Human Without Dog

In a loving memory of Mr. Taguchi and Shelby.

“Sometimes when a man is alone, that’s all you got is your dog” uttered by Mickey Rourke with genuine sincerity in his 2009 acceptance speech of Golden Globe Awards.

This is a story of a man that I once knew who had everything and reduced to nothing except his 4 legged companion until it was taken away from him too that ultimately led to his demise as he wished.

I met Mr. Taguchi in the year 2012 as I was looking for a room to rent. As I was browsing the rental property website and I saw a photo of a living room with a bean bag sofa in a house where I had interest in renting a room in. There was a black lump on top of the bean bag as if someone had lazily put a pile of charcoal on top of it due to one’s own eccentricity. But I assumed it was a dog sleeping on it. So, I sent an email to set an appointment to inspect the house.

He was a 57 years old Japanese man. His body was frail yet he was healthy and he loved to drink. His favourite being London Dry Gin. He was polite yet distanced, the very product of Japanese bubble economy during the 80’s and tatemae* attitude. The house itself was located in the suburb that I have grown up most of my life in Australia, Chatswood. The room was fully furnished already with a bed that apparently was bought from Hilton Hotel’s bed supplier, a large modern study table that as if can make your creativity juices flowing just by sitting at the table on a leather office chair which I dubbed, “The boss chair”.

*Tatemae is a Japanese concept which means the behavior one displays in the public. The equivalent english word will be “Facade”.

There was a garden at the back of the house with a wooden table and benches, “perfect for BBQ and social events or just to hang out”, I thought. Like Japanese standard of hygiene, The house was clean. When I said “clean”, I meant it as in the house felt nurtured, warm, and glowed, bathed in sunlight throughout every parts of the house that were designed to allow its radiance to penetrate through the house. The house was pure in a sense that there was a force behind it. The force of kindness and sincere love.

As I asked questions any potential tenant would ask, I saw the same lump of black wool on a bean bag near the door to the garden and his name was “Shelby”. He was a 11 years old mixed poodle dog. He was also one of the factors that I decided to live in that house that was bathed with gentleness. And couple of days later, Mr. Taguchi emailed me that I was accepted as a tenant.

Living together with Mr. Taguchi, I have noticed his perk of listening to sentimental songs such as, Mr. Children’s “Joutoku” and Dreams Come True’s “Mirai Yousoku Part I, II, and III”. He would listen to those songs on repeat from his white small Toshiba laptop with Shelby sleeping next to him on the couch.

Mr. Taguchi used to be a successful businessman in a respectable international Japanese company, had a wife, two children, and Shelby. A Japanese dream during the Japan’s 80’s economic bubble.

Due to bad investments and economy recession, He divorced his wife voluntarily, leaving her with lots of money to get her out of the burden, moved out to live alone while renting out his available bedrooms in the house he was renting.He lost his job, his family. Only that, he wasn’t entirely alone. Shelby followed him. Shelby had always been there for him. With Shelby, He endured the shame of letting his family down and he walked the path of a humble road.

He told me that he met Shelby for the first time one day when he was coming home from work to his family many years ago, apparently his family had bought Shelby. Mr. Taguchi at that time thought, “What a strange dog” although Shelby was a poodle, the only poodle about him was that he got curly fur and Shelby was a mixed breed. The bond was born that would endure for so many years.

Mr. Taguchi at the time I met him, he was working as a mere waiter at an old local Sushi restaurant in Chatswood. From being a higher up of a corporation to a mere waiter and he also did the restaurant’s accounting as well as a strategist confidante to the owner of the restaurant. Yet he was undeniably happy and fulfilled.

Mr. Taguchi would start his day waking up at 7 AM, cooked himself a big breakfast. A bowl Japanese Rice, eggs, various pickles, grilled fish, and a bowl of miso soup. Your classic yet heart warming Japanese style breakfast. He would take Shelby for a walk after and then he would go to work until late afternoon when the moment he came into the house, the first thing he would do was to prepare the leash to walk Shelby and Shelby would get up from his slumber on the bean bag and greeted Mr. Taguchi, as if they cosmically knew that they would have a long walk together at that particular time everyday as long as life could sustain.