| I’ve had had a pretty busy couple of months
(although obviously not at the keyboard ). We have taken possession
of one very beautiful, mischievous and fun-loving dog.
If you have not a shred of interest in our furry friends
then you might as well leave this page (as many of you are
no doubt already doing) because this piece is going to be
littered and savaged, nay mauled and gnawed with dog info,
trivia and stomach turning affection. (In fact even if you
do like dogs then you might find it a bit like listening to
your former best friends talking about their new baby, so
perhaps you’d better skip to the next section as well)
Thomas, or Tom to his friends of whom he has many (so trusting
at that age aren’t they?) came into our life 2 months
ago from way up country near China looking for a family to
take care of him. They couldn’t find one so he got me
and Aimee.
When he came to us he was barely of his mother’s milk
and a country yokel through and through. The day he arrived
was his first day on a lead, first day on a bus, first day
on motorbike, (Yeah it’s really not so uncommon for
the quadrupeds to travel on two wheels over here. Not everyone
can afford a car and gold Tiaras don’t you know) first
day seeing a big city and his first night without his mother.
YOU imagine doing all that in one day, especially in a city
where you’re just as likely to be taken to the local
restaurant as to a nice loving family….and I don’t
mean a restaurant where they serve dogs’ food, rather
one where they serve dog! Apparently they make excellent snacks
for when you’re out on the piss / the razz or what has
in times past on one island been called a racket. Drinking
food anyway. (Tom if you’re reading this, its just a
joke. Nobody eats dogs, not in Nam, The P.I, Thailand, nowhere,
ok mate?)
From day zero he literally turned our live’s upside
down and inside out. I do believe I have an inkling of what
all you parents go through and I just don’t know how
you do it. You people must be supermen and women and you seem
to be everywhere. Can it really be harder than a dog?
Standing about 2-foot tall when he manages to keep at least
3 of his feet on the ground he’s ¼ Vietnamese
Native breed, ¼ German Shepard, ¼ Japanese something
or other and ¼ some kind of Terrier. (He also seems
to be about 100% stupid.)
In a perfect world I suppose he would have inherited a patriotic
resilient heart and fiercesome jungle fighting skills from
his Vietnamese blood (well he can dig a few holes.). A strong
sense of discipline from the German Shepherd and the ability
to always get us a sun lounger on the beach. (I used to think
this was a stupid stereotype and kind of a weak joke, but
its not. You do do it German readers and you KNOW its true!.
I’ve seen it with mien own eyes!) Anyway from the terrier
bit I suppose you’d expect some tenacity and from the
Japanese….I don’t know…perhaps how to produce
high quality entertainment systems? Or make a cup of tea really
slowly?
However all we’ve discovered so far, and it is a very
useful skill to have in this part of the country I’m
sure you’ll agree, is that he has the uncanny ability
to catch cockroaches and pin them to the ground until Aimee
can catch them in a plastic bag…show me a baby that
can do that!
Not that our house is riddled with cockroaches I’ll
have you know, but the occasional one does manage to evade
our elaborate security system (namely roach spray that I’m
sure would not be permitted under any EEC laws such is its
power to dissolve living tissue)
So it’s not much but at least he’s learning a
trade……..he chased rats for a while until they
were poisoned….saw one walking in HIS garden ran up
to it like a greyhound (or maybe terrier) and then got really
confused when it didn’t do its usual, turn enormous
tail and run thing.
Instead it just sort of stood there dazed by the sun. Probably
blinded and in incredible pain. This left Thomas with the
tricky question of what to do when they don’t run. The
answer apparently is to look at your owner with sad eyes and
squeak in a sad confused manner. It was a little like the
Tom and Jerry cartoon when Tom decides to leave, Jerry gets
very upset and so on…Thomas still runs outside for a
hopeful look when you call “RATS” but you can
tell that he knows deep down that they’ve gone somewhere
else, so as mentioned before he’s stalking smaller prey
to earn his keep….
The first week he arrived he caught a potentially deadly
virus but luckily managed to pull through due to no small
thanks to the judicious hands of our Vet, Mr. Bau. Believe
me finding a small animal vet in Vietnam is not easy (just
try looking up Hanoi vet on the net) and I was ringing everywhere,
hospitals, animal departments etc. in my desperation for help.
Perhaps the most annoying of my phone calls was to the WWF.
Now I know these people are out saving pandas and rescuing
cobras from the jaws of hungry Chinese but did they really
not know of ONE Vet in the whole of Hanoi? Plus I know Pandas
are cute but why should say a cobra get preferential treatment
over a dog. There’s no doubting who’s cuter there
and everyone knows it’s the cute who survive in the
animal kingdom these days.
Three horned toad on brink of extinction; Yawn
Fluffy thing with big eyes and big ears needs more forest;
organize a Telefon, kick out local villagers and launch major
advertising campaign costing millions and involving at least
one celebrity.
If anyone from the W.W.F can explain why the Hanoi branch
don’t have the phone no. of a common or garden vet please
let us know and I’ll print your reply. (You can also
put some perspective on my childish comments regarding toads
and Ewoks)
So there was the virus (which actually took his brother,
another yokel down from the city and owned by friends away
to meet his maker) then there’s the fleas, and the trouble
at bed time, and the training, and the barking at anything
that comes in HIS street, the mites, the jabs (I tell you
for a cross-breed or what some less charitable people would
call a mongrel, he is not cheap) the constant demands for
attention, the walks, the toilet training.
Honestly in the first month it felt like we hadn’t
slept a wink. Luckily now we are beginning to reap the benefits
of all the initial hard work and vet visits etc and have a
loving, fun, healthy, semi-obedient animal……that
can catch cockroaches. |
