In our pre-daparture training, 27 months ago in a wintery Birmingham, a VSO nurse told us to NEVER touch animals whilst on our placement & warned against Rabies & vicious dog attacks. She never warned us about not being able to bare the way that animals are treated in our host countries or that we may fall in love with an animal & want it as our pet.
I've lived in the same house for 2 years now. The compound has 3 dogs that belong to my landlady & whose sole purpose is to keep away the ghosts. The 8 foot razor wired topped fence & locked gates deals with any potential human intruders. Yappy dog was disposed of after my neighbours complained about his barking. Snappy dog, true to his name, has bitten me & several visitors but no one seems to want to dispose of him & last but not least Tony - the landlady's deceased husband's big, ugly, white dog - who is a psychopath dog, I hate him. Even after 2 years he still barks & growls at me, not just when I enter or leave the compound but often even when I am INSIDE my house & he is stood on the other side of the closed door on my veranda or one storey below my window.
Kind, helpful people, who don't realise that I grew up with dogs, have repeatedly told me I should feed Tony then he will respect me as a pack leader. As Cesar the dog whisperer would say, Tony is the worst kind of dog to rehabilitate - he is an insecure, anxious dog. He barks & growls & snarls at me but when I go to feed him he runs away - still barking. I've tried everything but Tony is a dog that only deserves to be kidnappped & eaten at Pchum Ben, unfortunately due to the whole deceased husband situation this is very unlikely.
Up until recently the VSO nurse's advice to avoid all dogs wasn't that difficult to follow.
Scabby dog crept into the compound & the hearts of mine & the Landlady's daughters a few months ago. She just appeared one day - this hairless, scabby, emaciated, smelly, wretch - covered in encrusted dirt, mange & sores. But she had that quality for which I like dogs for, even in her weakened wretched state she would wag her tail when ever she saw me & say "LOVE ME, I LOVE YOU, PLEASE LOVE ME" with her a big, brown & the only part of her body that wasn't diseased, eyes.
She made me want to help her. I discussed her with R - often reviled & ridiculed by his own family for being kind to animals. He saved a puppy with one gammy eye & nursed him back to health. Tony - his dog, much nicer than my psycho Tony - is a barang dog. He is loved, fed & watered & understands english commands. R had some of Tony's medicine left over & reluctantly - I think he gets fed up with all the ridiculing from Cambodians - he agreed to help me treat scabby dog.
The first injection we gave, I held her down & he administered - she whimpered a little but after licking her injection site she then started following me about even more adoringly. I believed she could sense I was trying to help her & I spent silly money, for a volunteer, on dog treats & started feeding her every day.
2 weeks later she was a little less scabby & tufts of hair were growing back. She was still pretty smelly but also equally very loving. She could always be found laying on my welcome mat on my veranda & making the whole place smell disgusting. Encouraged by the improvement we gave her a second shot - much to the amusement of my landlady & her family.
Snappy dog started bullying her, adding bite marks to her mangy skin. I began to really hate the other dogs & became very protective of scabby dog - who because of her very sweet nature never fought back.
One day I came home from work & scabby dog rushed out the gate to greet me - she then saw a male american tourist walking into the hotel next door & went to him instead. I felt a little put out by her behaviour but my Australian friend pointed out that scabby dog was only doing what most people did - getting what she could from who ever would give it to her. I felt cheated & used, after all I was the one who fed her & gave her medicine. I had to keep reminding myself she was a dog.
I went away for 3 weeks & when I returned there was a startling transformation - scabby dog was plump & healthy looking. She had a full coat of fur, was happy & playing with snappy dog & Tony. I got the best welcome home greeting ever, in direct contravention of the VSO nurse's rules about touching dogs. She even would tell Tony to shut up when he started barking at me.
