D-Starine: Working Dogs in Shanghai

_[Summary: D-Starine (海豚星空号) is an NGO that is currently running the Working Dogs Program, which purchases pedigreed shepherding dogs to send to Tibetan herdsmen to increase pasturing efficiency as part of the NGO’s overall goals of disaster relief and community reconstruction. Learn more about D-Starine here.]

Chris Yuan Yi, the leader of D-Starine, met with Ms. Viky, a staunch supporter of D-Starine. She was once an apparel designer, and D-Starine’s fantastic logo was designed free of cost by her company. She and her husband are fond of dogs and aspired to buy a Labrador to have it trained in Dog School, so they went to the D-Starine Working Dog program.

Mr. Wu, the administrative assistant of Shanghai Brilliant Dog School, which is the cooperative school of D-Starine, found a seven-month-old, black Labrador that was appropriately mild to be a canine aid for children with special needs. His name was Dingding, and he spent a great weekend with Viky’s family.

_Dingding was particularly good at holding bottles in his mouth. He could find bottles with water in a pile of empty bottles and bring them to his owner to beg him to open them for him to drink. The best thing was that Dingding was quiet and polite to children.

In the morning, Viky drove Dingding to meet Chris Yuan Yi to take Dingding to Chongming Zoo Dog School. As soon as Dingding got in the car, his eyes sparkled, his tail wagged, and his tongue licked Chris’ face. Chris was surprised that although he had only met Dingding for one hour, Dingding remembered him – perhaps because he was grateful for Chris’ help in getting him a good family. Dingding slept in Chris’ arms throughout the car ride.

---

_When they arrived at the school, Dingding had to wait in an empty space because several Dutch Shepherd Dogs were having classes. These dogs’ lessons were about guarding and biting because they are specifically trained for military and police system.

They had the chance to watch the guard training. A man with thick protective clothing pretended to be a thief who assaulted the police and ran away during the criminal escort. The Dutch Shepherd Dogs successfully recognized and bit him each test.

Afterwards, Dingding’s owner joked that “It seems that all of Dingding’s classmates are very strong!”

Dingding is studious in his lessons, other than being a bit timid. He needed to communicate with more human beings to try to integrate into society and improve his social skills.

It will be more than a month before Dingding finishes his training and can return home. Although she is reluctate to separate with Dingding, Viky can accept it when she thinks of the happiness Dingding will bring to children in the future.

[Original story was written by Chris Yuan Yi, and edited by U.S. TFish Intern Emily Cheng]

---