A hungry dog or a concerned canine trying to save its owner from the deadly coronavirus?
Probably the former. But let’s pretend it’s the latter, because everyone loves a smart doggo who wants to do right by their owner! Kind of like Marley and Me meets Homeward Bound.
A woman from Taiwan believes her dog did her a favour when it chewed up her passport so badly she couldn’t travel, as she intended, to Wuhan in China. A few days later, the coronavirus had spread even further, so it seems the masticating mutt was preventing its human from a dangerous trip.
Posting photographic evidence of the destroyed passport to Facebook earlier this month, the woman explained how she had returned home to find her beloved dog, named Kimi, lying beside the shredded document.
A few days later, and realising the timely coincidence, the dog owner shared another Facebook post, writing: ‘Do you guys remember the passport? Throwback: this kid is really protecting me. After my passport was torn apart, the virus began to go where I originally planned to go. I think about it now, and it’s very touching. Fortunately, you blocked our trip.’
So far, 56 people are thought to have died in China because of the coronavirus, while more than 1,900 cases have been confirmed across the country.
Hospital workers in the city of Wuhan say they are running low on supplies as the number of patients increases, while the Chinese central government has said it will send 1,200 health workers to the city, as well as 135 medical personnel from the People’s Liberation Army, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.
Wuhan is believed to be ‘ground zero’ for the virus, though it’s reportedly struggling to cope as hospital resources run low. As one health care worker told CNN, ‘the whole of Wuhan is lacking [resources]’, as people search for protective equipment, clothing, goggles and masks. They likened it to going into battle without armour and being ‘stripped to the waist’.
Most cases of coronavirus have been reported in China, though a number of cases have now been confirmed in France, Australia and the United States.
Authorities in Wuhan have now imposed severe limits on travel within the area, with public transport and motor vehicles on indefinite restrictions, and only vehicles with special permits, such as government transports and free shuttles, allowed to run.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.