Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 545 The Cat and Dog War
That unreliable boss is definitely going to go to jail, there's no doubt about that.

This is because it is not only a food safety issue related to the sale of uninspected meat, but also involves the criminal elements constituting a serious food poisoning incident or other serious foodborne illness.

The law needs to be responsible to the people; it doesn't mean that cooking meat thoroughly is enough to disinfect and sterilize it without causing harm to people.

Rabies is no joke, and its 100% fatality rate cannot be easily dismissed. Who has the right to take chances with such a thing?

In addition, the dog meat shop owner will also face a fine of between 10,000 and 500,000 yuan. In short, his business has definitely reached its end.

However, the trouble he caused was only just beginning.

The Baimiao Police Station found more than a dozen live dogs in cages in the backyard of the dog meat shop, as well as a refrigerator full of slaughtered but unsold dog meat. But none of that mattered; the main issue was that the appearance of several of the dogs as pets was still horrifying.

This indicates that someone is targeting pet dogs, damaging personal property, and even committing theft. This discovery immediately put the police in a bind. Although most related work was transferred to the Food and Drug Administration, this illegal chain of dog meat theft, transportation, and sale needed to be handed over to the public security organs to crack down on.

In addition, the city's order to take in stray dogs coincided with the upcoming May Day holiday.

"Damn it! The May Day holiday was busy enough, and now I have to catch dogs too?"

Zhao Zhigang cursed and stomped his feet, never expecting to encounter such a thing so soon after starting work. You see, stray dogs roam everywhere, and catching one involves a chase through the streets and alleys, with the risk of being bitten. Add to that the current rabies risk in Zhangzhou, and no one can guarantee whether these stray dogs are carrying the rabies virus.

Even if the police officers have been vaccinated, the mortality rate is still frightening.

"The main force in catching dogs is the urban management department and the community. We only send people to follow them and deal with people who obstruct them or other public security issues. How troublesome can it be?"

Zheng Mingxing glared at Zhao Zhigang impatiently.

Since this guy knows it's May Day and there are countless things to arrange and coordinate at the police station, why did he still come over and disrupt his work?
Nobody wants to see the work of catching stray dogs combined with the May Day holiday. Two equally arduous tasks can indeed exhaust people, but who dares to ignore the threat of rabies?
Beibei has received emergency treatment and has been isolated. What if other infected individuals are discovered...?

“Our police station is short-staffed! We also need to be on duty at the Zhanghe Scenic Area, responsible for maintaining order among tourists during the May Day holiday and dealing with the inevitable disputes and even fights! We only have these few animals, where are we going to find more people to catch dogs?”

Xie Hua was also rubbing his temples, looking worried.

The others also shook their heads and sighed.

It's said that May Day, National Day, and the Spring Festival are the busiest times for police stations. They never stop handling regular tasks, and with the various issues arising from travelers during the long holidays, plus the increased potential for conflicts and disputes after staff leave, they're always overwhelmed and feel like they need to be stretched to three times their capacity. For every few days of national holiday, the police work overtime. At least fourteen or fifteen hours a day; unless they're exhausted and end up in the hospital, nobody gets a break or a chance to go home during these days!
Although the police station had arranged for most officers to have time to recharge through a rotation system to alleviate their physical and mental stress, five consecutive days of overtime work still took a heavy toll on everyone's physical and mental strength.

Not to mention, this time some manpower will also need to be diverted to help urban management and community workers capture stray dogs. With fewer personnel, the police responsible for the May Day holiday will only be busier and have even less time to rest.

“If there are difficulties, then we will find ways to overcome them. I will coordinate with the community and the urban management department to see if we can assign only one police officer to each arrest team, so that we can reduce the number of people we have to send out. Then we can also send two clerical staff to stand guard at the Zhanghe Scenic Area to fill in for them.”

Yu Zhengwei thought for a long time, and this was the only way he could come up with to rob Peter to pay Paul.

"If all else fails, let Mimi and her pack help catch the dog. With these cats' help, they'll be much more effective at finding and tracking the dog. The only problem is whether these cats will run away when they see the dog; that's something you'll have to figure out, Mimi."

Nie Guoqiang added, then looked down at Lin Ge and said, "Mimi, is it alright to leave this to you? If your cats can be of good use, it will be easier for our police station, the urban management officers, and the community. They all have a tough time during this May Day holiday. The urban management officers, in particular, are the main force in catching dogs and need even more manpower. They also have to patrol the streets and alleys, so their manpower problem is even more serious than ours."

"Let the cat help catch the dog?"

Lin Ge looked up at Nie Guoqiang to make sure the guy wasn't talking nonsense before he frowned and began to seriously consider whether the matter could be successfully implemented.

