The biggest problem with going abroad to do voluntary work in a sunny climate, is that your family back home are convinced that you are staying in a 5 star hotel and lying on a palm fringed beach. I realised long ago that they much prefer an ‘action’ photo on the family WhatsApp group than anything that looks like I might be enjoying myself. Sweat and dog poop are good, sunsets and cocktails are not..
This week I had some real excitement to share. The rescue centre got a call to say that a litter of puppies and mother had been found in the jungle. 5 of us headed off in a truck to try to locate the dogs. After about an hour of searching, whilst being bitten to hell and trying to avoid the snakes, we found the cutest litter of 10 tiny puppies but no mother.
One of the staff with a rusty machete started hacking down long bamboo stems. I wanted to watch, but the handle kept flying off his machete, so I decided to keep a safe enough distance so as not to get my head split open like a coconut. Once enough stems were collected, they were staked into the ground and we erected a makeshift roof with a tarpaulin.
The puppies, who had been popped into a washing up bowl, were placed on soft blankets in the shelter. We then fed them with baby bottles. I was a little out of practice in this department, but I soon got the hang of it. Feeding a tiny pup with his eyes still closed was a very special moment.
Shortly after, we left the tiny puppies alone, and defenceless, in the jungle. We could only hope that the mother would return before nightfall. Otherwise they didn’t stand a chance of survival.
Fortunately news came later that the mother had returned and was nursing her young. This jungle litter is now on the list of sites we visit regularly to check on their wellbeing and feed the mother.
When the puppies are old enough, the 9 girls and 1 boy, and their mum, will be brought to the centre, neutered and then returned to their home. This isn’t what I would consider a ‘proper’ home for any dog but, out here, there are far worse places to be. The lush vegetation of the jungle is far safer than the crazy streets of the city.
Sorry guys, but my sole purpose for recounting this ‘ tale of tails’ is to prove to my folks back home that Mum really isn’t on a sun lounger at the Mandarin Oriental…
