On the afternoon of January 29, 2021, a small dog stood with its head tilted back near the north gate of Xincheng Residential Area in Shenyang. Whenever someone passed by, it would approach them, sniffing and looking around.
Over the past five years, the neighborhood security guard has lost count of how many times the little dog has acted this way, but he remembers clearly the way the dog always walked away with its head down. Seeing how persistent the dog is, the security guard sometimes can't help but shed tears.
This little dog is named "Dahuang," a name given to it by Lao Shen, who was its second and last owner. In 2016, Lao Shen passed away from cancer. Since then, the little dog has seemed to have lost its soul, always staying in the place where Lao Shen used to live.
Perhaps in Da Huang's heart, Lao Shen is still the same as before, and has never left...
A single meal's kindness, three years of companionship.
One afternoon in 2013, Lao Shen was wandering around the parking lot outside the north gate of Xincheng Community. He had already retired, but he just couldn't stay idle, so he found a job watching cars.
Old Shen looked around but didn't find anything unusual, so he strolled leisurely towards his guard post. Just as he reached the window, he spotted a small yellow dog inside stealing his lunchbox.
This was Old Shen's dinner, but this time, he didn't go inside to shoo the little dog away. Watching the dog eat, Old Shen knew it was quite hungry. He didn't disturb it, but instead lay by the window, quietly watching it.
Perhaps it was a telepathic connection, but after the puppy ate its fill, it looked around and spotted Old Shen outside the pavilion. It immediately realized that it had been caught "stealing food" and hurriedly ran away, plunging into the nearby grove of trees.
Old Shen chuckled when he saw its panicked appearance, but didn't chase after it.
For several days in a row, the puppy would run to Old Shen's guard post where he watched over the cars and wait there. Old Shen knew what was going on, so he would always prepare an extra boxed lunch. Every time the puppy came to steal a bite, he would pretend to go on patrol.
As time went by, the little dog seemed to understand human feelings. It seemed to know that Old Shen wouldn't hurt it, and it gradually became bolder. Old Shen would also take it back to his home from time to time, give it a bath, and find it some toys to play with.
At first, Lao Shen thought it was someone's dog that had run away, so he searched for the dog's owner around the neighborhood. But after searching for a long time, no one came to claim it. It was then that Lao Shen realized that the dog had probably been abandoned by its owner and had become a stray.
Why do I say that? The reason is that when the puppy first appeared, it was clean and tidy all over, obviously indicating that it had been raised by someone before.
Why did the original owner abandon it? Old Shen held the puppy and looked at it carefully. He thought it was probably because the puppy wasn't very good-looking, so no one wanted it.
From a distance, it doesn't look special, but if you look closely, you can see that the puppy has buck teeth. Maybe the dog's owner threw it away because of this.
Old Shen believed that everything has a spirit, and no animal should be abandoned casually. So, he kept the puppy at home. Seeing the puppy's golden fur, he named it "Dahuang" (Big Yellow).
For the next three years, every time Lao Shen went to the parking lot to check his car, he would see Da Huang standing there obediently waiting for him, helping him watch the car. When Lao Shen saw that it was tired, he would put it on his folding bed so that it could lie down and rest for a while.
Old Shen is getting old and can't stay focused while watching cars. That's when Big Yellow comes in handy, becoming his "eyes." Every time a stranger enters the parking lot, Big Yellow barks incessantly. Over the years, it hasn't made a single mistake.
Besides having a great relationship with Lao Shen, Da Huang also gets along very well with the other residents of the neighborhood. It's a small pet dog, quite intelligent, and the elderly folks always like to feed it, treating it like a neighbor.
Okay, here's the rewritten version for you: Old Shen treated Da Huang like his own child, and Da Huang also regarded Old Shen as its master for life. And so, the man and the dog stayed together intimately for three years.
But, as no one could have predicted, one morning in 2016, Da Huang, as usual, ran to the guard post where Lao Shen worked early and lay down. But this time, it waited for a long time, but Lao Shen didn't come...
Five years of companionship, reluctant to part.
About two weeks ago, Old Shen suddenly felt unwell and went to the hospital for a checkup. The diagnosis was cancer, and the condition was deteriorating rapidly. Afraid of upsetting his dog, Da Huang, Old Shen didn't visit it and instead left it at his neighbor's house.