If it's just about finding those stray dogs hiding deep in the streets and alleys, his henchmen can certainly handle that without any problem. But expecting them to cooperate with the urban management officers to reduce the manpower burden on government personnel—isn't that giving them a bit too much credit?
Even if it seemed impossible, we still had to find a way to help. The orders from above had to be carried out; the threat of rabies was real, and a bite to one of our men could be fatal. It was also impossible for Zhangzhou City to unilaterally ban the May Day holiday, forcing residents to wait until the dog-catching mission was complete before they could rest and enjoy themselves. In short, the situation had already collided, and that was an unchangeable fact. The only thing we could do now was to complete the dog-catching mission as quickly as possible and extricate ourselves from the situation—nothing more.

This time, Lin Ge didn't act recklessly.

After assigning tasks to the little tigers, they quickly gathered all their underlings in their respective positions.

Within just a few hours, the courtyard of Zhanghe Police Station was packed with cats, their various meows creating a melodious symphony. Unfortunately, the surrounding residents were already quite used to the police station hoarding cats, and this spectacular scene only attracted a few glances from passersby before they naturally moved on.

After a few months, Lin Ge noticed that the cat population was growing. Originally more than two hundred cats, it had now grown to nearly three hundred, not counting those that lived far away and hadn't arrived yet.

Most of the cats Lin Ge was familiar with answered their leader's call. However, a few that Lin Ge remembered were absent this time. Lin Ge didn't know if they were dead or simply hadn't heard the call, but he still felt a little disappointed.

Under the watchful eyes of the police officers selected from the local station to lead the dog-catching operation, Lin Ge briefly explained the task to the cats. He wasn't sure if the idiots understood, but they just needed to spread out and search for the dogs.

To put it bluntly, at this time of year, only a small number of dogs wandering outside are likely pets; the vast majority are probably stray dogs or abandoned animals. So even if the wrong dogs are caught, it doesn't matter. According to the regulations, all dogs roaming outside without a leash or without complete dog registration procedures will be included in this large-scale shelter operation, and they will all be caught in one fell swoop.

Zhangzhou City has been promoting civilized dog ownership for several years, but people are still letting their pet dogs run around like this. In the future, they should go to the urban management office to register and quarantine the dogs, and even fine them before taking them back!
"Hey! Isn't it a bit too much to not even let them know about this? It's not just your Zhanghe Police Station; we also need Mimi's help over there!"

Li Zhen, the rarely seen director of Baimiao Police Station, suddenly appeared and immediately guessed the Zhanghe Police Station's plan when he saw the cats gathering.

This time, he came with Cheng Rui from Longquan Police Station. The two originally came to discuss with Yu Zhengwei about cooperating to catch the dog, but they unexpectedly ran into Zhanghe Police Station, who happened to come up with a good idea for finding the dog.

Is there anyone in this world who knows better where stray dogs are hiding than a stray cat that roams everywhere?
Although stray dogs don't huddle together like stray cats, this makes their locations even more elusive. If you search aimlessly on your own without the help of these stray cats, who knows how much time you'll waste and how long it will take to finish the search?

Moreover, unlike in the past when we took in stray dogs and didn't care about missing a few, this time, facing the threat of rabies, we had to find all the stray dogs without missing a single one.

The police station doesn't need to worry about how to deal with these stray dogs. However, if there are still dogs infected with rabies wandering around, it would be a big problem for the police station if something happens.

So when they discovered that the Zhanghe Police Station was about to activate special weapons, the two of them stepped forward together, saying they wanted a share.

"You guys... you don't think of my Zhanghe Police Station when you have good things to do, but you're so arrogant when you need to come begging?" Yu Zhengwei was both angry and amused, but unfortunately, Nie Guoqiang and Zheng Mingxing had gone to the Zhanghe Scenic Area and the District Shopping Center respectively, so there was no one to play the bad cop. So he could only find two bastards to extort some good stuff from them before agreeing to their request.

Yu Zhengwei approached Lin Ge and gestured for Lin Ge to divide the cats into three groups, then move two groups out and give them to Li Zhen and Cheng Rui to take away, and help them find all the stray dogs in their jurisdiction.

"What's the benefit?"

Lin Ge naturally had no objection to this. After all, a large portion of these cats had come from Baimiao District and Longquan District. Going back to search for stray dogs hiding in their own territory would be simpler and more beneficial for them.

Stray dogs pose a significant threat to the survival of stray cats, so reducing this threat would be a good thing for them.

It's a good thing that they can gain favors from the two major police stations.

After confirming that all the underlings on site had understood the mission that had been summoned, Lin Ge told them to find the target directly when they spotted someone wearing this kind of police uniform, and then signaled that they could disperse and go back to work.

Groups of cats swarmed in and then swarmed away, quickly disappearing into various corners of the city amidst the astonished gazes of passersby.

Meanwhile, the tense, exciting, and dangerous stray dog ​​capture operation officially began as people who had slept in during the May Day holiday gradually came out, amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.

Stray dogs struggling to survive in the city, scavenging for food in garbage dumps and seeking shelter from the wind and rain under large trees, were quickly spotted by urban management officers. Armed with steel forks, nets, and even tranquilizer guns, the officers swiftly arrested some of the unfortunate dogs who were unsuspecting of humans. They were loaded into pickup trucks with pre-attached nets and then transported to a larger truck at a designated meeting point. Their final destination was an animal rescue center on the outskirts of the city.

