โทมนัส (Thomnạs̄)- Sorrow, despondency, or grief (Thai)

Tao POV

A bright whistling tune wafted through the air as Tao strolled into the employee lounge. He set his things in a personals locker and changed into a light blue jumpsuit uniform. It was similar to a mechanics overalls, except it was more breathable and form-fitting. Tao had taken the liberty to personalize it with various patches, buttons, and scribbles. After putting his regular shoes back on and double checking his hair, he whistled his way to the front of the building, where his boss’ office was.

    “Well someone is awfully bright and cheerful for a Monday morning,” Huddled in front of a computer was Tao’s boss, Sehyuk, peering at him over a coffee.

    “Hey, what can I say. The sun is shining, we're all alive, and I love my job. What more can you ask?” Tao replied with a shining smile.

    “Oh god, the optimism. It burns me! Begone you foul beast!” Sehyuk replied dramatically, flinging out his arm and pointing towards the door.

    After giving his boss a look, Tao asked,”So whats on the to-do list today?”

    “Ah! I thought you’d never ask! We had quite the eventful night yesterday.”

     “Oh no not another lost kitty,” It wouldn't have been the first time Sehyuk had trolled him. They seemed to think it fair to get revenge on him for being a morning person.

    “No, not this time. We got a call late in the evening for a dog attack. Luckily, there were two of us still here. Four dogs in all, two of them were already done for by the time we got there. They had some kid cornered too, man you shoulda seen the look on his face!” Setting down his, he leaned forward,”Well, anyways, the other one was bat-crazy and the doc put him down due to the extent of his injuries, but the last one seems like a good project for you. Could be some kinda fancy wolf mix, and you know those things go for a lot of money. Seems pretty damn sour though, but hey, go work you magic on him. You’ve certainly done it before!”

    “Sounds like my kind case. Sweet, I love new projects! Where’s he at?” Tao replied with excitement.

    “88. Go easy on him though, he got a couple nasty wounds too.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, Tao left the small, cluttered office.

~~

The animal shelter building was split into four sections, the front being the customer entrance, offices, employee room and lounge while the back was split into the animal rooms and the veterinary area. The animal rooms were designated by species, and then size of animal. Kennel numbers 80-100 were in the room for the largest dogs.

Heading to the back of the room, Tao crouched down to peer in the bottom cage and was surprised to see a large, regal dog. He had a sharp, narrow face and shining gold eyes. Skinny and ragged looking, he had several large bandages around his middle and back.

He doesn’t look like much of a fighter... I see what he meant about the wolf mix though.

Usually the dogs that came to Tao for retraining were ones rescued from fighting rings or abusive homes, and tended to be more small to medium size. This guy had long legs and a long, elegant body. This combined with powerful shoulders marked him as a capable, athletic individual. He also happened to be the largest canine Tao had ever seen. Standing straight up, he estimated its head would come close to his hip.

If we get some more pounds on you, you are going to be one impressive hound!

The most important thing to Tao, however, were the eyes. They mean so much more than a record of aggression or abuse, they said what kind of heart and brain were inside. Tao’s coworkers were always giving him for being so mysterious about what he saw, but in the end were impressed at how different his projects ended up. The nastiest, meanest beast could turn into a sweet lapdog fit for an old lady, in less than a couple months. He always knew, though when a project was a bad idea and wouldn’t end well. There had only been a few of them, but when he saw that certain look in their eyes and spent a few days working with them, he refused to try and retrain them. Those few were never able to get over their unstable, dangerous, or explosive tendencies.

Tao loved what he saw in this ones eyes. Simply put, they were wonderful. Along with the attractive gold color, they seemed open and gentle. They shined with intelligence and were accompanied by a playful and strong undertone. What troubled Tao though, was that they currently had a sheen of guarded anger, pain, and dullness.

“You poor thing, what in the world happened to you? Poor thing, don’t you worry, you’re in good hands.” Tao whispered, gazing into the sad eyes.

“Well, first things first. Im not gonna call you ‘dog’ all the time, so you need a name. Hmm… How about Ace? Yeah, that’ll fit nicely. Alright, Ace, lets see what you’ve got!”

