This is a translated article form the Liberty times (MyE-gov website)
This year, the 53-year-old Yung Po decided to change his profession and begin selling betel nuts. Yung originally worked in the cement industry. Since he was young, Yung had an interest in catching birds and fish and training dogs. He honed excellent skills in this and seems to have a special affinity with animals. This is especially the case with dogs. Yung presently owns three dogs, and he has trained each one based on the characteristics each exhibits. The oldest dog he has is a black dog named KK, which he began raising 12 years ago.
Yung Po tells KK to take the chicken feet under the car and eat them there. KK immediately reacts to and obeys the command. Yung Po said that KK is already quite old and the dog is at an age at which it could retire. However, this black dog still has so much spirit in him that even playing difficult games with a hula hoop is not too difficult for it.
Yung Po’s second dog is Fei Fei, who he began raising four years ago. This big dog with golden fur has an especially acute sense of sound. Yung Po trained the dog to learn various sounds made by people. After a long period of training, Fei Fei is now required to utter the sound “ni hao” in Chinese, which means “how are you,” before he can go outside. Over time, the dog’s bark has gradually come to resemble a human voice to a degree. However, some people still have a hard time understanding the dog.
Yung Po’s newest dog is Hello. Different from KK and Fei Fei, the young Hello has a great way with people and wants to be spoiled. It will often vie with the two older dogs for affection from people, and the older dogs have begun to lose patience with the younger one. The only choice Yung Po had was to separate the two older dogs from the younger one. He thought it better this way than rather constantly be caught in the middle.
Yung Po closes monitors the actions of his dogs and rewards or punishes them accordingly. For example, when Hello acts fabulously and picks up shreds of paper or flushes the toilet, Yung Po will reward the dog with chicken feet as a prize. For the chores that Hello does for him each day, Yung Po puts NT$22 in a basket carried by Hello. Yung Po then lets the dog go to the convenience store located next door so it can buy a hot dog. When the worker at the convenience store sees the dog entering the store through the automatic door, he will go and get a hot dog from the machine and give it to Hello and collect the money at the same time. Onlookers stare at the scene with bewilderment.
Hello also wears dark sunglasses on his head and stands at the edge of Yung Po’s betel nut stand and sells betel nuts. The dog has become a customer favorite. When a customer comes to the door, Yung Po makes a sound and then Hello uses its muzzle to open a drawer and take out a box of betel nuts for the customer. The dog sees a red NT$100 bill and then pushes two boxes of the betel nuts to the customer. After the transaction, the dog then jumps on the counter. It grabs the paper bill in its mouth, gives it to Yung Po and then retreats to the back. This entire show has certainly opened the eyes of many people who like to chew betel nuts.
It is not surprising that more and more people have heard of Hello. Other stores in the area or hospitals have specially asked for the dog to deliver. Hello grabs the betel nuts and then places them in a take-out box. Yung Po has set up an intercom system to instruct the dog when to set out. Hello will stand at the corner in front of the traffic light, waiting for Yung Po’s command as to when to go. When Hello hears the sound “boosh,” it will stop. When it hears a whistle, it will walk forward and move across the crosswalk, delivering the betel nuts to the customers. After it receives the money for the goods, the dog’s mission will be complete and it will walk the same route back home.
