He Gave My Dog Away

At the landslide rescue site, Buddy, the award-winning search dog I raised from a pup, found every trapped survivor. But during the evacuation, a secondary collapse occurred.

Steves apprentice, Suzie, got pinned on the edge of the collapsing slope, half her body dangling over the cliff. Crying, she shouted to Steve, Captain, I wish there were no Maya in our next life. I wish we could be together out in the open

The radio channel went dead silent. Ignoring everyones warnings, Steve scrambled up the unstable rocks like a madman, risking his life to pull her to safety. Even after evacuating the danger zone, Suzie clung to him, refusing to let go.

Steve frowned as he tried to explain. Maya, Suzie is just terrified. She is talking nonsense. You are a senior officer. Do not hold it against a young girl.

Then he took Buddys leash from my hand and passed it to Suzie. Did you not always want to be his handler? Now, he is yours.

Suzie took the leash cautiously. But... won't Maya be upset?

I looked at the young girl I had pulled from the rubble three years ago. I brought her onto the team, taught her how to train dogs, and listened to her call me mentor. But I never imagined she wanted my fianc and my dog.

Whatever. The doctor said my illness could not wait any longer. If you want them, take them.

...

I used every ounce of my strength to swallow the blood rising in my throat.

I turned and walked toward the medical tent to take my medication.

Seeing me leave, Buddy instantly panicked.

He violently jerked his leash out of Suzie's hand and bolted toward me.

Suzie chased after him.

"Maya, are you okay?"

Buddy suddenly spun around, baring his teeth at Suzie and letting out a menacing bark.

It looked like he was going to lunge and bite her in the next second.

Suzie stumbled backward in fear, her eyes immediately filling with tears.

Steve arrived just in time.

Instinctively, he pulled Suzie behind him and shouted at Buddy.

"Buddy, sit!"

Buddy did not back down.

He stayed firmly planted in front of me, glaring at Suzie.

Steve's face darkened.

"Maya, control your dog."

"Suzie was just checking on you. Did you seriously let Buddy scare her just to humiliate her?"

My voice was a little hoarse.

"I did not."

Steve let out a cold laugh.

"You trained him. One look from you, and he knows exactly what to do."

Suzie tugged lightly at Steve's sleeve, her voice trembling.

"Captain, let it go. Maya didn't mean it."

"Buddy is just too loyal to her..."

That sentence, which sounded like an excuse for me, only made Steve's expression colder.

"Maya, Suzie just came down from a landslide! She almost died!"

"Do you really have to be this petty right now?"

I did not answer.

I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would spit up blood.

After the rescue operation ended, the team pulled back to camp.

What happened over the radio channel spread quickly.

Someone leaked her exact words into the local volunteer rescue group chat.

"Captain, I hope in our next life there is no Maya. I hope we can be together out in the open..."

The chat group exploded with gossip.

"Was Suzie not crossing a massive line with that?"

"What exactly is going on between Captain Steve and her?"

"Wait, isn't Maya the Captain's fiance?"

Someone even posted a photo from the scene.

In the picture, Suzie was curled up in Steve's arms.

Buddy stood in front of me, in a highly defensive posture against them.

Someone in the group commented:

"Even the dog knows how to protect his real owner, but the man... yikes."

When that comment reached Suzie, she cried so hard she almost hyperventilated.

When Steve came to find me, I was taking my pills.

Just as the medicine hit my tongue, he pushed the door open.

I hurriedly hid the pill bottle in my sleeve.

Steve saw the movement but completely ignored it.

He went straight to interrogating me.

"Did you tell someone to leak the radio audio?"

I froze. He scoffed coldly and kept going.

"Maya, I know how calculated you are."

"You know exactly how to manipulate public opinion."

"You do not cry or make a scene, but this silent treatment is far more vicious."

A bitter taste flooded the back of my throat.

Before I could even speak, Suzie's soft voice came from the doorway.

"Captain..."

Steve turned around immediately.

Suzie stood by the door, her eyes red.

"Buddy will not come with me."

Steve's face grew even darker.

He turned and walked out, trying to pull Buddy away.

But Buddy dug his paws into the floor frame, refusing to move, keeping his eyes locked on me.

Steve spun around and roared at me.

"Maya, what the hell have you taught this dog?!"

"He is a search and rescue K-9! Not a tool for your petty jealousy!"

"Get over here and tell him you do not want him anymore!"

He reached out and yanked my arm.

I was already in so much pain I could barely stand.

The sudden pull made me lose my balance, and my abdomen crashed hard against the edge of the desk.

An explosive, agonizing pain ripped through my stomach.

My vision went completely black for a second.

Buddy struggled violently and barked loudly at Steve.

Steve's expression turned furious.

