Going to the dogs

Oi doog man - where's our dinner? 

I always thought that people tended to either like dogs or cats but not both. I thought I was definitely a cat person.  Cats are much more independent.  Dogs have masters, are people focused, and are clingy; cats have servants and only care about being fed, not who feeds them.  Cats are cool and have attitude.  However Jane found out about a local dog shelter that needed some help so we went to have a look.  I now go along a couple of  days a week, and I have become really quite fond of the wee Duggies.  The shelter for abandoned or stray Dogs (and cats) is run by an indomitable lady called Moira as part of the charity she co-founded, Mozambique Animal Protection Society or MAPS. MAPS facebook page

Some of the dogs in the kennels I am sorry to to say have been abandoned by expats returning home when they find out the cost of taking their dog or dogs back.  This can be very expensive (around US$ 1,000 a dog).  Others have been "surrendered" to the kennels because the owner for some reason can no longer afford, or is unable to keep their dog.  Some are handed in as strays and some have even been born in the kennels from pregnant strays.

Where's wally doog man?

The kennels are in the grounds of a veterinary college in the Maputo city suburbs. Tasks at the kennels include shoveling shit (something I am well qualified to do from working in a call centre), walking the dogs, cleaning the kennels and enclosures, dealing with enquiries from people wanting to adopt an animal and receiving animals that are being surrendered.  In the hot and humid climate the work is hard, sweaty and dirty, with lots of dog drool.  I generally smell pretty ripe at the end of the day.  On my first day I ended up carrying an 8kg dog food bag full of dog poo to the skip.  However it is good fun and has its lighter moments.  

Stalag Luft K9

The kennels has a permanent staff of just two Mozambicans; lovely guys called Dinesh and Jose.  Dinesh is a short chap with a big spirit.  He speaks little or no english but tolerates my mangling Portuguese and doltish attempts to get just one dog out of an enclosure for a walk without letting the others escape.  He always has a smile on his face and is a bit of a joker.   I usually spend an hour or so running after dogs that have made a bolt for it.  It doesn't help that half of them don't have collars. Bribes in the form of doggy treats usually get them

Right here goes - you distract doog man with the cute paw trick
while I make a run for it.

back eventually.  Jose is a great guy who does speak english.  He used to work with dogs used for landmine clearance (the dogs have been trained to sniff out the mines and are not used to set them off!) and has taught me a lot about handling dogs. He shares my twisted sense of humour.  

Back off buddy - this is our rock

Jane would dearly love to adopt one of the dogs but sadly the apartment block in which we live does not allow pets.  She fell in love with a dog called Seria which means mermaid in Portuguese.  Seria was found half drowned, washed up on a beach.  I said if we were to adopt her we would rename her Brick because she obviously swims like one.  

Why are you walking like Charlie Chaplin?

ooohh - down and left a bit

Surprisingly, Seria, who is a very quiet and affectionate dog  likes walking on the beach and some weekends we would take her for a long walk to give her a break from the kennels.  Seria has now been adopted and gone to a lovely home.  

When we walk the dogs at the kennels we take them on a circuit round the college grounds.  Sometimes there are B52 bomber sized beetles flying about.  Also walking round the grounds are a flock of sheep, a herd of goats and cattle (seriously big African stylee cows and bulls with great big horns), and two donkeys.  You need to watch where you step.  Other exotic wildlife I have seen while walking the dogs includes various brightly coloured birds, blue and yellow headed lizards, a mozambican cobra, a chameleon, scarab or dung beetles rolling a ball of cow dung along the path, and veterinary students.  The dogs tend to ignore the sheep, cattle, donkeys and students when on a walk but go absolutely bonkers when any wander past the kennels.

A couple of times I have helped when dogs have been put down.  Something I hate doing but when a dog is seriously ill or has no chance of being re-homed for some reason, the kennels really have no choice but to put them to sleep.  Another unpleasant but necessary task is squeezing out the mango worms (fly maggots) which some of the dogs pick up.  I also helped when one of the cats was de-bollocked - a much more basic process than I imagined. I would not want to meet the kennel's vet, Monica, down a dark alley with her scalpel and tweezers in hand.

Quick before the German Shepherd gets his towel on the sun lounger

A much more pleasant task was helping transport two of the dogs, Sandy and Slate, that had been adopted to their new home. I think Sandy was actually born in the kennels.

Wow - five star garden or what?

 They now have a huge walled garden to run around in and were clearly really excited.  









I have been bitten a couple of times.  Once by a dog called Ginger who was unfortunately a bit of a psycho.  He was possibly mistreated before he came to the kennels and was very unpredictable.  He was also getting very stressed by being in the kennels.  When you approached him his tail would be wagging and he would occasionally let you stroke him but would then go for you for no reason.  Other times he would bite or nip as soon as your back was turned which I have read is a common symptom of fear aggression - in other words he was biting because he was scared.  

Once when taking Ginger for a walk I tripped and fell over.  As I hit the ground he went for me big time.  That time I managed to hold him off me using the lead until he calmed down.  The time he got me was when I was feeding him. He jumped up going for my face but missed and nipped my stomach and then my thigh on the way down and then gashed my back leg. A few of the local vets very kindly patched me up using a healing wound spray meant for dogs, cattle, sheep and pigs.  Anyway it did what it said on the tin. Later he attacked a lady called Naomi who was a full time volunteer at the kennels before she moved to Malawi, and who is both a lovely person and fantastic with dogs.  Again he went for the face but ended up biting her quite seriously in the stomach and legs.  In the end Ginger had to be put down because he was becoming a serious threat and there was no prospect of being able to re-home him.  Despite Ginger giving me a scar and ruining a tee shirt and trousers I actually liked him. I was sorry that there was nothing we could do with him.  Jose and I had nicknamed him the Ginger Ninja.

