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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Top Galleries: November 27, 2006 Adopting a puppy Jennifer Margulis Archives Monday December 11th Monday December 18th Tuesday December 26th Monday January 8th Monday January 15th Monday January 22nd Monday January 29th Monday February 5th By Jennifer Margulis Tidings Correspondent My 5-year-old daughter and I were walking to school through the thick orange sand when we saw a head poking out from the middle of the street. A little beige puppy, so thin her ribs strained against her skin, was watching us from where she lay in the road. "Look at the little doggy," Athena said. "She's in the middle of the road. I'm afraid she'll get hit by a car." "Mommy, can we bring her home?" "I don't know." It was hard for me to walk past such a tiny creature, especially since she was lying in such a precarious spot. "Right now you have to go to school." I dropped Athena at school and hurried back to the puppy. She was still there, her brown eyes doleful, her body drooping. She barely looked up as cars almost clipped her. When I bent down to get a closer look, her tail thumped against the sand. I pet her rather tentatively and her whole body seemed to melt into my caress. A well-dressed man riding a bicycle came to a halt beside us. "You should take that dog," he said to me in French. "Is she yours?" "She's yours," he said. "Is she anybody's?" "I'll give her to you cadeau (free)!," said another man who materialized beside us. His clothes were tattered and a few of his teeth were missing. He looked almost as forlorn as the puppy and spoke only a bit of Zarma accented French. "Is she yours?" I asked. He didn't answer. The man on the bicycle offered to carry her to our house. Dressed for work, I was hesitant to pick up the puppy. She was filthy and her front right leg was bleeding. Her ears were filled with ticks the size of raisins. She had them on her head and back and between her toes. She had a long burn mark on her hind flank where all the fur was missing. When he picked her up she whimpered, shaking with fright. In Niger most people don't like dogs. My friend, who is from Togo, has a puppy in her compound. Last time we visited her, a Nigerien woman who lives in the same enclosure gave the sleeping puppy a hard kick as she passed. Her son added to the puppy's pain by smacking it with a stick. My daughters, who were playing outside with some of the children in the compound, came running to find me with tears in their eyes. "They kicked the puppy and really hurt it and it wasn't doing anything to them!" my 7-year-old cried. "Why would anybody do that?" I've heard a lot of explanations for why Nigeriens don't like dogs. Some neighbors of ours gave their dogs away when a Muslim priest told them the angel wouldn't bring the blessings of Ramadan to a home with a dog, because in the Koran an angel is scared away by the bark of a dog. But there are other reasons too. This is a country of abject poverty where people, who often don't have enough food for themselves, keep domestic animals to work: donkeys pull loaded carts, camels are like mini trucks, traveling long distances laden with cargo, chickens are kept for eggs and meat, goats and sheep are raised to sell or eat. Herds of milk cows share the roads with the cars, foraging in the garbage dumps. But what use is a dog? "She's six months old," the Russian vet told us, showing us her teeth. She prescribed antibiotic cream, worm medicine, two meals a day of rice and chopped-up meat, with a tablespoon of oil added since dogs need more fat than we do. "And if you want to take her home with you," the vet began. "You'll need to get her tested for rabies and then quarantined"¦" My head started spinning. I barely have a handle on my three children, could we really take care of this dog? Whether we can or not, we are. My children love to crouch beside her and pet her. Though her leg is not healed, she chases them around the yard. When we come home she is so happy to see us that she jumps (on three legs) with delight. She still cowers around strangers but she seems to be gaining confidence as well as weight. Today she and the wild solitary rabbit that lives in our yard sniffed each other cautiously. Perhaps we're not the only ones who have found a new friend. Current Comments: wy don't you show any puppies ? jasmine' - madison - November 30th, 3:01 PM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Water Filter Security Systems Debt Relief Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us