Just a few days ago, Lao Shen passed away due to illness. His passing was very sudden, and he didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to Da Huang.
After Old Shen left, Da Huang, who lived with the neighbor, suddenly stopped eating. The neighbor, unaware of Old Shen's situation, assumed it missed its home and released it back early that morning.
Instead of heading home, Dahuang went straight to the guard post where Lao Shen used to work. Maybe it wanted to make Lao Shen happy, but this time, it was all alone there.
Several hours passed, and Da Huang still hadn't seen Lao Shen. It was getting a little uneasy and kept whimpering. After a while, Da Huang couldn't stand it any longer and ran towards Lao Shen's house, only to find the door locked when it got there.
Big Yellow barked as hard as it could, its voice almost hoarse, but there was no response from inside the house. Now, it was like a kite with a broken string, homeless again, destined to wander the streets once more.
Not long after, a new old man came to watch the cars in the parking lot, and Old Shen's belongings in the guard booth were also taken away. Everything felt very unfamiliar, but luckily Big Yellow was still there.
At first, the old man watching the car thought that Big Yellow wasn't very clean and wouldn't allow it into the guard booth, chasing it away every time. However, Big Yellow still came here twice a day, at the same time that Old Shen used to go to and from get off work.
Look, Da Huang is standing there, staring intently at the guard post, occasionally raising his head. He looks very well-behaved, but it also makes people feel uneasy.
As time went on, the new parking attendant realized that Da Huang was hoping for Lao Shen's return, and his heart softened. Every day, Da Huang could go into the guard post and lie down for a while in that familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar place.
Whenever people are playing chess and chatting nearby, Da Huang (Big Yellow) will definitely go over and sniff each of them. Everyone knows that it's looking for Old Shen's scent. The neighbors in the community are very touched by the dog's loyalty and take turns giving it food.
Next, parking fees outside the North Gate were abolished, the guard post where Lao Shen worked was gone, and the place where Lao Shen used to live changed owners. The two places that Da Huang was familiar with were no longer the same as before.
Everyone thought it would let go of its obsession with Lao Shen, and some neighbors even considered adopting it. However, the dog's next actions deeply moved everyone.
It turns out that Da Huang hadn't given up. Since it lost its home, it just found anywhere to be its home; since the guard post was gone, it searched everywhere. During that time, Da Huang roamed all over Shenyang, big and small districts. Some people even saw it as far as Dingxiang Lake.
Every time it sees someone, Da Huang will go up and sniff them. Even when it is sometimes rudely chased away, or even when it gets injured, it still doesn't give up. In its heart, Lao Shen has just gone to a very far place.
Every day at the same time Lao Shen usually goes to and from get off work, Da Huang would quietly wait at the north gate of the community, carefully watching the people coming and going. It hoped that one day Lao Shen would suddenly appear in front of it and play with it, after all, it was Lao Shen who gave it the feeling of home.
And so, the sun rose and set, winter came and summer went, year after year. No matter if it was snowing heavily or the sun was blazing, Da Huang never gave up the idea of finding Lao Shen. Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
However, over these five years, Dahuang experienced hope time and time again, only to be met with disappointment time and time again. Its search and waiting, its loyalty and perseverance, deeply moved many who heard its story. The neighbors in the community also did their best to take care of it.
[Building a new home together, humanity is full of love]
In fact, not long after Old Shen left, the neighbors planned to adopt Da Huang. Everyone could see how docile and obedient Da Huang was. However, whenever someone made a move, Da Huang would become particularly resistant.
Gradually, the neighbors all came to know of its loyalty. In order to give it a peaceful life, everyone worked together to take out old wooden boards that they no longer needed and built a doghouse for Big Yellow not far from the north gate, near the wall of the first-floor residents.
Over the past five years, this place has become a regular haunt for the neighbors. Whenever they have free time, they come to check on Da Huang. If they find there's no food in the doghouse, they'll give it some. When Da Huang goes out to find Lao Shen, they'll even help clean up the doghouse.
The snow fell heavily in winter, and a kind neighbor, worried that the dog would get cold, put a cotton curtain over its kennel. There was a neighbor named Xiaoyue who took exceptionally good care of Dahuang (the dog).
