Chapter 266: Chapter 235: Rescue Station
Li Mo watched with curiosity as Shen Xin stopped in front of cage after cage, crouching down to have a "heart-to-heart staring contest" with each dog.
"What in the world is he doing?" Li Mo whispered to Li Jiahui, who was standing beside him.
’Anyone who didn’t know better might think Shen Xin was having a spiritual exchange with these dogs.’
Li Jiahui didn’t know how to explain it either. After a moment’s thought, she said, "He’s activating his skill."
The last time at the police dog base, Shen Xin had used a group-wide ultimate move. To this day, the trainers there still brought it up occasionally, marveling at it.
Li Mo’s eyes widened. He wanted to ask, ’Are you serious?’, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Li Jiahui shrugged. ’You’re asking me? I’d like to know, too,’ she thought.
In any case, she was sure Shen Xin had some kind of special technique.
There were quite a few dogs in the kennels. Going through them one by one like this seemed a bit too tedious.
Shen Xin stood up. He decided it was time to use his ultimate.
"TSK TSK TSK!"
Shen Xin activated his sonic skill, making the clicking sound as he walked. When he saw a dog react, he would linger for a moment.
If a dog didn’t seem to hear him, it was immediately eliminated.
After one lap, Shen Xin already had his candidates in mind.
He had screened it down to a total of nine dogs.
This was just the initial screening. Shen Xin then crouched down again to observe the temperament of each of the selected dogs.
Just being friendly toward people wasn’t enough; a calmer temperament was better.
Besides, Li Jiahui had mentioned stereotypical behaviors before. If a dog’s mental state was too emo, it definitely wouldn’t work.
Health was also an important criterion.
Just being friendly wasn’t nearly enough.
For this round of police dog training, Shen Xin hoped they could be versatile—capable of search and tracking, and preferably with some guarding abilities as well.
Even for simple search and tracking, they needed sufficient stamina.
A sickly dog just wouldn’t do.
"This one, and this one."
Shen Xin stopped and pointed out two dogs.
One was a male, probably a Wolf Green mixed with some other breed.
The other was a female, also a mutt.
Based on its overall features, it looked mostly like a Dahuang, but its body was slender and its legs were thin, suggesting it had some sighthound genes.
Anyway, the dogs at this shelter had all sorts of strange features; they were basically all mutts of one kind or another.
Li Zhengguang said hurriedly, "Officer Shen, just two? Could you pick a few more? Please, help us out."
It was just a request. He didn’t say anything like, "If you don’t take them, they’ll have to be euthanized," or use any other kind of guilt trip.
Shen Xin thought for a moment, then pointed to another male dog and said, "Alright, add this one too."
This one’s temperament was a little more active. Based on its features, it looked more like a Taihang dog, but its coat was a mix of colors. It was hard to tell what it was crossed with.
Even though it was only one more, Li Zhengguang immediately thanked him.
He had been in charge of this shelter for some years now and had seen all sorts of situations.
For example, someone would adopt a dog, only for it to be brought back after a while.
It was obvious the person had secretly abandoned it again.
His principle was to do his personal best without forcing anything on others.
After thanking him, Li Zhengguang did some simple paperwork and then asked Shen Xin if he wanted to take the dogs now or later.
Since it was only three, Shen Xin said he’d take them right away.
He went to the Wolf Green’s cage, opened it, gave a call, and pointed to the spot by his feet.
The Wolf Green obediently jumped out of the cage and sat down by Shen Xin’s feet, behaving perfectly.
Li Jiahui was secretly amazed. She whispered to Li Mo, "See? That’s his skill."
There were dozens of dogs here, and with just a casual stroll and a few ’tsk tsk tsks,’ he somehow managed to pick out the ones that were obedient and friendly.
Just like this Wolf Green—calm temperament, good obedience. It was indeed a great prospect.
Even Li Jiahui had no idea how Shen Xin did it.
Li Mo nodded blankly. He hadn’t heard much about Shen Xin’s exploits before, but after seeing this, he felt the man was something of a legend.
’He can tell which dogs are good and which aren’t just by walking around and making some clicking sounds?’
Li Zhengguang saw the three of them to the door and exchanged contact information.
He also asked Shen Xin about his selection criteria, so that if any new dogs arrived that met the standards, he could contact Shen Xin and hold them for him.
There really weren’t any criteria.
Or rather, he himself was the standard.
So, Shen Xin just said he would come by and check periodically.
After shaking hands and bidding Li Zhengguang farewell, Shen Xin turned his head and saw Li Jiahui holding the leashes for the three dogs. The Taihang dog was circling Li Mo’s legs, sniffing at him from time to time.
The key thing was Li Mo. His entire body was tense, nervous to the extreme.
Shen Xin asked in surprise, "Li Mo, you’re not afraid of dogs, are you?"
’The work ahead involves the three of us revolving around dogs. It’s not going to be a good fit if you’re scared of them, is it?’
Li Mo’s voice was strained. "No... I’m not afraid."
Still trying to act tough.
Li Jiahui asked, "Did you get bitten by a dog when you were a kid?"
She figured that people who were afraid of dogs had most likely been bitten by one in their childhood.
Li Mo nodded awkwardly. "I think I was six or seven. I was playing near my house when a dog suddenly rushed out and bit me on the butt. It wasn’t a big deal, but ever since then, I’ve always felt a little scared whenever I run into a dog."
Li Jiahui said, "That explains it. There’s an old saying that when people are afraid of dogs, they release a certain scent that dogs can smell, which makes the dogs push their luck."
"It’s actually simple to get over it. The more you’re exposed to what you fear, the more you get used to it over time."
"Look at these three, they’re already as well-behaved as can be."
As she spoke, she led the Wolf Green over to Li Mo and told him to reach out and pet it.
Shen Xin also joked, "It’s fine. The worst that could happen is another bite."
’Give me a break,’ Li Mo thought. But he didn’t want to lose face in front of Shen Xin and Li Jiahui, so he steeled himself and gave the dog a quick, tentative pat.
