Dog Fight (斗狗)

My foreign friend told me that he likes to eat 'hot dog'. So I told him that over here, people eat real 'hot dog'... 

Dogs are really men's best friend. Not only they can guard over our house, be our companions, and that they are sort of 'yummy' too... Ha! Ha! Ha!

Not only dogs can keep our stomach warm during cold days, they too can bring us money in 'dog fight'. Dog fight is just one of those traditional gambling like cock fight, horse race and the like.

In old days, while I was still staying in rubber plantation in Kuala Kangsar, dog fight was one of the most important occasion of folks living there. Many folks kept many dogs then for the purpose of participating in big and small dog fight tournaments. 

To many people, dog fights are purely entertainment while others saw dog fight as a means of gambling. Since most of people 'like' dogs, those dogs killed during dog fights would be cooked and feast on hence saving the effort of killing them alive.

The norm was that 3 days before the dog fight, dogs are tied and they are starved. The beginning of fight is the 'random kill' where a big group of dogs are placed inside an enclosed court and a piece of meat would be thrown into the court. These starved dogs will be fighting for the meat and bitten each other to dead. Only two final survivors will enter the final.

Naturally speaking, those ones that survived to the final would be among the fiercest ones. So, the final match is a must watch event for the folks in the plantation.

During one of those years, Chiew's dog and Lee's dog went into final. Both of the dogs were extremely fierce and when I looked at their eyes, they were filled with hatred and waiting to make the killing.

On the day of the final, the sky was gloomy. The final match started by a piece of bone being thrown into the center of the court. Both dogs rushed at each other to start a life and death fight. Yellow dirt was seen stirred up forming dust mist accompanied with the gnarling, grimacing and entangling of both dogs. 

Thick dust started to rise into the air accompanied with bloody smell. Just as when the spectators were watching the match attentively, suddenly the only child of Chiew came from no where and rushed into the middle of the court.

Before anyone could take anyone action, the poor child has his left hand severed by Lee's dog. At the same time too, the match has ended with both of the dogs killed presumably due to serious wounds inflicted during the fight.

The poor child was rushed to the local hospital and his life was saved though not his left hand.

I met Chiew's son years later when I revisited the rubber plantation. Due to curiosity, I asked him what happened to him on that unfortunate day. And he said: "I was waiting for my dad outside of the court and suddenly there came a very fierce black hound with bloody red eyes. I am sure that it was one of my dad's prized hound died the year before. We cooked the dog after that.

The black hound chased after me and I started to run but somehow rammed into the match court and lost a hand.

However, my cousins said that they didn't see any hounds but only me running frantically all of a sudden as if someone mad..."

Perhaps it was the spirit of indignant dog who returned to seek its revenge? There is no where to tell now. Whatever the case that may be, very few people would eat dogs now a days partly in fear of mad dog disease.