Going to the Dogs

The attentions of Spotted Dick have ceased to be cute. By the end of my last run Saturday morning, I was in such a state of panic that even just seeing a corner where I knew dogs sometimes hang out got my adrenaline pumping. Maki and Jeff expressed similar dismay over a particularly hairy (in all senses of the word) encounter during the run, in which a hell hound decided they would make a good breakfast. Many of the run-ins (no pun intended) we have in the morning could probably be avoided, if we did not have a certain little white spotted canine following us around.

To make matters worse (as they always seem to be down here) Dick has decided that he can now follow us EVERY time we go into town. This ended in disaster when on Sunday afternoon Dick followed me to the local Texaco gas station. Being one of the volunteers favorite places to work, I was on my way to meet up with the other volunteers and do some lesson planning in the air conditioning. Along the way, Dick decided to stop to gnaw on a piece of trash he found. By the time I had noticed his absence I was 30 feet farther down the road, putting me too far to do anything about the beast of a canine which now took offense to Dicks presence in what was clearly HIS part of town.

The ensuing scuffle was not a pleasant sight, and Dick, although alive, did not come out victorious. He proceeded to run towards me, closely followed by The Beast. What possessed me to stand my ground and shoo the great brute off I will never know, but to my great relief it actually worked. Dick carried on as if nothing had happened…accept that he was now leaving a red trail of dots on the ground behind him, and his neck fur was SOAKED in bright red.

I was not pleased.

I met up with the others at Texaco, and Dick disappeared (or rather was chased off by the gas station attendant), later somehow managing to reappear back home.

Feeling that Dick really needed some sort of medical attention (and knowing full well that his “owners” wouldn’t do anything) we sent a distress call to Sonya, who came to the rescue Monday night.

I don’t think I have mentioned Sonya before in my blog. She is a local vet, and good friend of the volunteers. We met her at the beginning of the year, back when we were still trying to have a get together with some locals too practice each other’s language. She has since taken us on hikes up mountains, and on caving expeditions, has told us of how she went to Russia for veterinary school, and given us all the suspicion that she probably knows 25 ways to kill you with a paper cup. Sonya is, in short, awesome.

So it is with great relief that Sonya arrives Monday night to take a look at Dick. With the help of Dick’s owner’s son, Sonya gave the little guy an anti-biotic shot, as well as an anti-inflammatory (which he did not appreciate).

We are now determined to teach Dick to “stay” when we go out, so as to avoid further incidents.