The dog looked
thin; extremely bony, his tail was tucked in, bent as though his spine was
about to crack; a mere skeleton, yes he was a male dog; trembling and
shivering.
I said to the owner:
“He must be feeling
very cold.”
Spaniel are considered most intelligent dogs...Pic courtsey of Pet Wave...
October has just arrived (like an unexpected
headache); London is turning viciously cold, lots of rain, winds and gales
across the northern hemisphere. Summer, sunshine and Olympics seem to be sirens
in the distance. So the man with the emaciated dog chuckled and smiled. He was
elderly- a perfect English gentleman (always a pleasure to talk to)-with
traditional respectful manners.
“He is not only
cold, he is old, 15 years,” the man spoke with simplicity. He reminded me of
former Mzungu teachers at Ilboru Secondary School. Those days we were allowed
to worship unlike what was reported recently at the legendary Arusha school
which I attended 40 years ago.
Me (second left) with The Gringos gang at Ilboru in 1972 during a late afternoon tea break. Others, from right, John Meciri (deceased), Barnabas "Bandido" Sengati (deceased, 1981), Tony Sarwatt (deceased, 2005) and Mohammed Miro (from Zanzibar).... Pic by Emmanuel Yuda
“Were you a teacher
once?” I asked.
“Yes. How do you
know?”
Thereafter the
gentleman told me a lot about dogs.
<--more- - !>
That based on
veterinary science the age of his pet (called Skipper) is around 76 years, a
really Mzee animal. One year of our human
lives equals approximately fifteen years of a dog. Based on this calculation by
the time a dog is two years old he (or she) would equal a 24 years old human parent.
I did not know much about dogs.
In Swahili we say “tembea ujionee”- travelling
is education. Culturally, we treat dogs
as guards or nuisance in Africa. We fear or kick them. Fear of dogs is one of
the biggest psychological warfare amongst us Africans living overseas. Everywhere
you go Wazungu have animal pets. I used to be shocked when I heard Wazungu
“sleep” with their dogs. It is one of
the biggest cultural lessons when you leave the hot continent. As shocking as hearing dogs can be food in
certain parts of the world.
Yes I did not know
much about dogs.
In my early years
living in Europe in the 1980’s, one of my neighbours’s had this dog that
emptied its stool right on my doorstep. This was very annoying since it
occurred every single morning. I complained to fellow neighbours who knew about
it- but I felt I was in conversation with plants and trees. Can trees answer
back? Mind you it was me cleaning the mess.
Can you guess where
this story is going?
One day I woke up
early; brick in hand waited for what I perceived to be my enemy. You must have
heard of the old Pavlov experiment, conditioned reflex; animals and us are
creatures of habit. Miss Fouling at Your
Doorstep hobbled in and as she bent to deposit her goods, like a hand grenade I
launched my brick. I did not want to kill her; my intention was just to
frighten and stop the habit. She howled and screamed so loud that all cars stopped,
people watched in horror. I was suddenly a subject of distaste and hatred. Someone phoned the police. Within minutes I
was arrested and well- long story short- was strongly cautioned.
“You don’t hit dogs
let alone animals, this is not Africa.”
I did not know
that.
Live and learn your
lessons in life.
Dogs have all sorts
of uses. Various popular English phrases express this love of man’s best
friend. Children are given puppies as Christmas presents and are always
reminded pets are for life. Not just for Xmas.
Even the hated rats have their uses. Some people even eat them. They are used in experiments to cure serious diseases, psychological disorders etc. Pic courtsey of Scientopia
Over the years I
have learnt that dogs can be excellent guides for blind people, livestock and
police. I personally admire Spaniels in
particular who are quite intelligent with a variety of skills, e.g. finding
drug smugglers and other criminals. It is
not only dogs who are useful. During the past decade, rats have been trained to
sniff and detect bobby traps, bombs and land mines in war history countries
like Mozambique.
Every single living
creature has a value.
A dressed up dog. Pic courtsey of Sporah TV site
That is why we have
to mention the ongoing debate regarding dogs on Facebook. The owner of the six
pets was interviewed by London based Tanzanian presenter, Sporah TV Show. She spends one thousand pounds (approx two
million and half shillings) monthly, to pamper the animals with clothes, food
etc. Comments especially from Tanzanians have been disapproving:
“In Africa they will appreciate at least $50
of that ...to feed a family for a month.”
Or the ridiculous:
“We have to grab one of dos Mbwa for nyama choma dis Xmas.”
To which the dog
owner replied that she donates some
money to charities: “...and yes we indulge our babies, yes they are our babies,
but we also do some good, please follow our example and love, love, love and
give a little woof, woof, woof.”
Also published in Citizen Tanzania on 27th September, 2012.
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