{{Pet Therapy}} chapter 1

After graduating from college, Tom headed south to California in search of fortune. After months of struggling, he hit a dead end and was on the verge of not being able to afford meals. One day, as he was walking glumly on his way to the job fair, suddenly there was a “splat” sound from above, and something rolled down and stopped right in front of him. Tom took a closer look and found it was a little turtle curled up. For some unknown reason, it had been thrown down from an upper – floor window. There was a red string tied to one of its legs, so Tom casually picked it up.

Tom was bored while waiting at the job fair, so he put the little turtle on the ground and squatted down to watch it crawl slowly around for amusement. Just then, there was a commotion not far away. People quickly scattered to both sides, and an old, somewhat crazy – looking man staggered over. To everyone’s surprise, he stopped in front of the crawling turtle, squatted down excitedly, and his eyes were fixed on the little creature. The restlessness on his face disappeared, and a child – like innocent joy appeared instead.

Tom was puzzled. Then a middle – aged man, out of breath and sweating profusely, ran over. When he saw the old man’s calm and peaceful expression, he was stunned. When he noticed the old man’s loving look at the turtle on the ground, he seemed to understand everything. He quickly grabbed Tom’s hand and kept saying thank you. He told Tom that he would buy the turtle at any price. It turned out that the old man was an empty – nester. After retirement, his temper had become more and more irritable. He had slipped out when the family wasn’t paying attention, and unexpectedly, this unremarkable little turtle had a calming effect on him.

Tom sold the turtle and held the hundred – dollar bill left by the middle – aged man. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind: Why not open an alternative pet store? He could use pet therapy for people with mental disorders, selling pets according to their specific needs and using the different characteristics of pets for mental treatment. After all, it couldn’t do any harm even if it didn’t work. So he decided to act right away. Tom used all his savings to buy various pets such as bats, turtles, geckos, and white mice. His “Tom’s Alternative Pet Store” opened. To his surprise, the business was really good. A teenager who admired Batman bought a black bat, a young man who pursued the alternative bought a non – venomous snake, and a retired scientist who was addicted to scientific research bought a white mouse. One day, as Tom was counting his money and smiling, the door opened, and a man came in. He introduced himself as Mr. Johnson, a boss. Mr. Johnson looked miserable and said to Tom, “I heard your pet therapy is very effective. Please treat my wife. I’m about to be driven crazy by her.”

It turned out that Mr. Johnson’s wife had found out about his mistress. Jealous and enraged, she had been crying, making a scene, and even threatening to commit suicide, which had given Mr. Johnson a huge headache. He had even decided to divorce her. But unexpectedly, just when they were about to go through the divorce procedures, his wife was diagnosed with mild mental illness at the hospital. According to the relevant regulations, he had to cure his wife’s mental illness before getting a divorce. Mr. Johnson had gone to many hospitals and spent a fortune, but his wife’s condition hadn’t improved. So he came to Tom, hoping to try his pet therapy.

Tom followed Mr. Johnson to his magnificent house. He saw a middle – aged woman with messy hair and a dull expression sitting on the sofa in the living room. At that moment, she was gnashing her teeth and fiercely hitting a blond – haired, blue – eyed doll with a fly – swatter. There were two big words “Mistress” written on the doll’s clothes.

Tom quickly handed over the glass tank with the turtle in it, hoping to use the turtle’s calmness to soothe Mr. Johnson’s wife’s restless heart. However, when his wife saw the turtle, she let out a scream and rushed over like a madwoman. She overturned the glass tank and started kicking and hitting the turtle that had rolled onto the ground, shouting “Ah” crazily. Mr. Johnson was in a hurry, but Tom rolled his eyes and said, “I’ve found the pet that can cure your wife’s illness!”

Early the next morning, Tom came to the house with a small wire cage. Mr. Johnson couldn’t help laughing when he saw it. Tom was really creative. Inside the cage was a little dog that looked like a fox, wearing a gaudy little outfit. There was a small sign hanging around its neck that read: I’m a vixen, and I’m guilty. Tom handed the cage to Mr. Johnson’s wife and said seriously, “I’ve caught the vixen for you. You can punish it however you want to let off steam.” When Mr. Johnson’s wife saw the fox – like dog in the cage, her eyes lit up. She immediately started hitting the cage with the fly – swatter, shouting, “I’ll beat you to death, vixen, for seducing my husband!” The little dog in the cage jumped up and down in fear, yelping. Mr. Johnson’s wife laughed heartily, and her spirit seemed much better.

Mr. Johnson pulled Tom aside and asked worriedly, “Will this work?” Tom replied, “Don’t worry. Yesterday, why was she so angry when she saw the turtle? It’s because someone betrayed her. She’s been holding a grudge. Once she vents her anger, she’ll be fine.” Mr. Johnson sighed and said, “Well, there’s no other way. I’ll just give it a try.”

The poor little dog barely survived two weeks under the cruel abuse of Mr. Johnson’s wife and finally died in front of Mr. Johnson. After “torturing” the dog, the gloom in Mr. Johnson’s wife’s heart seemed to have disappeared. Her speech and behavior were just like a normal person’s. Mr. Johnson was so happy that he woke up laughing in his dreams several times. Now he could finally divorce his wife.

One day, Tom was invited to Mr. Johnson’s house. After receiving a generous reward from Mr. Johnson and sincere thanks from his wife, he was about to leave when Mr. Johnson’s wife stopped him. She asked seriously, “Do you still have turtles? Please send one to my husband. Let him learn patience from the turtle so that he can be ready for the divorce. I want to see who has more patience, my husband or the turtle!” Hearing this, Mr. Johnson slumped to the ground.