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The Golden Boy Gifting Gallery
This gallery is in memory of Golden Boy who was most cruelly taken from us.
His story cannot end with his death. All proceeds (that means 100%) from this
gallery will go to Ocean Dog Rescue. Ocean Dog Rescue is run by Taiwanese
and Canadian volunteers. Their mission is to rescue abused and abandoned dogs
in Taiwan. Once rehabilitated, they are found loving homes in Canada and in the USA.
To learn more about this incredible organization visit www.oceandogrescue.org
Who is Golden Boy?
Golden Boy was our beloved communal dog.
Until recently Ivan and I lived on a sterile campus at a university in an undisclosed country . The sterility of the campus was partly due to its isolation and partly due to the very controlled atmosphere of the place. A high barbed wire fence surrounded the compound. Comings and goings were closely monitored by guards at the gate.
One of the few delights of the campus was our communal dog named "Boy". We called him "Golden Boy" because of his beautiful golden coat. The Russian couple called him "Chelovek" which translates as "Human" in their language. Others called him "Lira". People had all kinds of affectionate names for him.
Golden Boy was a loving and intelligent Being who brought deep joy to so many of us. His friends were innumerable. He was fed by several people. He was cuddled and petted with great enthusiasm. His generous heart gave abundant succour to many. He was also known to protect people from the packs of wild dogs who occasionally attacked walkers on the paths outside the compound. One woman said Golden Boy broke trail through the snow for her one day on her way to work. His gentleness with children was evident from how a four year old could feed him with the utmost security. Our Golden Boy was the golden light on campus.
He had a green tag on his ear which indicated that he was a dog of the state. The tag meant he was fixed and had his shots. The green tag also meant that, by law, he was allowed to live where ever he chose without being harassed by anyone. It was our privilege that he had chosen to live on our campus.
The big question is: how and why did Golden Boy become a scapegoat? It is terrifying how people with a little extra influence and authority will abuse that power if they have the tendency for cruelty and irrational thinking. For instance, a certain person on campus said Golden Boy fought with their dog, but their dog was seen by others playing happily with Golden Boy. And, how ironic is it that their dog rushed me one night, hysterically barking, though I easily managed not to demonize their dog. I wonder if they were projecting their own dog's actions onto Golden Boy? And somehow the accusation that Golden Boy growled at a certain boy loses its credibility since the boy was seen chasing Golden Boy with a stick. But, some unstoppable dark force was clearly in motion to get rid of our communal dog. I was puzzled that the insidious forces insisted on seeing him as bad. I watched Golden Boy closely to see if he performed any of the actions of which he was being accused. I observed not a whisper of wrong doing on his part. A petition went around that was vigorously signed in defense of our communal dog. This did nothing to halt the wall of hatred towards Golden Boy by a mere handful of people with influence.
In my opinion, there were only a very small handful of people who had the authority to arrange for the illegal dog catchers to enter our campus in search of Golden Boy. The illegal dog catchers needed permission from on high to get through the guarded gates. These dog catchers came in an unmarked vehicle, without proper uniforms, and they only creeped around at night when most people were sleeping. One night they asked a man, who was out walking, where Golden Boy was. The man said he would never tell them. They replied that it was only a matter of time before they got the dog so he might as well tell them where he was. Again, the man refused to tell. They finally did catch Golden Boy one snowy night when he was sleeping in his favourite place under the vines, under a blanket that someone had tucked around him. That was the last he was ever seen. These illegal dog catchers are known for just killing dogs and throwing them in a ditch. Legal dog catchers are forbidden by law to capture or kill dogs with the green ear tags. Golden Boy had a green ear tag.
We looked for Golden Boy everywhere. We asked a friend, fluent in the language of the country, to call the Main Office regarding our missing dog. They said that they would never do anything like that to a dog. The guards at the gate said they saw nothing. Of course they saw something since no one gets into the campus without their permission.
There was a great sense of mourning and grief on the campus. Everyone who loved him kept hoping to see him, hoping it wasn't true that he was really gone. What happened to Golden Boy is exactly like what happens in countries with Secret Police who make people "disappear". My fervent hope is that whoever was responsible for Golden Boy's abduction will think of their deed each and every time they see the words "Secret Police" and "Junta" and realize that they cast their lot in with the base and vile forces of the world. They indulged their desire to destroy something innocent and beautiful. And, I believe they allowed themselves to participate in something that they probably would not have done in their home countries. It makes me think that if you are a barbarian, you will show your true colours away from home, as soon as you think you can get away with it.
As well, there is a sadistic element to the disappearance of Golden Boy. Not only was it completely immoral to take a beloved dog, there is also the ice coldness of abducting him in the middle of the night. This type of act is a cruelty to Golden Boy and it is a cruelty to all of us, his human family, who are left with never knowing what happened to their precious family member. This act of making Golden Boy "disappear" was an act of oppression and aggression to all of us on campus. Besides depriving us of a beloved communal pet, it leaves a silent and potent threat that secret violent acts can also happen to you. The same mindset that takes a dog will just as easily be turned on you in some fashion or another. Previously, I had only read about the effects of this type of psychology. With this situation, I felt the effects first hand, and that is a very powerful and disturbing experience. I think that most people are good, or at least decent, but seeing what happened with Golden Boy woke me up to the knowledge that there are more bad people living among us than I had previously imagined. Bad people don't always wear bad faces and they come in both genders.
One woman said that she had recently watched a documentary about how the Nazis worked and she said she thought there were exact parallels in regards to how they got rid of Golden Boy.
We are all still traumatized by the abduction and murder of Golden Boy. He was a dog jointly owned by the 50 people who signed the petition and who fed him, walked him, played with him, petted him. What happened was no different than someone coming into your house, taking your pet, and killing it. What they did was illegal and, above all, immoral. There are many people on campus who are extremely upset about this, but as the perpetrators know, there is precious little we can do because the act was done in secret so we can't "prove" anything.
Why am I writing about this on my website? It is because it is a place where I can voice my thoughts and concerns about this vicious and secret act. I don't feel like being silent about this. I don't feel like letting Golden Boy be forgotten. I just don't feel like it.
I can't bring Golden Boy back, but I can and will talk about him. As I have already stated, 100% of the proceeds from this gallery will be going to Ocean Dog Rescue to aid them in the compassionate and loving work they do for abused dogs in Taiwan. It is only fitting that Golden Boy is the inspiration for this idea. I refuse to allow the bad people to crush out Golden Boy's light under the heels of their boots. Golden Boy will shine on.
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