Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Dogs of Samoa

June 24, 2007

The dogs in Samoa are to be feared, not loved. You DO NOT go up to a strange dog here and pet it. You walk away from them whenever they come near. They are loose everywhere and roam in packs. The night is especially dangerous when they are most active. You can hear them fighting for territory. Garbage is kept on platforms high off the ground from them.

The dogs of Samoa pose one of our biggest threats. There is more than Peace Corps Volunteer who has the scars of a canine encounter. Fortunately, Samoa does not have rabies, but being bitten, or being surrounded is not uncommon. The best defense is to throw a rock at them or pretend to. They seem to respect physical pain.

Since the dogs just interbreed randomly between themselves, they all about the same size and color. There is hardly a dog that does not walk with a limp, have a crimped tail, lick on open wound, or have a body part missing. Your household pooch wouldn’t stand a chance with these mongrels.

A few nights ago a pack of village dogs attacked and killed a small pig that had strayed from its mother. What a terrible sound to hear and sleep at the same time.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Why are the dogs not disposed of if they pose a threat? So what is the family pet?
Benjamin Hansen