[WorldUrbanLegend] It Wasn't a Dog
"It Wasn't a Dog"
It was a dreary October day in New York when Minji, a Korean exchange student, noticed something strange. Amid the hustle and bustle of the subway, in a dark corner of the platform, there was a small creature huddling in the rain. At first, she thought it might be a cat, but as she got closer, she realized it was too small and oddly shaped.
Feeling a mix of loneliness and compassion, Minji approached the creature. It looked so fragile and lost, something about it made her heart ache. She couldn’t leave it there. She gently scooped it up and took it back to her dorm.
That night, she carefully bathed the animal, washing off the grime and dirt from its fur. It trembled, but didn’t resist, and Minji covered it with a warm blanket, letting it curl up in her bed. Over the next few days, however, the animal refused to eat. Minji was confused. She tried different kinds of food, but nothing worked. The little creature just lay there, looking weak and unresponsive.
Worried, Minji decided to take it to a nearby animal hospital. The vet examined the creature with a professional but serious look, which made Minji feel even more anxious. The doctor paused for a moment before speaking.
"This animal… it’s not a dog."
Minji blinked, not understanding at first. "What do you mean?" The doctor sighed heavily and explained.
"After running some tests, it turns out this animal... is a rat."
Minji was stunned. A rat? The animal she had cared for, cleaned, and nurtured was actually a rat? The doctor continued, explaining that the creature had some sort of disease that caused it to appear distorted, almost like a small dog.
The news hit Minji like a ton of bricks. She couldn't believe it. How could something that had looked so much like a puppy, so full of warmth, be a rat? The doctor offered to take the creature in for treatment, but Minji’s heart was heavy with the weight of what had just happened. She had loved and cared for it, but it was not what she thought.
Minji eventually returned to her dorm and left the rat with the vet, but the experience lingered with her for a long time. She couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, the animal had been different from what she had imagined. Perhaps it had never been a dog at all. Maybe it had only looked like one because of a trick of the eye, or a strange condition.
The story of Minji and her subway "dog" quickly spread among her friends, becoming an urban legend in itself. And every time someone heard it, they couldn't help but wonder: "Was it really a dog?"