"Look at him! Now he is growling at me! Are you happy now, Maya?"

Fighting through the blinding pain, I weakly commanded:

"Buddy, down."

Buddy stopped, but his eyes were filled with deep anxiety.

It was as if he knew how much pain I was in.

Steve shoved the leash back into Suzie's hands.

"Take him."

Suzie gripped the leash, took a few steps toward me, and said softly:

"Maya, do not worry. Buddy will get used to me eventually."

"Just like the Captain did."

I jerked my head up to look at her. Buddy instantly bristled, the hair on his back standing up as he growled at her again.

Steve didn't hear what Suzie said, but he saw Buddy's reaction.

He immediately pulled Suzie behind him again.

"Maya! Buddy is a working K-9, not your personal weapon!"

"Do you want an aggression record in this decorated dog's file?!"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

The next day, the video of Buddy aggressively protecting me from Suzie was posted on a local forum.

Within the rescue community, the public opinion completely flipped.

"Look, even if Suzie has no shame and her relationship with Steve is shady, Maya should not use a decorated K-9 as leverage, right?"

"Cancel Maya! A rescue dog's job is to save lives, not attack people!"

"Exactly! Using a dog to attack someone just to keep a fianc is taking it way too far!"

I did not defend myself, because none of it mattered anymore.

I did not have much time left to live, and I could no longer protect Buddy.

All I could do was organize Buddy's training logs as thoroughly as possible.

So that when I was gone, he could still shine and save lives.

I exported the training files.

It contained every single one of Buddy's habits.

Before Buddy executed a search command, he always looked back to make sure I was there.

Buddy was terrified of thunderstorms; on stormy nights, someone had to hold him while he slept.

After every mission, he had to smell my hand first.

He would only eat once he confirmed I was not injured.

When I handed the file to Suzie, she bit her lip gently.

"Maya, are you really giving Buddy to me?"

I looked at her and asked:

"Is this not what you have always wanted?"

She lowered her voice.

"The Captain said Buddy only listens to you. As long as you do not truly let go, he will never accept me."

"Maya, you are already this sick. Why will you not just let go? You cannot expect him to just waste away beside you, right?"

I froze.

Suzie immediately put on a panicked expression.

"I did not mean it like that. I am just worried about Buddy. And the Captain... he cannot be dragged down by you forever..."

I stared directly into her eyes.

"You knew I was sick?"

Suzie's eyes darted away shiftily.

"You look terrible. Anyone can tell."

Anyone can tell?

But Steve never noticed.

I looked at her face, remembering three years ago.

Back then, Suzie's village was buried under a mudslide.

When our rescue team arrived, she was the only survivor.

The young girl was sobbing hysterically in the mud. My heart broke for her, so I brought her onto the team.

After that day, she started calling me her mentor.

She helped me bathe Buddy, and she would sneak him extra treats.

After every training session, she would chase after me with a notebook, asking:

"Maya, why did Buddy look back at you just now?"

"Maya, is it true that a rescue dog only bonds with one handler?"

"Maya, do you think I can train an incredible dog like Buddy one day?"

I always answered, "Yes."

But slowly, the things she asked began to change.

"Maya, does the Captain only listen to you?"

"Maya, if Buddy goes on a mission with me, will he look back at me too?"

"Maya, if one day I am good enough to stand beside the Captain, will people stop calling me the pathetic orphan you dragged out of the mud?"

Back then, I just thought she suffered from low self-esteem, so I comforted her over and over.

"Suzie, you are doing great."

"You will find your own path."

But now I finally understood.

She did not want her own path. She wanted mine.

I looked at her and spoke slowly.

"Suzie, do you think that just because I saved your life, I owe you everything?"

"My dog, my fianc, my career, the rest of my lifedo I have to hand it all over to you?"

Tears spilled from Suzie's eyes.

"Maya, that is not what I meant..."

Right at that moment, Steve walked into the room.

Seeing Suzie crying, his face darkened instantly.

"Maya! You are unbelievable!"

I looked at him and nodded.

Steve, you are unbelievable too.

That night, I was jolted awake by a stabbing, twisting pain in my abdomen.

I did not know when Buddy had sneaked back in, but he was lying by my bed.

He rested his head near me and looked up with sad eyes.

I stroked his head, my voice extremely hoarse.

"Buddy, was I just too stupid?"

"I brought her onto the team. I taught her how to take care of you..."

"Buddy, I do not want to leave you, but I am dying..."

Footsteps approached from the hallway.

Suzie pushed the door open.

"Maya, Buddy went missing..."

When she saw Buddy lying by my bed, her eyes instantly turned red.

"Why did he come back to you? Why will you not just let go?!"

Buddy stood up, placing his body firmly between her and the bed.

