Activities on Majuro: Part I
All dogs in Majuro are yard dogs
That translates to they are attached to place more than people. dogs here are not house pets. They mark and defend territory and they tend to turn in to small packs in the narrowing roads and cul de sac areas off the main street. You are advised to carrie a rock or act like you are picking up a rock to get them to back off. I love dogs. We did rescue roulette for years and got some crazies but got dogs who learned to love. But here, I've been scared by barking, lunging, jumping dogs. So one of my yachtie friends suggested I help them out with the volunteer pop-up animal clinic that does spaying and neutering. She suggested it might help my attitude toward them when I could hold them during recovery. It may be the only human kindness they will know, she said.
So I showed up in long pants and long sleeves at the second pop-up location ready to love on yard dogs. You get the underscore of "island time" in these situations. I show up at 9:00am... the vet and attendants are carrying boxes from the trunk of their rental cars. Happy to help, we pitch in, but its short work. Curiously, one surgery is started on the low wall out front while waiting for surgical tables to arrive with the most of the other clinic needfuls.
A small flatbed truck arrived with five crates/five dogs. However, the tables and medical supplies in the big truck did not arrive until after 11am. 'hurry up and wait' is in a different league here. We helped unload the crated dogs and then Jose and I were assigned to assist the dog catcher. Our first assignment was to return a few dogs who had surgery the day prior and then medical follow-up, Like Frankie. Most neutered dogs are released at the end of day with double internal sutures. On to the catch!
Thelma is the ACE Dog Catcher and participates in this way with every pop-up veterinary clinic. We were not post op comforters today but we were ACE cheerleaders for Thelma and crew. I hope you enjoy the story in photos. Jose and I had a memorable day.