R thought she needed a third injection & also suggested given her a depot injection to prevent unwanted puppies. One day soon after this conversation I needed to get something from me home - dressings for a hotel receptionist's leg, another blog - so R gave me a lift from work on his moto. On arrival scabby dog was locked in doggy sex with the dog that lives across the street, it would appear that we were a little late in giving her depot contraception. She tried to wag & greet me but with a shaggy dog attached to her it was less easy for her to be welcoming.
R thought it was hilarious especially because of my reaction. I was disappointed, having spent the last few months nurturing her back to health, feeding her, gaining her trust & confidence so that in return she was going to get herself knocked up by first dog that came along. Who would look after the puppies hey? I'm sure the neighbourhood stud had promised to respect her & take responsibility for any puppies but he looked like just another dirty dog misogynist from where I was standing.
R got an english lesson in conditional & unconditional love.
I seemed to be taking it all very personally.
R used his buddhist card when I asked about performing a doggy abortion.
The stud followed scabby dog around for 3 days - she didn't look like it was completely unsolicited attention but equally she was looking a bit bored by his relentless attention. They would sleep on my steps or veranda & whenever I came or went scabby dog would wag her tail & stud would growl at me. I started throwing water over stud & calling him a dirty dog misogynist twat. I appeared to be harbouring a lot of unresolved rage.
I oddly felt as if scabby dog was throwing all my help & care back in my face - rather than her in actual fact only doing what all dogs do. R had a theory that I was jealous of scabby dog. R is a Cambodian male so you should take his theory from his cultural perspective & with a pinch of MSG. R also thinks that all women are lazy, stupid & weak as well as jealous.
The stud has now left the compound - good riddance, so I have to find a new object to channel my rage at. Scabby dog is getting even plumper.
After a week in SLN I came back to find that scabby dog is scabby again, she has open, bleeding sores and is loosing weight & as well as hair.
For the last 4 months I have tried to help her but she needs constant support & supervision that I can only give her for the time I am here. She is currently dependent on the kindness of the landladies daughters & R's medicine. I don't want her to be dependent on me but don't like to think of someone else looking after her either. My intervention changed her life but it wasn't sustainable & now she needs more. In return for my efforts I just get a waggy greeting every day & a smelly veranda.
Tony continues to growls & bark at me.
I'm sure there is a lesson in here somewhere.......
I've lived in the same house for 2 years now. The compound has 3 dogs that belong to my landlady & whose sole purpose is to keep away the ghosts. The 8 foot razor wired topped fence & locked gates deals with any potential human intruders. Yappy dog was disposed of after my neighbours complained about his barking. Snappy dog, true to his name, has bitten me & several visitors but no one seems to want to dispose of him & last but not least Tony - the landlady's deceased husband's big, ugly, white dog - who is a psychopath dog, I hate him. Even after 2 years he still barks & growls at me, not just when I enter or leave the compound but often even when I am INSIDE my house & he is stood on the other side of the closed door on my veranda or one storey below my window.
Kind, helpful people, who don't realise that I grew up with dogs, have repeatedly told me I should feed Tony then he will respect me as a pack leader. As Cesar the dog whisperer would say, Tony is the worst kind of dog to rehabilitate - he is an insecure, anxious dog. He barks & growls & snarls at me but when I go to feed him he runs away - still barking. I've tried everything but Tony is a dog that only deserves to be kidnappped & eaten at Pchum Ben, unfortunately due to the whole deceased husband situation this is very unlikely.
Up until recently the VSO nurse's advice to avoid all dogs wasn't that difficult to follow.
Scabby dog crept into the compound & the hearts of mine & the Landlady's daughters a few months ago. She just appeared one day - this hairless, scabby, emaciated, smelly, wretch - covered in encrusted dirt, mange & sores. But she had that quality for which I like dogs for, even in her weakened wretched state she would wag her tail when ever she saw me & say "LOVE ME, I LOVE YOU, PLEASE LOVE ME" with her a big, brown & the only part of her body that wasn't diseased, eyes.
