On dogs

I can't say that this is an important part of our stay here, but seeing as they are part of the culture, I want to make a note about the dogs. When our health nurse told us "Even if you really, really want to, and they are looking so cute, don't pat the dogs in Costa Rica. They have no protection from rabies" I immediately looked at Erroll. He's our dog guy. If it weren't for the dogs at every CSA and garden we've ever visited, and a lot of the homes of friends, Erroll would have been bored to tears. Put a mutt, a purebred, floppy eared, cropped tail, small, large, dirty, lazy, rambunctious ....(you get where I'm headed here)...any old hound in Erroll's space and his whole existence is good.

I raised an eye brow. He grinned. I knew I couldn't keep him away from them all, he's just about 17, very strong willed, and I want him to make his own decisions. I asked the health nurse to explain further about rabies and watched him to make sure he was listening.

Since then, the health nurse's word on a few things have been discredited. They use UHT, an "ultra high treatment" for pasteurizing milk products here, so we can eat those. We've bought organic vegetables that we haven't washed or peeled, and even, in a pinch drank the water out of the tap w/o boiling it. John and Rick from Virginia have said that they don't trust the water here, they've had problems. I will continue to boil ours. But I have already broken the rule about dogs.

Mango was our first indication that all dogs' treatment is not the same. Robin chooses to keep him tied for part of the day, then, I think falls prey to his imploring eyes to let him romp and roam down to the beach. The beach is where a lot of dogs seem to be at their best. While waiting for the kids to get out of the waves, I've watched the large assortment of dogs, mostly short hairs, cavorting in and out of the water. Most seem to come with owners, altho there seems to be a few like Mango, who know where to get cool and play with their buddies.

An expat from the US told me that he doesn't trust them. A lot of them are smelly and obviously wanderers. He's gotten bit twice trying to be friendly. Just this morning I sat at Robin's and watched while an obvious four leggedfriend of Mango's tried to entice him to unhook himself from his leash and come play. The mid-sized short haired wiry mongrel jumped sideways and crouched, bum in the air, yipp yipping, and wagging. I thought it was safe when he came boldly to stand beside my chair, so I put my hand down, without looking. I felt, rather than heard the rumble of his growl. Oops, Okay. I get it.

Often, unlike at home, you see a dog trotting down the street. I have to wonder if it's a stray, or if it's standard to let them roam. A few times while on our bikes I've thought "now, what would I do if that dog charged me or the kids?" The answer is I don't know.

I remember when we were younger, and at the lake my sister being fairly small had a run-in with a dog while she rode her bike. I had come home from a friend's and she was asleep on her bed. Mom told me to be quiet, the poor thing had been chased by a dog and wiped out pretty good. She had some really harsh road rash all over her face and hands. The bike she rode was the smallest 2 wheeler I had ever seen then and can't say I've seen one like it since. It was a good learning bike. It was red and belonged to first my older sister, then me, then the youngest. She was allowed, perhaps for the first time to go down the road by herself. She told me upon awakening, that the dog came running out, barking at her wheels. She swerved and tried to go faster, but fell and was badly shaken up. The dog, with nothing to chase anymore, walked up to her with a wagging tail and licked her.

To me, this was a huge lesson. I learned that my sister loved biking so much and that sheis a very strong individual. I was astounded that she wanted to get on that bike and go again. I also learned that you can't read a dog like you do people. We've had so many encounters with dogs. I've told my kids over and over not to put their faces up to theirs because they see that as aggressive language, and bad manners. There have been quite a few nips as they ignore my warnings and want to love those dogs up close.

My friend Rainne will enjoy seeing these dogs in their element. There's something about letting them go free that seems so right. I know I enjoy watching them, but it's still something about which I have parental concern.