~~

“Boss, there is a problem!” Tao cried as he barged into Sehyuk’s office,” He knows it all!”

“...What? Sorry, I don’t follow.” Setting down a pile of papers, the Boss ruffled his short hair and looked at Tao in confusion.

“Ace! He knows everything! All my tricks and cues, even ones only I know of!” Tao replied, still frantic.

“Ace?”

“Yeah, thats what I’m calling the newbie”

“Oooh, ok. And this is a problem...why? I would think you’d be happy about this!”

“Well, I am, I guess… Its just… this has never happened before, and- its weird. I don’t know just very… unsettling?” Tao said stiltedly, calming down from his earlier rush.

“Just do what you always do, move on to the next step. Maybe he’s just been trained already or something” The young boss casually replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Alright, sorry Boss. I guess I'll just start phase 2.” With an unsettled expression, Tao left the office.

~~

*During Lunch Break*

Tao and his coworkers were scattered around the lounge room, enjoying their lunch. It wasn't quite big enough for the group, but large enough that they were comfortable crowded onto various sofas and chairs.

“Hey, do you guys think that dogs can be depressed?” Tao brought up suddenly. There was a slight pause as they considered the question.

“Yeah, probably. I mean, when we get those starved and beaten ones there is nothing sadder. They just look ready to give up on everything. I'd say that there is definitely some kind of doggy-depression.” The reply came from Yano, a young, blond teenager who was a regular volunteer at the shelter.

“I don’t know man, I think they get sad and stuff, but give them a strip of bacon or take them for a walk and they bounce right back. I don’t think they have the attention span to stay depressed, honestly.” Another replied. The group was used to these kind of questions from Tao, and knew it was easier to just humor him and answer, otherwise he would just keep asking.

“Why do you ask, Tao? Got a dog that could use a dose of Prozac?”The resident joker, Jiho, offered, earning a few chuckles.

“No, just my new project. You know the one that came in last night? He just seems a bit…down. Its a shame too, he’s got the sweetest eyes.”

“Depression in dogs and other animals is completely possible. There is a good chance that a canine could have similar conflicting emotions and such. However, in the new guys case, he came in alone, and appears to have been wandering alone for some time. A little attention, TLC, and kindness ought to bring him back to his feet.” Everyone turned to look towards voice, which came from the resident veterinarian, Gohn. It was rare to hear him speak, unless directly addressed. It was also fairly unanimous that he was quite odd.

With a thankful smile, Tao said, ”Thanks Gohn, that is definitely something I can do. I get the feeling he is going to turn out great.” As the conversation turned to other topics and gossip, Tao remained thoughtfully quiet, mulling over the mysterious hound.

~~

 "Alright Ace, lets see how you get along with Bunny." Tao said as he tied Ace's leash to a ring on the wall of the training room. Turning, he headed out of the door and into the long central hallway.

Bunny was an affectionately ironic name for one of the shelter's permanent residents. A large, fluffy Golden Retriever, she was used for a wide range of things from pack mediator, new rescue  to footwarmer, to a one-on-one therapist for the coworkers. She had been rescued several years ago, however, upon the discovery of several complicated health problems was deemed unfit for adoption. Everyone at the office just couldn't bear to let such a friendly dog go. Since she was healthy and happy, as long as she had regular medical checks, she  was allowed to stay and quickly became a very important part of the office dynamic.

Tao used her for training and testing his projects. She was very friendly and never responded aggressively to anything they tried. There was also this comforting, gentle aura around her that even the most  resistant dog would be affected.Together, Tao and Bunny had successfully retrained many fighting circuit dogs.

Entering the lounge room, he glanced around and located her curled on one a large greenish couch.

"Bunny! Come here, sweetie. We've got another pup that could use your help."  Tail wagging, she came trotting up to Tao and followed him back to the room.

Hi again!! Here is number two! Nothing too showy yet. Let me know what you think of Tao!

I promise more interesting things will happen next chapter too, we are still just getting started! Reviews will always make me update sooner too though ;) Hehe also who can guess the group running the shelter?

Thanks for reading! See you all soon!