They will undergo disinfection, physical examinations, and vaccinations there, and then be separated and isolated according to size, sex, and physical condition. Those infected with rabies will be culled, those with other diseases will receive basic treatment, and those in serious condition will be disposed of humanely.

Most stray dogs that pass the health check and have good temperaments will be registered and quarantined after a period of observation, and then their adoption applications will be made available to the public.

"Tsk tsk! A cat leading a human to catch a dog, how cunning!"

A young man passing by happened to see several urban management officers chasing and intercepting a black dog in the community. He heard the dog's panicked barks and saw a cat with an arrogant attitude at the feet of the police officers. He couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Oh, really! I hadn't noticed until you said it, but when I saw the people catching dogs in that neighborhood earlier, it looked like there were one or two cats with them too!"

The girl beside him suddenly realized what was going on and stopped to look curiously at the lively scene.

This morning, the Zhangzhou Municipal Government's official WeChat account, the Zhangzhou Daily, and the Zhangzhou Morning News all reported on the recent crackdown on stray dogs. Therefore, even though these people witnessed the police "abusing" the dogs, none of them foolishly rushed to defend the "poor" dogs. Some stray dogs scattered and fled, while others fiercely fought back, their ferocity leaving the onlookers speechless. Fortunately, the urban management officers catching the dogs, along with the party members and citizens who volunteered to help, were well-equipped and numerous; otherwise, they might have actually been injured by these cornered beasts.

In addition, some of the urban management officers were carrying tranquilizer guns, which were very effective in dealing with these guys.

"Meow!"

Seeing its nemesis successfully captured, the cat that had found the dog, now struggling in the net, let out a boastful howl.

Just as the dog was being shoved into the pickup truck and about to leave, the cat's eyes lit up and it jumped onto the truck. Standing atop the cage, it looked defiantly at its trembling enemy below, once again launching a vicious provocation.

"This cat has a terrible personality!"

Exhausted and drenched in sweat, the slightly overweight urban management officer wiped his hands with a towel while joking with the people from the nearby community who had come to help.

"Hehe... I remember this cat. It used to limp for a while. Judging from the situation, it was probably bullied by this dog back then, right?"

The elderly man from the community replied with a smile, and then chased the cat off the top of the pickup truck.

He's very familiar with this cat, or rather, he feeds many of the stray cats in the neighborhood every day. He gives almost all the leftovers to these little guys.

Unfortunately, lately, for some reason, the neighborhood cats have been coming to eat much less often. At first, I was worried that they might be sick or that some had died, but now that I see them frolicking around the neighborhood, I'm even more puzzled about what's going on.

"Meow~"

After greeting the familiar old man, the victorious cat slunk away with its tail held high. It had to hurry and claim the dog's territory; it absolutely couldn't let the tigress from the next building take it away.

As time went by, the dog-catching efforts in various places all yielded remarkable results.

Under the relentless pursuit of the cats, every stray dog, no matter where it was hiding, was found. Even those that escaped were patiently and slowly followed by the cats, who would then locate their hiding place and capture them.

Of course, there have been instances where stray dogs have retaliated and even injured people. In such cases, humanitarian considerations are disregarded, as dogs that attack people always face only one outcome: death.

Lin Ge, who was in charge of the situation, originally thought that there would still be something he needed to do today, but as time went by and more and more stray dogs were captured, not a single place made a request for help.

The most common problem the police station encounters is that after a stray dog ​​is captured, the owner belatedly arrives claiming the dog was "free-roaming" and demanding its release and return. They argue that there's nothing wrong with the dog roaming in their own neighborhood and no one can interfere. In these situations, the police need to reason with them; if reasoning fails, they resort to the law. Basically, any dog ​​that's "free-roamed"—unfed, unbathed, unvaccinated, and left to fend for itself outside, only recognizing one owner—is treated as a stray dog ​​by the police station.

If the dog owner really wants to take it back, they should wait until the quarantine and inspection are completed and then follow the requirements step by step.

During this time, an elderly woman in the jurisdiction of Longquan Police Station was pointing at the cats that were helping and making a scene, saying that if they were to catch a stray cat, they should catch the stray cats as well. Even after the police dogs at Longquan Police Station patiently explained the threat of rabies and informed her of the probability of canine and feline infection with rabies, as well as the possibility of contracting the rabies virus herself, she continued to be unreasonable and even throw a tantrum. The police station, not wanting to tolerate such behavior, decided to send her to the observation room for a day or two during the May Day holiday.

In conclusion, as time went by, the arresting officers from various departments were exhausted, but the results were quite impressive.

Basically, all the stray dogs that could be found were caught. As for the rest, those that were known to have existed in the past but whose whereabouts were now unknown, most of them were captured in other neighborhoods after we contacted our colleagues in other areas. Only a few are still cunningly on the run, but as the cats are gradually being freed and becoming more excited and united in targeting them, it's only a matter of time before they are found.

(End of this chapter)