A View From Africa
My friend lives around the corner from us in Lobatse, which is a small town in south eastern Botswana. She has three much-loved dogs, but she did have five. One day a year ago she phoned me. She was devastated, because her Schnauzer Woopi had died suddenly, from tick bite fever. The next morning I received a completely hysterical call - her Labrador had died overnight at the vet’s surgery in Gaborone, where she had believed he was recovering from a snake bite.
I drove along the road with tears pouring down my face. I could not believe that two of her dogs had died in two days - it seemed so unfair, when she had always tried to give them the best care that she could, in a country where dogs are not generally loved or cherished.
The lives of domestic dogs in the countries I know - Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa - are often very different to those of most dogs in the northern hemisphere. There is so much that can kill them: ticks; scorpions; snakes; baboons; starvation; and of course vehicles and farm machinery.
In Lobatse there are packs of dogs which roam the streets at night, usually because their owners do not bother to shut them in. As most households have at least one dog, this means that sleep is often interrupted as the whole neighbourhood erupts with frantic barking.
The same friend went to investigate one particular dog in a neighbour’s house which whined and barked continually through the night. She found that this dog, owned by a Motswana family, was left outside on concrete, with no basket or shelter. The dog was also emaciated. My friend had an old wooden kennel, which she loaded onto a wheelbarrow and pushed round to the house. She put a blanket inside, and left a plastic box full of water and one of food for the poor animal. She left a note for the owners strongly advising them to feed their dog properly. Thereafter the dog was quiet at night.
In Zimbabwe most farmers would keep a group of dogs around the yard, usually a mix of large (Rottweiler, Boerbull, German Shepherd); and small (Jack Russell, Corgi, Fox Terrier). The thinking was that the small dogs would be more alert, and wake up the bigger ones should the need arise.
Jack Russells are a very popular breed in Southern Africa. It is normal to see a white farmer in his pickup truck with his inseparable companion lying along the back of the seat. Many people will have read about the Zimbabwean farmer killed by invaders. His Jack Russell had howled by his body until the neighbours arrived. The dog was carried into the chapel for the funeral.
When the farm invasions started in earnest, many of these dogs were killed by the mobs. Others were abandoned and left starving on the farms, as their owners could not take them when they had to flee to Harare or Bulawayo. The SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in Zimbabwe did and are still doing their best. They go out to the farms which have been abandoned, and save as many dogs, cats and horses as they can. They advertise in the newspapers, begging people to contact them before just leaving their animals behind.
With so many dogs in need of homes, some dreadful decisions were taken in Zimbabwe. People were emigrating to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and so on. I will never forget a farmer’s wife telling me that she had taken her adored Jack Russell to be put down, as she could not afford to fly her to New Zealand. She sat in in my office, her face grey and collapsed, twisting a handkerchief in her fingers.
So reach down and pat your dogs, get the lead and take them for a walk, and buy them a nice treat. Remember that in many parts of the world there are thousands of dogs leading miserable, dreadful and neglected lives - dogs that will cringe and grovel if you go near them, because they have been so cruelly treated - yet even so will cautiously wag their poor tails in gratitude for any kindness.
© Patricia Burnham 2004
source : http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/3133/a-view-from-africa/
