Animal Detective

Chapter 102: Black Panther

Shen Xin just smiled and didn’t explain.

From the looks of it, this Cassaro was a really good dog.

Feng Kaiwei wanted a riot dog—one that would charge forward at critical moments, fearlessly fighting criminals, and one that would be intimidating enough just by being walked on a leash.

Both Cassaros and Rottweilers were suitable; they were the most common breeds used for riot control worldwide.

"By the way, have you had him neutered?" Shen Xin remembered something and turned to ask.

Normally, police dogs weren’t neutered.

They were even intentionally trained to overcome their instincts when they went into heat.

Besides, neutering could easily cause a change in their temperament.

Plus, for such an expensive purebred dog that was meant for breeding, you wouldn’t want to neuter it anyway.

The young man instantly grew nervous and stammered, "I-I haven’t neutered him yet. I was originally thinking of buying a female to breed a litter."

He then quickly added, "But he’s already a year and two months old, so you can get him neutered anytime. If it’s a problem, I can give you a better price."

He knew that many people didn’t want unneutered dogs, and for a large breed like this, the neutering procedure was a considerable expense.

Shen Xin nodded. What a coincidence.

An unneutered one was exactly what he was looking for.

"Please consider it. I can see he really likes you. I’m only selling him because I want to find him a good home. As long as you treat him well, the money doesn’t really matter." Seeing Shen Xin’s silence, the young man thought he wasn’t interested. Steeling himself, he blurted out that he didn’t even care about the money.

Shen Xin snapped out of his thoughts and quickly said, "It’s not about the money. We’re police officers looking to buy a few dogs to see if they can be trained as police dogs. So I need to be upfront with you. We’re buying him to train as a riot dog, which means he might have to face criminals directly and could get injured."

"If you’re not okay with that, you should probably look for another suitable adopter."

Shen Xin could tell the young man cared a great deal about the Cassaro and had invested a lot of emotion into him. He really was just trying to find a suitable new owner.

That’s why he felt he had to tell him beforehand.

He didn’t want the young man to be upset later if the dog got injured or, God forbid, died during a mission.

"You’re police officers?"

The young man was stunned.

Shen Xin nodded and pulled out his badge to show him.

That was something you couldn’t fake. The young man was clearly a bit bewildered. "Don’t you guys have a police dog academy? Why are you buying dogs here?" he asked, confused.

Shen Xin said, "It’s a bit of a special situation, and I can’t explain it in just a few words. But we are buying him with the intention of training him to be a police dog. Of course, if the training is unsuccessful, we’ll make proper arrangements, find another adopter, or if you still want him back then, we can even return him to you."

’Who knew police dogs were this scarce? And I just had to have this talent,’ he thought.

The young man understood. He looked at the Cassaro, then said suddenly, "Then just take him. He’s my gift to you."

He even seemed excited. The idea that a dog he raised was chosen by the police to be trained as a K-9 was a source of pride for him. He felt it was the best possible future for the Cassaro.

"We can’t do that."

Shen Xin quickly shook his head. He hadn’t revealed his identity just to get a free dog.

"We’re definitely paying. Let’s go with the two thousand you mentioned at the beginning. That’s already a very cheap price."

At a professional kennel, the price would probably be ten times that.

The young man hurriedly refused, insisting it was an honor for his dog to be chosen by the police and that he really didn’t want any money.

He only relented when Shen Xin said that if he wouldn’t take the money, then they wouldn’t take the dog.

However, he did make a point of asking for Shen Xin’s contact information and wanted to know if he could occasionally ask about the dog’s well-being in the future.

"Of course."

It would be government property, so Shen Xin naturally didn’t mind.

"That’s great."

The young man, face beaming with excitement, told Shen Xin to wait and not to leave.

He ran off quickly.

A short while later, he returned carrying a large storage container.

"This is the dog food I have left. It’s pretty expensive, so take it with you for him to eat. Don’t let it go to waste. There’s a lot of other stuff too—deworming medicine, toys, and things. Just take it all."

He placed it in front of the three of them.

There were two six-kilogram bags of Orijen chicken-flavored dog food. Those two bags alone were worth over a thousand yuan.

The other deworming medicines were also brand-name products.

It was clear the young man had spared no expense on this Cassaro.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Xin accepted them.

The young man also asked if he could take a picture with Shen Xin and the others.

He was probably worried no one would believe him when he bragged about it later.

Shen Xin didn’t refuse.

"Black Panther, you can do it. Work hard and become a great police dog." The young man gave Black Panther’s head one last encouraging pat before leaving reluctantly.

"Captain Feng, you want to take him?"

Shen Xin offered the leash to Feng Kaiwei.

This was the riot dog intended for the SWAT team.

Feng Kaiwei seemed a little afraid of dogs. He shook his head slightly, signaling that Shen Xin should handle the training for now, and they could talk again once the dog was trained.

"Xiaoshen, what about me?" Jiang Wengang was displeased.

He was dying for a drug-sniffing dog.

"Captain Jiang, we have to get lucky."

Shen Xin felt they had already been lucky enough today to find such a suitable Cassaro.

"Let’s go, Black Panther."

Shen Xin called out. The name was good; he wouldn’t change it.

Black Panther seemed to understand he had a new master and followed along obediently.

With his size, he was truly intimidating. Passersby silently made way for him.

There really weren’t many adult dogs at the dog market.

They came across a few more later, but none were suitable.

Basically, something was off with all of them.

For a dog that large, if the owner was still giving it up knowing it could only be sold by weight, there had to be problems in one way or another.

For example, Shen Xin came across a Husky.

It was a similar situation to the young man from before—a private seller who, in his own words, was so fed up with the dog destroying his house that he couldn’t stand it anymore. He didn’t want money; he just wanted it gone, to the point of wishing it were dead.

A dog like that could never become a police dog.

They made a full lap around the dog market but had no further luck.

Then they went to check out some nearby kennels.

The prices immediately jumped several levels, starting at several thousand or even ten thousand yuan.

They were good, though—really good. Their conformation was flawless.

But they were all puppies.

There were some adult dogs that had been culled from breeding programs, but they were not for sale, to prevent their bloodlines from getting out.

So on the way back, Jiang Wengang was thoroughly displeased. He even set his sights on Baiwan, telling Shen Xin to go have a word with Song Liang.

"A local police station like yours having a police dog, isn’t that a luxury?"

’If you want to say that, say it yourself,’ Shen Xin thought.

A single drug-sniffing dog could meet an entire local station’s annual drug bust quota.

For a dog like that, there was nothing you could offer that would make Song Liang give him up.

Back at the branch bureau, as soon as word got out that Shen Xin had brought a dog back, a crowd immediately gathered to see the excitement.

Feng Kaiwei was no longer afraid of the dog. He proudly walked Black Panther back and forth, asking if he wasn’t incredibly intimidating—the kind that would make criminals’ hearts tremble at the mere sight of him.

Sun Zhao’s expression began to change.

"Xiaoshen, while Liu Laibin’s case is wrapping up these next couple of days, you should take a few days off. Don’t worry about case matters. Go spend more time at the dog market. You’re a member of our Criminal Investigation Division, after all."

He patted Shen Xin’s shoulder, his expression earnest as he gave the instruction.

After speaking, he couldn’t help but shoot a glance at Feng Kaiwei.

’Show-off!’