因著悲慘的身世，我以為班比比會是一隻陰沉的小狗，但事情卻完全相反。班比比讓我每天下班回家，看到他就忍不住打從心底笑出來。班比比是一個諧星，永遠都能把一件嚴肅的事情變得好笑。他要東西吃的時候會睜大眼睛，把下巴放在你大腿上（誰教他的？）；做錯事情會把頭夾在兩條椅子縫中間。
文圖/ Story & Picture ─ Meggie Lu
班比比這名字很假掰，是義大利文，意指「小朋友」，配我們家這隻被寵壞又無敵幼稚的小狗非常剛好。班比比是我從流浪動物花園領養回來的，當時他被中途媽媽養得肥嘟嘟，不過毛髮有點凌亂，右前腳還不時地抽蓄。醫生說看起來牠得過犬瘟熱，而且沒有接受過任何治療，就自癒了；抽蓄應是後遺症，永遠好不了。
過一陣子我幫他剃毛，發現他脖子後面有一道筆直的疤，本來還不知道是怎麼回事，問過醫生，他說以前應被植了晶片，後來被人切開，挖出來了。我開始拼湊班比比的身世，是不是本來有主人？後來得了犬瘟熱，所以被挖掉晶片，丟了出來，一邊在馬路上流浪，一邊跟病魔在奮鬥呢？我問了他好多次，但他本人都表示不予回應。
因著悲慘的身世，我以為班比比會是一隻陰沉的小狗，但事情卻完全相反。班比比讓我每天下班回家，看到他就忍不住打從心底笑出來。班比比是一個諧星，永遠都能把一件嚴肅的事情變得好笑。他要東西吃的時候會睜大眼睛，把下巴放在你大腿上（誰教他的？）；做錯事情會把頭夾在兩條椅子縫中間，不跟你有眼神接觸；鄰居小朋友喜歡他，怎麼抓他揉他，他從不生氣；貪吃成性，連肥皂跟護唇膏都曾經成功完食；討厭下雨，不穿雨衣不肯出門，而且不斷賞我白眼（公子我不喜歡下雨，你知道嗎？？？）；只要出太陽、或有東西吃，他少爺的笑容便是十二萬分燦爛。
他讓我每天風雨無阻，固定早晚出門散步運動遛狗，他拒絕在家尿尿；他讓我習慣時時刻刻保持房子整潔，因為如果東西亂丟，一定會被咬爛或吃掉；他讓我在還沒生小孩前，就成了一個媽媽，但為了我的小朋友，萬般值得。
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“Bambino” which means “little kid” in Italian, is a rather pretentious name for a Taiwanese dog but it is the perfect name for my bratty little puppy. I adopted Bambi from a foster home. At the time he was quite chubby, thanks to his super nice foster owner, but he was a little scraggly, and had a constant twitch in his right front leg. The vet said Bambi likely had canine distemper, but was never treated for it. The twitching was a complication and would never go away. Later I found a very straight scar on the back of his neck after I shaved him. I didn’t know what that was until the vet told me that Bambi was chipped, but someone had sliced him open to extract the chip.
Soon the puzzles of Bambi’s pre-adoption life began to piece together. Could it be that he had an owner, got canine distemper, was cut open to have his chip dug out, thrown out, and started to live on the streets while fighting the illness on his own? I’ve asked him many times, but Bambino declined to comment.
With such a sad story, I thought Bambi would be a sad little dog, but he is quite the contrary. Bambi makes me smile from the bottom of my heart every day when I come home from work. Bambi is a born comedian, he is always capable of turning a perfectly serious situation into a hilarious one. When he wants to ask for food he whips out his puppy eyes, and puts his chin on your lap (WHO taught him to do that??) After he does something bad, he refuses eye contact, and sticks his head in the crack between two chairs. The neighbors’ kids love him, and he never gets upset however they pull, tug, or rub him. He is obsessed with food, and has eaten my soap and lip balm. He hates it when it rains. Not only he refuses to venture out without his raincoat, he often tosses me a dirty look, as to blame me for the rain. He flashes his signature megawatt smile whenever the sun comes out, or whenever there is food.
Because of him, I have to exercise twice a day — rain or shine — to walk him, because he refuses to pee at home. Because of him, I have to always keep my house nice and tidy, because if I dare leave anything out, it would either be bitten or eaten. Because of him, I’ve become a mom before I’ve even given birth. But for my little boy, it’s all worth it.
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