists (and unfortunately, the world is full of these fucking losers). How could Dobby survive in this mountain without us? (I mean, again, she was scared of insects.) She knows some tricks, like "sit", "hand", and "touch", but otherwise she is pretty useless. Though she barks a lot, she never bites any living creature. How could she protect herself with so many wild dogs out there? What would we do for the rest of our trip, or the rest of our time in Taiwan, or even the rest of our lives if we lose Dobby on this god damned mountain? She is only 4 years old, so she is entitled to live with us for another good 10 years, isn't she?

Stop. I must regain control of my mind. I needed to pay attention to where Dobby was and be extra cautious about the steps I took. I would not like to break my ACL again, especially not in this critical moment, where Doby could be gone anytime.

After a 5-10-minute walk, the terrain changed completely. Instead of an easy but steep trail, rocks were stacked one on top of the other in front of us. That would be easy for Dobby, but it would be impossible for me (even my rock-climber wife) to follow Dobby if she decided to jump up the rocks and continue her little adventure.

At that point, I gave in. I kneeled, prayed (to whoever was listening and had caused this incident and all misfortunes worldwide), and calmly asked Dobby to turn around and come back.

She did.

She went back, sniffed me out, and quickly checked if I was ok. Then she walked to my wife, who was 10 steps behind. She quickly picked Dobby up and walked back to the B&B.

That was the end of this incident.

We all went back to the B&B, took a quick shower, and continued the journey, as if nothing had happened. (Except that I had a more swollen knee than usual, and my wife's biceps were screaming in pain after carrying Dobby, who weighed 16kg, downhill for 20 minutes)

I am typing this on the sofa of my home in Taipei, and Dobby is right next to me. She is whimpering softly, probably having a bad dream. (She deserves this.) All is well.

Like how each plane accident leads to more safety precautions and makes each flight safer, we could only hope this incident will reduce the risk of us missing any dog in the future.

Still, most things are outside our control, and everything merely hangs by a thread. Life could go terribly wrong at any moment. This is enough to drive one crazy. Accepting this and, at the same time, moving forward and appreciating life as it is will never be easy. But this is our only option to stay sane and enjoy the limited time we have with our loved ones in this beautiful but cruel world.

Until next time, take care.