She made me want to help her. I discussed her with R - often reviled & ridiculed by his own family for being kind to animals. He saved a puppy with one gammy eye & nursed him back to health. Tony - his dog, much nicer than my psycho Tony - is a barang dog. He is loved, fed & watered & understands english commands. R had some of Tony's medicine left over & reluctantly - I think he gets fed up with all the ridiculing from Cambodians - he agreed to help me treat scabby dog.
The first injection we gave, I held her down & he administered - she whimpered a little but after licking her injection site she then started following me about even more adoringly. I believed she could sense I was trying to help her & I spent silly money, for a volunteer, on dog treats & started feeding her every day.
2 weeks later she was a little less scabby & tufts of hair were growing back. She was still pretty smelly but also equally very loving. She could always be found laying on my welcome mat on my veranda & making the whole place smell disgusting. Encouraged by the improvement we gave her a second shot - much to the amusement of my landlady & her family.
Snappy dog started bullying her, adding bite marks to her mangy skin. I began to really hate the other dogs & became very protective of scabby dog - who because of her very sweet nature never fought back.
One day I came home from work & scabby dog rushed out the gate to greet me - she then saw a male american tourist walking into the hotel next door & went to him instead. I felt a little put out by her behaviour but my Australian friend pointed out that scabby dog was only doing what most people did - getting what she could from who ever would give it to her. I felt cheated & used, after all I was the one who fed her & gave her medicine. I had to keep reminding myself she was a dog.
I went away for 3 weeks & when I returned there was a startling transformation - scabby dog was plump & healthy looking. She had a full coat of fur, was happy & playing with snappy dog & Tony. I got the best welcome home greeting ever, in direct contravention of the VSO nurse's rules about touching dogs. She even would tell Tony to shut up when he started barking at me.
R thought she needed a third injection & also suggested given her a depot injection to prevent unwanted puppies. One day soon after this conversation I needed to get something from me home - dressings for a hotel receptionist's leg, another blog - so R gave me a lift from work on his moto. On arrival scabby dog was locked in doggy sex with the dog that lives across the street, it would appear that we were a little late in giving her depot contraception. She tried to wag & greet me but with a shaggy dog attached to her it was less easy for her to be welcoming.
R thought it was hilarious especially because of my reaction. I was disappointed, having spent the last few months nurturing her back to health, feeding her, gaining her trust & confidence so that in return she was going to get herself knocked up by first dog that came along. Who would look after the puppies hey? I'm sure the neighbourhood stud had promised to respect her & take responsibility for any puppies but he looked like just another dirty dog misogynist from where I was standing.
R got an english lesson in conditional & unconditional love.
I seemed to be taking it all very personally.
R used his buddhist card when I asked about performing a doggy abortion.
The stud followed scabby dog around for 3 days - she didn't look like it was completely unsolicited attention but equally she was looking a bit bored by his relentless attention. They would sleep on my steps or veranda & whenever I came or went scabby dog would wag her tail & stud would growl at me. I started throwing water over stud & calling him a dirty dog misogynist twat. I appeared to be harbouring a lot of unresolved rage.
I oddly felt as if scabby dog was throwing all my help & care back in my face - rather than her in actual fact only doing what all dogs do. R had a theory that I was jealous of scabby dog. R is a Cambodian male so you should take his theory from his cultural perspective & with a pinch of MSG. R also thinks that all women are lazy, stupid & weak as well as jealous.
The stud has now left the compound - good riddance, so I have to find a new object to channel my rage at. Scabby dog is getting even plumper.
After a week in SLN I came back to find that scabby dog is scabby again, she has open, bleeding sores and is loosing weight & as well as hair.
For the last 4 months I have tried to help her but she needs constant support & supervision that I can only give her for the time I am here. She is currently dependent on the kindness of the landladies daughters & R's medicine. I don't want her to be dependent on me but don't like to think of someone else looking after her either. My intervention changed her life but it wasn't sustainable & now she needs more. In return for my efforts I just get a waggy greeting every day & a smelly veranda.
Tony continues to growls & bark at me.
I'm sure there is a lesson in here somewhere.......
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