Steve walked in right behind Suzie.

Seeing the scene, his expression turned freezing cold.

"Maya, are you having Buddy intimidate her again?"

He pulled Suzie behind him defensively.

"When did you become this vicious?"

I looked at him, suddenly too exhausted to even explain.

Buddy blocking Suzie was not a command I gave.

It was because I was running a severe fever.

It was because I smelled like sickness, and it made him anxious.

But Steve could not see any of that.

During the last rescue operation, Buddy's performance was outstanding.

Throughout his service career, he had officially located and saved exactly one hundred people.

The team decided to hold a commendation ceremony for him.

Right before it started, Steve pulled me aside.

"I am putting Suzie in the center today. She has been getting a lot of hate online lately. She needs some positive PR."

"You have received plenty of commendations already. Suzie has nothing."

Those one hundred lives were people Buddy and I pulled from the rubble together, one by one.

His first mission, I lay in the freezing rain with him for eight hours.

The first time he got injured, I carried him to the vet and stayed up all night watching over him.

When he was scared of thunder, I held him to sleep.

When he had to take bitter medicine, I coaxed him for hours.

And now, with a single sentence"Suzie has nothing"Steve was giving away all of Buddy's honors.

I stayed silent for a long time.

Finally, I nodded.

"Okay."

At the ceremony, Steve stood dead center.

Suzie held Buddy's leash, standing right beside him.

I stood off stage, at the very edge of the crowd.

The other team members exchanged awkward glances.

Buddy refused to sit still. He kept turning his head, looking for me.

The photographer asked him to pose.

Suzie gave a quiet command.

"Buddy, sit."

Buddy did not react at all.

Steve shot a look at me.

I understood what he meant.

From the shadows off stage, I gave a subtle hand signal.

Only then did Buddy sit.

The camera shutter clicked.

In the photo, Steve and Suzie stood proudly beside Buddy.

I was not in the frame.

Suzie took the microphone to give a speech.

"Thank you, Captain, and thank you, Maya."

"I know I still have a lot to learn."

"But I will work hard to take care of Buddy, and to take care of..."

She abruptly stopped.

She almost said Steve's name.

The entire venue fell silent for a fraction of a second.

She quickly corrected herself:

"To take care of the team's missions."

I stood off stage, clapping.

I clapped until my palms went numb.

Once the photos of the transfer ceremony were posted online, the comment section exploded again.

"Where is Maya?"

"Buddy gets honored, and his original handler is not even in the photo?"

"They haven't even explained the radio incident yet, and the apprentice is already standing next to the Captain?"

"This isn't a K-9 transfer ceremony. This is a mistress coronation."

"Even the dog looks miserable."

Suzie had a complete breakdown and locked herself in her dorm room.

Steve came to find me again, speaking to me with absolute authority.

"Maya, you need to release a public statement."

"Say that we broke up amicably, and Suzie had nothing to do with it."

"Say that the K-9 transfer was your idea, and that you give her your blessing."

I looked at him and asked quietly:

"When exactly did we break up amicably?"

Steve averted his eyes.

"Given the situation, do you really want this to get any uglier?"

I let out a weak laugh.

"Steve, am I the one making this ugly?"

His face darkened.

"Maya! Suzie is getting so much hate she is about to quit the team. What more do you want from her?"

"She is the apprentice you pulled from the rubble yourself. Can you not just let her off the hook this once?"

I looked at him for a long, long time.

"Fine."

I opened my laptop and started drafting the statement.

Suddenly, Buddy bit down on my sleeve and yanked me backward.

He was stopping me from typing.

I patted his head.

"Buddy, drop it."

Buddy refused to let go.

Steve lost his temper.

"Buddy!"

He aggressively pulled Buddy away.

I was already half-kneeling to comfort him. When Steve forcefully yanked the dog, I lost my balance and slammed into the corner of the desk.

A blinding pain shot through my abdomen.

My vision went completely black.

The pill bottle on the desk was knocked off, and my medical file crashed to the floor.

Steve's immediate reaction was to scold me.

"Maya, that is enough! Can you stop putting on an act with Buddy?"

Suzie rushed to the doorway.

"Maya, please do not do this. I know it hurts to lose Buddy."

"But you already agreed to give him to me. Why are you acting like this to force me to give him back?"

I wanted to speak, but a metallic, sweet taste flooded my throat.

The next second, I could not hold it back anymore. Right in front of them, I vomited a mouthful of dark blood.

The office went dead silent.

Buddy broke free from Steve's grip, bolted to my side, and frantically nudged me with his head.

He let out panicked, desperate whines.

Steve froze completely.

He bent down and picked up the fallen medical file.

The official diagnosis report slid out.