Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Dogs are like squirrels.... or something

In the post about Josh's birthday, I made a (hyperbolically titled) list of "a million little things" that I knew I needed to blog about...

So, we'll start with the dogs. I was warned about dogs in many capacities before we actually arrived here. Friends who had lived in/been to/otherwise heard about Thailand mentioned that there were a lot of stray dogs, street dogs, here. I think the guidebooks probably even mention it too, though I can't specifically recall.

Thanks to our pre-departure Facebook group, I also heard a lot about the stray dogs from currently serving volunteers - that they were mangy, not well-fed, aggressive, and generally full of fleas, and that there were especially a lot of them at the temples. There was also a lot of advice for dealing with dogs while riding your bike.

When we got to Detroit, for our first real Peace Corps pre-departure session, it became clear that all the Facebook talk about the dogs had predisposed everyone to a perhaps unhealthy or unwarranted fear of dogs. So, a lot of our Detroit pre-departure session was spent asking a couple of PC staff with no Thailand experience whatsoever a lot of questions about how to deal with dangerous dogs. Needless to say, we got few satisfactory answers, and well, the issue came up again at many a safety and security session, and a cultural session or two, during our PST once we arrived.

So... what about the dogs?

Well, it turns out that they are, in fact, everywhere. I can't figure out if there's any cultural (or physical) equivalent in the US to what the dogs are here. They are, in some cases mangy. In many cases flea ridden and unvaccinated. Almost always, they are uncollared and sleeping in the middle of the road. Even if they have collars, the are often sleeping in the middle of the road.

There are so many of them that at first, I thought they might fill the niche of squirrels. You know - they're everywhere, they're skittish, nobody really thinks to take care of them, but occasionally someone will leave food out. And nobody tries to pet them, or think they can control them. But then.... I started noticing that some of them are cared for, and loved. And the ones that aren't often seem to beg for attention, or recognition, or food. And they have visible friendships, boundaries, home territories. And they have the ability to look you in the eye, and ask you for something you don't understand. And so I started thinking of them more and more as filling the niche of the homeless in the States. (You don't see homelessness here. At least, I haven't yet.)

But that isn't quite right, either. I was having both of these thoughts long before I ever got seriously chased by one of those things, and now they aren't really competing in my mind for merit anymore. Dogs in Thailand are dogs in Thailand, and don't you forget it. This realization washed over me the other night as Josh and I rode our bikes (with very bright headlamps) back to our house from our neighbor's after dark (well after dark, I should add). I have been chased by dogs before, and sometimes for a good distance after I pass their patch of pavement and they feel the need to chase me off of it even though I was already pedaling in that direction. However, there is nothing like turning around upon hearing barking to see the four dogmen of the apocalypse slowly closing in on your bike with flashing green eyes and sharp, snapping pearly whites. (Granted, they probably are doing exactly the same thing in the day time, except that they look a lot more friendly and playful when you can see more of their body parts than teeth and eyes.)

Squirrels don't do that. Neither do any of the homeless people on Central Avenue.

And now I know why people were so worried about the dogs. Because they are DOGS that are very territorial and rather untrained in civility. We are thinking of investing in supersoakers.

2 comments:

  1. My goodness, I had no idea, that puts a reall downer on your adventure. I think the blog post was incredible though. Glad you were with Josh when it happened.

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  2. OMG, I love your posts more than words can express. I always look forward to the latest addition, if nothing else for the pure entertainment and good laugh I get out of both your and Josh's creative, captivating writing! Keep up the good work!

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