Animals Never Die: Confessions of an Emergency Veterinarian. Dr. Hidenobu Toriyoshi, Ph.D, DVM
Dr. Hidenobu Toriyoshi, Ph.D, DVM
Chapter 1: A Special Ability
Veterinarian Toriyoshi was heading to a small village deep in the mountains of Ratanakiri, a remote area in Cambodia. Though he lived quietly as an ordinary veterinarian, he possessed a special ability unknown to others. He could communicate with animals and instantly diagnose their conditions without any examination. This ability awakened during a strange accident in the Amazon when he was a university student, and it was both a blessing and a curse for him. Carrying a secret he couldn't share with others, he listened to the voices of animals and healed their ailments.
Chap 2: A Request from the King of Cambodia
One day, Toriyoshi received a special request from the King of Cambodia. In a sacred village in Ratanakiri, far from the American town where Toriyoshi lived quietly, rare animals cherished by the king had fallen ill. Being invited to this sacred village, where outsiders were rarely allowed, was an extraordinary occurrence. As Toriyoshi pondered the reason, he made his way to the village.
Chap 3: The Mystery of the Village
When Toriyoshi arrived at the village, he was greeted by a mysterious landscape enveloped in deep greenery. The village, nestled within the dense jungle, was said to be protected by an ancient dragon god, and the villagers held a strong belief in the power of this deity. Toriyoshi immediately set to work, facing the sick animals. As he listened to their voices and eased their pain, he gradually became drawn into the mysterious atmosphere of the village.
Chap 4: A Strange Dream
However, since entering the village, Toriyoshi had increasingly felt a strange gaze upon him. It was as if something was watching him, unsettling his mind. One night, by the lake on the outskirts of the village, Toriyoshi had a peculiar dream. In the dream, he stood face-to-face with a giant dragon god. The dragon god's eyes gleamed like a deep lake, as if trying to convey something, but Toriyoshi couldn’t understand the words. The one thing he did feel strongly was an overwhelming sense of "protect."
Chap 5: The Dragon God’s Wrath
The next morning, Toriyoshi woke up to find the village enveloped in an uneasy atmosphere. The village elder informed him that the Dragon God was showing signs of anger. Recently, poachers had been active around the village, desecrating sacred places. Toriyoshi understood what the Dragon God in his dream had been trying to convey. The Dragon God was a protector of the village and the animals. Now, it was warning him that its power was waning.
Chap 6: The Battle with the Poachers
Toriyoshi, along with the villagers, devised a plan to drive away the poachers. Listening to the voices of the animals, he predicted the movements of the poachers and fought to protect the village. Eventually, the poachers were captured, and peace was restored to the village. However, a question lingered in Toriyoshi’s mind. Did the Dragon God truly exist? Was the dream he saw merely an illusion? Or perhaps…
Chap 7: Reunion and Truth
A few days later, the day came for him to leave the village. He walked to the village lake to say goodbye. In the stillness that felt as if time had stopped, he thought he saw the figure of the dragon god reflected on the surface of the lake for a moment. Beside it stood his childhood dog, Lily, who had quietly passed away from a heart attack. Her gentle eyes, unchanged, looked at him.
Chapt 8: Eternal Memory
Toriyoshi felt tears welling up as he smiled at Lily. “We meet again…” he whispered softly. The figures of the dragon god and Lily soon disappeared, leaving only the quiet lake surface, but Toriyoshi’s heart was filled with deep gratitude and peace. “Thank you. I won’t tell anyone, so rest easy,” he told the dragon god in his heart. He realized that the souls of animals never disappear and that they can meet again someday. Perhaps the dragon god had taught him this truth.
Toriyoshi returned to his quiet life as a veterinarian, but the memories of his reunion with the dragon god and Lily were forever etched in his heart. He vowed to continue listening to the voices of the animals and walking alongside them.
Toriyoshi returned to his quiet daily life, tending to animals in his clinic, but the events in Cambodia remained vividly etched in his mind. The encounter with the dragon god, the mystical scenery reflected on the lake, and most of all, the reunion with his long-lost dog, Lily. Those moments felt like a mix of reality and dreams. Lily's gentle eyes seemed to speak to him, transcending time.
Through this experience, Toriyoshi reaffirmed the deep bonds and mysterious connections between souls and animals. The dragon god had shown him the power of the unseen and the possibility of reuniting with lost souls. He vowed to continue listening to the voices of animals and to be a veterinarian who cares for their hearts. Those memories became his new purpose and a source of strength.