I come from a culture where animal cruelty is faught against. For the most part people treat their pets like family. There are even animal rights activist groups constantly pushing to reform the way animals are treated in our country. We still have issues with animal abuse (no country is perfect) but as a well-developed society we have come a long way with improvement of the human-animal relationship.
Coming to Namibia I experienced a culture shock when I saw the way animals, mostly dogs, are treated. Before I continue, I am not saying that ALL namibians behave this way. I am just writing about a personal experience of mine. And before I share my story I will explain a little bit of background info about dogs in relation to Namibia. There are a lot of stray dogs running around because a lot of people that do own dogs (for protection purposes, not usually for friendship) don't spay or neuter them. The dogs here are a lot more wild and can be dangerous if carrying diseases like rabies. Because of this, a lot of people want to keep their distance. In order to keep that distance, some people will beat the dogs by throwing rocks, or hitting them with sticks. One thing you'll rarely see is a happy stray dog approaching a human because dogs here know they're not welcome.
In the village there is a dog that we call Kamama. She's a beautiful gray dog, maybe 1 and half years old. I have posted a picture before of my hut, and she's the one standing in the doorway. I like this dog because at night she likes to sleep between my hut and Teclar's (the senior teacher at my school) as if she's protecting us. She growls and barks at people when they pass too closely to our homes at night. Kamama has chosen us to protect because we're the only ones that don't beat her when she comes around, and we're the only ones that feed her. She trusts us.
I was gone from the village over the weekend, and stayed in Katima as usual. When I went to the school, Kamama did her usual greeting for me when I got out of my principal's truck: she came running from across the way and ran into the side of my leg whimpering with excitement. As I was petting her I noticed she was limping. I checked on her side and there was a giant wound of about a foot long and maybe 4 inches tall. It looked liked she had been burned, and it was very deep and fresh.
I immediately asked a colleague what happened. I was shocked when I heard the words coming out of her mouth.
Apparently, Kamama got too close to someone that doesn't like her (I won't say names) and this person threw a pot of boiling water on her. Her fur and entire first layer of skin is completely burnt away, and I'm not a doctor but it looks like it went even deeper on certain spots. I just couldn't wrap my mind around how someone could do this to a dog that was doing absolutely nothing wrong to her.
I immediately sent a text to the senior teacher who is absent from school this week to inform her of the incident. She was heart broken. I kept my mouth shut in the staff room.
The next day (today) I came to the school (this whole week I've been sleeping in Katima because none of the teachers are staying at the village due to this week being closing week). I got out of the car and expected Kamama to come running with excitement...but instead she hobbled over to me with her head low, and just leaned into my side to say hi. I looked at her side and it didn't look any better, in fact some spots were turning green. I went to the school and she limped away.
When I came to my hut to use the bathroom around noon, I found her hiding behind my house. She immediately came to me and followed me inside. I sat on the chair and she layed her head on my lap, softly whimpering. She felt feverish, her nose was dry, and she didn't want to move. I couldn't just leave her like this.
So I got my camera and took pictures of her and her burn. I let her stay inside while I went to the school to ask my friend Dallaz if he would drop me off at a vet clinic (if there even is one) after school.
Everyone laughed at me.
I understand if someone doesn't like dogs. Not my business. But when I get laughed at for having compassion for a living being, it hurts...not because I'm embarrassed...but because it hurts to know there are people in this world that don't see life as a miracle in every breathing creature on this planet.
I quietly grabbed my things, and Dallaz dropped me off at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, where I found a nice doctor who usually works with large animals. I showed him the pictures and explained the situation. He could see how upset I was and sympathized with me. He gave me a week's worth of pain pills and antibiotics...for free. He even drove me to the pharmacy in town and told me what to buy to clean the burn. After that I went and got her some dog food, and another friend of mine drove me to Gunkwe to help care for her.
Unfortunately, when we got there, Kamama was nowhere to be found. We walked everywhere calling her name and speaking to villagers to see if they had seen her. I know she was gone because she knew I wouldn't be back til the morning. After a while of searching we decided to head back to Katima.
As of now, I don't know the status of Kamama because the last few paragraphs happened today ( 27 November). Hopefully she'll find me at the school tomorrow morning, and I'll have another blog entry to upload after this one letting you know how she's doing.
It takes a lot of work sometimes to settle in with a culture different from your own. And this is one of my struggles. In order to comfortably live in a different world though you must look at what lies underneath the surface. Having done so, I understand that in a new developing society the least of peoples' concerns is the treatment of animals because they have bigger issues to deal with. Life of a person comes first, and animals just haven't been allowed in the equation just yet. I don't hate people for that because I grew up in a different culture so I couldn't possibly understand. My culture has allowed us to have time to spend understanding the role of animals in our world. I'm just hoping that after my two year service maybe, just maybe, at least one person who hated animals before might just be inspired to change their behavior towards them after seeing the great lengths I'm willing to go through to protect them. I've met quite a few people here also who own dogs and cats and treat them very well, so once again, I'm not saying everyone in this country acts this way.
I'm not saying we should all become crazy animal lovers, spending all our money to make them live longer...they're doing just fine surviving on their own...I'm just saying show a little love. It's not hard. It takes more energy to beat a dog than to show it a little compassion. If you don't want it near you, chances are it didn't want to be there either and will leave if you tell it to.
And please don't waste your time asking me "Well what about the malnutrition and abuse of children?" Because I'm in no way undermining those serious issues. I'm just bringing up another one that people should also consider.
I promised her I'd be back tomorrow to help her, and I told her to hold on. When she looked at me as I spoke, something inside me knew that she somehow understood...
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