The other time I got bitten was totally my fault. A lot of the dogs have terrible problems with flies attacking their ears. These can become eaten away and inflamed and must be very sore and distressing.  Initially the kennels tried using vaseline to protect the wounds and deter flies but the dogs just used to lick it off.  

F***ing Ouch Doog man

They now try to control the problem by spraying the dogs ears with a combined wound spray and fly repellent.  When a dog's ears become really badly affected we have to confine it to a kennel rather than an outside leash line or enclosure to give the ears a chance to recover.  Most of the dogs are quite tolerant about having their ears sprayed but one or two of them hate it.  One in particular really hates the spray.  As soon as she sees the spray can she crouches down in a submissive posture and then roll on her back so you can't get at her ears.

Do you feel lucky doogman - Do you?

  She had tried biting before when being sprayed so we should have known better but her ears were in a terrible state. Jose was trying to distract her with dog treats while I sprayed her ears.  It was sort of working but we pushed our luck just a little bit too far and I got a gashed middle finger for my pains.  Two minutes later she had calmed down and was leaning into me for a cuddle.

When a dog bites it can be incredibly quick. Jose always stresses about reading the dog.  Dogs, unless they are mentally ill or rabid, will not bite for no reason.  They are total pack animals and communicate very well how they are feeling if you know the language.  Any dog, even a cuddly soft fat labrador, will bite if it is stressed, scared, or feels threatened.  If the ears go back, the lips curl to show teeth or the dog goes stiff and/or the tail goes down it is time to back off.  Dogs know if you are scared or nervous and that makes them nervous.  Conversely a more confident or dominant dog will try to take advantage of it.  You need to approach and handle them confidently but without threatening them.  

The other day the kennels had to house an adopted dog in another kennel block in the college because they had no spare room. Jose and I went to check it was okay and to make sure it had food and water.  The dog, which was reasonably sized rottweiler/something cross with a docked tail started growling and showing teeth as soon as he saw us,  but by just standing back and approaching it slowly and calmly we manged to get in the kennel and eventually the dog came to us. Two minutes later we were stroking and playing with the dog.  It had clearly been well trained by somebody, sitting on command, and was very affectionate once it got over its initial fear. A couple of months ago I would not have had the confidence to go near the dog.  Now I wanted to take it home.

Where possible they try to have the dogs out during the day in one of the large enclosures the kennel has, or at least out on a long leash rather than stuck in a kennel. Being out with other dogs and able to run around is better for the dogs. Every so often we throw them a veterinary student as a treat.  However not all the dogs get along with each other so we have to be very careful who goes with who and space is limited.  There is the occasional dog fight which we have to break up by throwing water over the dogs.  It is not a good idea to go anywhere near fighting dogs as when they are fighting they are in total attack mode.  Even if you have owned a dog for years and you are trying to save it - in fight mode it will not realise who you are and will just bite what it sees.  I did read that if there are two people you can break up a dog fight by grabbing and lifting the dogs by their hind legs and walking the dogs backward circle them around so they are not facing each other.  The dog has to wheelbarrow on its front legs so can't spin round and bite you.  Yeah right! This is one idea I will not be testing.  

All the dogs have individual characters and quirks but they all crave affection.  They are desperate to be stroked trying to shove their heads through the fencing or climbing the kennel pen wall.  One of the of the dogs, Maria, one of my favourites, always asks for a cuddle before and after her walk.  Sometimes trying to get a dog off a leash and onto a lead for a walk be can be difficult because they are so excited.  Every time a person goes into an enclosure they get mobbed by dogs seeking attention.  One of the dogs loves being pushed around in the wheel barrow.  There are a few dog toys that have been donated scattered around the kennels but I have never seen the dogs playing with them.  If you throw a ball most of the dogs will totally ignore it (they can't even be arsed to yawn) and I have yet to see one chase a ball - I assume because they have never been taught to do so.  

Another of my favourite dogs is Electra, who appears to be a cross between a rottweiler, husky, labrador, and chow.  

Come on doog man - just one more student.
You know you want to

This has given her a stocky barrel chest and a face that only a mother could love.  Being big, dark coloured and plug ugly she looks mean and intimidating but in reality is a staid and stoical old dear.  This would make her the perfect dog for sneaking up behind day dreaming veterinary students while out on a walk should anybody be childish enough to do that.  

Possibly my all time favourite dog is a big bad boy called Max.  Actually like my sisters they are all my equal favourites but you need to pretend each one is your real favourite to avoid nasty scenes.

Where did I put the other half of that student Electra and doog man gave me?

Max has "staff only" chalked outside his kennel because he can be very boisterous and a bit of a handful (also like my sisters). He is really a big softie but is getting stressed by being confined in the kennels. Fingers crossed I think we have found him a new home as well with one of the other dogs that he gets along with.

My work at the kennels can be hard, sometimes upsetting, and often frustrating, but for me personally, very rewarding.  That the kennels is there at all and continues to survive is down to the vision and kindness of others.  Part of me wonders whether I should be volunteering with dogs when people have so many problems. But that is much too complicated a question for a bear with very little brain.