I have a history with dogs. Twice when I was younger I was bit by dogs; once it was a fairly serious attack. I actually love dogs, probably more than normal given the circumstances. Nonetheless, I still have a residual fear of them which I thought I had conquered in Perú out of neccessity because psychotic dogs abound here. My friend Sam Goodman, aka “Buenhombre,” has been bit 5 or 6 times here, so many times he’s lost count. Sam is basically oblivious to life which might have something to do with it, but he had never been attacked before coming to Perú.
Lately, one dog in particular has been inhibiting my ability to go to the bathroom. It started one night when it was raining. During the early evening I went to use the latrine and I encountered a new dog which looked like a pit bull. I approached with caution, it sniffed me and wagged its tail. However, at two in the morning I had to go to the bathroom again. There was no sign of the dog but, as I emerged from the letrine, it was rounding the corner of the house, trotting in my direction. The dog sniffed me again and then started playing which is normal, except that it quickly got out of hand. The dog was riled up and it started jumping around and mouthing me. Luckily I grabbed a nearby shovel and it ran away. I was certain that it would have otherwise attacked me.
For several nights I did not go to the bathroom after dark which led to some very uncomfortable mornings. Finally I got up the courage to visit the letrine once again to find a donkey blocking my path. I shooed it out of the way, which startled it. It sprinted towards the latrine, in the process disturbing the menagerie of animals which lay sleeping on top of a nearby pile of corn stalks. Calves, chickens, at least five dogs, including the pit bull, and a disconcertingly large pig all rained down from the pile of corn stalks shrieking and generally causing an uproar. In the pandemonium, I became convinced that the pit bull would attack me and sprinted towards the house. I must have looked absurd.
A couple nights ago I was going to the bathroom before I went to bed and the pit bull was once again outside. I went back into the house and my little brother who is seven years old was still watching television. I asked him to accompany me to the letrine because the dog was outside. Of course, I let him go first and when he saw the dog he simply yelled at it and told it to go home... “¡Caramba!Vaya a la casa. ¿Qué haces por acá? Vete.” The dog ran off with its tail between its legs. My brother stood guard outside the letrine but the dog was no where to be found. Last night my brother ran the dog off again. My brother is seriously not even half my size. I think that maybe tonight I can go it alone.
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2 comments:
It is true Karen, that dogs can sense when you are uneasy with them. I do not say that a firm hand is the right choice and never violence, but being more confident around them (and yes, telling them to go away in a confident voice) can often do the trick. I hate to say this comment comes a little late, but better late then never.
There are two things that I like about this entry.
(1) Somehow, you managed to pull off writing an entry entirely consisting of you going to the bathroom, and yet it's still really funny.
(2) Your 7 year old brother? Enough said. =P
We miss you!
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