Puppies!!!

Mel and the sinking latrine...

 Since I was about 10 years old, I have wanted a puppy. I wrote a persuasive letter to my parents in 3rd grade asking my parents for a dog. My teacher said if I didn’t get a dog she would be really surprised. When I gave the letter to my parents, they set several conditions: the dog had to be at least two years old, had to be house trained and it had to be relatively inexpensive. The first and second condition eliminated all dreams of having a puppy. But, there was an ad two weeks later in my dad’s work newsletter for a free two-year-old obedience school trained black Labrador. That’s when Fletch entered the family. There has been a dog in my parent’s house ever since. When Fletch passed away, we got Gus. Gus is a shitzu-terrier, which my little sister absolutely adores, but other family members have come to call a bedroom slipper. When I left for Mozambique, my family decided to finally get a puppy. They said it would be my substitute and they named it Mozi. I am not making this up. Right when I left, they finally got a puppy. Don’t ask me how they convinced my mom to give in to that. Anyway, it is only appropriate that I too now have puppies.

My dog, Mel, had puppies yesterday. It kind of came as a surprise. She has been pregnant since November, I think, and I was expecting the puppies to come next month. But, yesterday morning when I was looking for Mel, I found her giving birth in my latrine. My latrine, by the way, which is literally sinking as a result of all the rain we have had in the last week. Don’t worry, I have stopped using the latrine (Falling in a pit latrine is probably one of my biggest fears here in Moz). I found Mel huddled in the corner no more than a foot from where the sand was eroding and falling in. There were two puppies huddled underneath her and it looked like the third was on the way. Ahh. What to do? That morning I was supposed to go to a funeral. I was not expecting puppies. I immediately called one of my friends and asked her to look up some information about newborn puppies. Could I move her? Could I touch them this early on? I had no idea. I had never had a puppy before. I decided to grab my camera to at least document the event. The activista I was supposed to go to the funeral with then showed up. I took her back to the latrine and before I could even say I didn’t think I would be able to make it, she insisted that I stay with Mel. She said I had to make sure no puppies fell in. Ahh. My friend then called me back saying that yes, I could touch them, but it is best to move them before the mother really comes to after giving birth and realizes what is going on. I quickly ran to my landlady’s house to see if her grandson Antonio was there to help me move them and set them up in the empty kitchen that sits between Nelio and my house. My landlady has a dog, Xima, who just had puppies. Antonio and I then returned to my house, cleaned out the kitchen and grabbed a box to load the puppies up and move them in. The puppies were successfully relocated. Mel followed us right into the kitchen and set up a little space for her and her babies. The kitchen was not in the best condition, but Nelio and I spent the afternoon fixing it up. We took out all the trash, built a new reed wall and leveled out the floor with new sand. I set up a bed for Mel and the pups with a straw mat, a little rug and a few capalanas. This will be their home for the next eight weeks.

So far the pups have been really busy eating and sleeping. Mel has been a trooper eating and sleeping along with them. She is also on high alert. Usually there are anywhere from three to six dogs in my yard at any time, but since she has had the puppies, she has not allowed any other dogs to be anywhere near the yard. She runs out from the kitchen, attacks them and then literally chases them out. She then quickly resumes her spot on the bed. Considering this is her third litter, she is a pro at this by now. My family back home was really worried about how was I going to know what to do with puppies in Mozambique. The truth of the matter is, dogs here are way more self-sufficient. I never want to leave the house because that means I’ll have to leave them and I go rushing in every time I hear them cry. Even though I feel like a worried parent all the time, I know there is only so much I can do. Being a pet owner in Moz is worlds different from being a pet owner back in the states. That became extremely clear as I quickly researched newborn puppies on the Internet on my phone. Nothing really seemed to apply. For one thing, it talked a lot about having to have a heat source in order to keep the puppies at about 85 to 90 degrees F all the time. Not applicable here. The fact that it is summer in Moz makes it automatically at least 90 degrees. Even though my neighbor said they look like rats, they are pretty cute. See for yourself!

BIRTH!

Mel and the puppies after they had been relocated to the kitchen.

Mel and her puppies

All set up!