Xiaoyue especially loves dogs. After learning about Lao Shen and Dahuang's touching story, she came over every day to spend time with Dahuang and even bought it goat milk from the supermarket. As a result, Dahuang's mood gradually improved.
Xiaoyue noticed that although Dahuang treated everyone as friends, he never regarded them as his new masters. Xiaoyue understood that Dahuang still couldn't forget Lao Shen.
Over the past five years, Dahuang has become quite famous in the neighborhood. Everyone is concerned about how it's doing. "We don't just see it as a dog; it's our neighbor," the neighbors said with a smile when asked by reporters.
The neighbors are very concerned about Dahuang's safety. Whenever a driver passes by the doghouse and sees that Dahuang isn't there, they'll call their family members to look for Dahuang.
Everyone was afraid that if Da Huang couldn't find Lao Shen, it would despair and do something drastic, but they didn't know that Da Huang was actually very strong. Perhaps in Da Huang's heart, finding Lao Shen was the most important motivation for it to live.
So most of the time, even if Da Huang isn't in the doghouse, it won't be long before it comes back to rest and replenish its energy so it can prepare to go find Lao Shen again the next day.
However, there was one time during those five years when Big Yellow went missing, and the neighbors in the community are still quite scared when they think about it now.
Back in 2017, a neighbor went to the doghouse and found that Big Yellow was nowhere to be found. The neighbor searched for a long time but couldn't find him and was very anxious.
So he told the other neighbors in the community about Da Huang's disappearance, and everyone quickly sprang into action, searching everywhere in and around the community. Several hours passed, and they searched every place they could think of, but they still couldn't find any trace of Da Huang.
Xiaoyue, who was very close to Dahuang, was so worried that she burst into tears. Everyone was concerned that Dahuang might do something foolish. Just then, a neighbor said in the residents' group that they had seen Dahuang's situation.
It turns out that this neighbor works at a dog meat restaurant nearby. That afternoon, he went to work and saw a dog dealer delivering a cage of dogs to the restaurant. At first, he didn't think much of it, but after a while, he heard a familiar noise.
The neighbor went closer for a closer look and realized that the barking was none other than the neighborhood's big yellow dog! He immediately understood that the dog was calling for help!
So the neighbor hurried to find the shop owner. The shop owner, quite moved by Da Huang's story, immediately handed Da Huang over to the neighbor to take home. They were quite familiar with each other, and the shop owner didn't ask for money, but the neighbor, to express his gratitude, still gave the shop owner 20 yuan.
After seeing the message from the neighbor, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, and Da Huang safely returned to its kennel.
To prevent a recurrence of such a situation, the community security guards also joined in protecting Da Huang. They would check on Da Huang at his kennel at irregular intervals every day. Thanks to everyone's joint efforts, Da Huang stayed in the community for 5 years, always guarding the place where Lao Shen had stayed.
In late January 2021, local media reported on Dahuang's story, which attracted many netizens who affectionately called it the "Hachiko of Liaoning".
"I'll take care of Dahuang's dog food from now on!" "I'll make Dahuang's new house!" Before long, with the messages from netizens, all kinds of aid supplies were sent to Dahuang's neighborhood. Everyone was hoping that such a loyal little dog could live a comfortable life.
Later, everyone got Dahuang a more comfortable new home. Because Dahuang was very loyal to Lao Shen, no one wanted to take it home and raise it separately anymore.
After discussing it, the neighbors decided to collectively adopt and care for Dahuang, making it a "neighbor" to everyone. By last year, over a thousand households had agreed to this idea. We have reason to believe that Dahuang's future will improve with everyone's help, and this is a blessing it deserves.
As for whether Dahuang will go back to Lao Shen or stay in the place where Lao Shen used to live, the neighbors said, "Dahuang has been waiting stubbornly for 5 years. Nobody knows how much longer it will have to wait, or whether it will quit or when it will quit. But as long as it's here, we'll take care of it like family."
Old Shen's kindness brought warmth to Da Huang, who had been abandoned. Now, the neighbors' actions continue this love. We hope everyone will treat animals well, because sometimes an animal's loyalty is no less than a human's.
