Tiger’s Quest Deleted Scene Lhasa Apsos

February 1, 2014

This is a short scene that was cut about the Lhasa Apsos in Tibet. It was fun research but ultimately didn’t add anything to the story.

Chapter 14 Yin/Yang

Mr. Kadam had been unable to secure a meeting with the Dalai Lama himself but had scheduled a meeting with his Tibetan office. He was frustrated because he didn’t want to reveal more details than were necessary with the staff and his vagueness didn’t seem urgent enough for them to bother His Holiness. Our appointment with the office staff was set for Monday which gave us three days to cool our heels.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kadam took us on a whirlwind tour of Tibet. We saw the Rongphu Monastery, the Potala Palace, the Jokhang temple, the Sera and Drepung Monasteries and also shopped at the Barkhor market. At one of the monasteries, I noticed that several of the monks had small dogs with them.

“Mr. Kadam, what’s with the dogs? Are the monks supporting the local humane society?”

“No. The dogs are Lhasa Apsos.”

“And? I’m probably being thick headed, but so…?”

Kishan spoke up, “They’re bred here, Kells.”

“Oh. Lhasa Apsos come from Lhasa. Okay, I get it. They’re cute.”

Mr. Kadam explained, “They were originally bred to be guard dogs, sentinels for the monasteries.”

I snorted, “They’re not exactly Pit Bulls or Dobermans, Mr. Kadam.”

“No they aren’t, but they are fiercely protective of their family. Not their dog family, for they prefer not to be around other dogs, but their human family.”

We passed a monk who was walking a group of the dogs. Mr. Kadam stopped to speak with him. After we left Mr. Kadam said, “He told me these are being bred for another monastery. I asked him if they were to serve as pets and he said no, that these are specially bred to have a deep, resonant bark and to be alert and wary of strangers. They have excellent hearing and thus will make good sentinels.”

As we passed by, several of the doggie protectors showed off their skills by growling and barking at us, especially at Kishan.

I elbowed him, “They probably smell your tiger half. Look, it’s driving them crazy!”

Several of the little dogs ran up to him and growled and nipped at his heels while the monks tried to pull back their charges.

“They’re brave. You’ve gotta give them that much, if they’re willing to take on a tiger, that says a lot about them.”

Kishan leaned over, “Yes. They remind me of someone. Perhaps I should call you Apso rather than Bilauta.”

I laughed and punched him on the arm.

I enjoyed seeing the tourist attractions and being with Kishan and Mr. Kadam but underneath there was an undercurrent of sorrow. I felt the dull ache of loneliness sweep over me in the evenings and I still dreamed of Ren every night. I trusted Durga and knew she would keep her promise and watch over him for me but I really wanted to be with him myself.

This entry was posted in Bonus Material, Tiger's Quest.

2 Responses to Tiger’s Quest Deleted Scene Lhasa Apsos

Colleen Houck

Colleen's blog

Tiger’s Quest Deleted Scene Lhasa Apsos

February 1, 2014

portafoglio alviero martini

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Categories

Archive

Author Bio

Colleen Houck