The Cassava Farm Boy Now Has a “Furever Loving Home”

By: Arditya Laksono- Freelance English Tutor.
Translator : Tim AWI

His face was pitiful, and his eyes were full of sadness. The brownish-white puppy was standing next to the wall of a dull house in a cassava plantation area in Karadenan, Bogor Regency.

Every day, he observes people walking on the path in front of the garden. When a motor vehicle passed by, he immediately ran away to hide in the bushes. When night fell, he could only huddle behind the wall in the dark and had to resist the invasion of mosquitoes in the garden. I don’t know who would have the heart to throw that innocent little soul into a cassava garden.

When the COVID-19 outbreak struck Indonesia in September 2020, the country was undergoing severe societal restrictions. I usually spend the morning doing light exercise while getting fresh air and enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. When I was cycling around the cassava plantation, I felt as if someone was watching my movements.

At that time, the road was quiet; there were no people or motorised vehicles passing by. As I was guiding the bike, I heard the sound of bushes moving near me. Out of curiosity, I tried to approach it, and it looked like a white cat standing in the middle of the thick bushes.

The next day, I crossed the plantation again. Because I felt sorry for the child’s condition, I brought jerky from home as supplies. I tried to get closer to the bush area yesterday, and it turned out he wasn’t there. After searching, it turned out he was peeking from behind the wall of the house in the garden area. I also tried to call him by waving the “jerky” I was carrying. With a sad and innocent face, the child just stared and seemed hesitant to approach me. Finally, I threw the jerky near where the child was standing. Unexpectedly, he immediately took the jerky and took it behind the wall. Since then, almost every day I throw 1-2 jerky fruit into the garden.

Until one morning in mid-September, I tried to call the child by waving jerky. Unexpectedly, he immediately ran up to me and wagged his tail very fast. While scratching his body, he enjoyed the snack greedily. The poor child seems to have started to believe me. Its fur is white, but dull and full of fleas. His stomach was distended not because of obesity but because of worms.

Because it was getting late, I had to go home immediately. When I was about to go home, the child looked at me with hopeful eyes. My heart just wants to take him home, because home is very close. But I was hesitant because I still had a senior dog at home. Sleeping was difficult because his eyes kept clouding my mind. Finally, two days later, after discussing it with my family at home, I picked him up from the cassava plantation.

When he got home, the child was immediately bathed to remove the lice that were entrenched in his body. We didn’t expect that when he was bathed, he wouldn’t struggle at all. Our senior dog at home doesn’t have a problem with the child’s presence, as if our house has been “lucky” for him. Because of her habit of running and rolling on the floor, we named her “Brandy.” To ensure his health too, he has received complete vaccines and deworming medication at a veterinary clinic near his house. When he first arrived, he only weighed about 5 kg; now he is almost 18 kg.

After the death of our senior dog, Brandy is now the number one favourite dog in the house. From Brandy’s life story, we can learn that there is no need to buy a dog if you want to get love and happiness from it. There are many cute abandoned dogs out there waiting for the helping hand of a kind-hearted human to open the door to their home for them.

Adopt, don’t shop!