Dog Bite

Just after finishing a long day of saving countless souls in the wilds of southwestern Uganda, I did my usual activity of walking home from work.  On my path were 10 prisoners carrying hoes walking single file without a guard around them.  Four small to middle-sized dogs were around them, playfully jogging and I guess watching the prisoners.  As they came my way, the cutest, littlest dog came straight at me.  I paused to allow this dog to jump into my arms and lick my face because the dog looked like Benji, and because I am super naive when it comes to strange animals.  Right as the animal was about to leap, it clearly misjudged the height and dove straight into my left leg, teeth first.  Wishbone bit, wriggled, and ran away.  It left two holes in my pants and when I lifted the pant leg I was definitely bleeding a bit, though the bite wasn't bad at all.

Thanks to my Peace Corps Instincts I called medical and was told I have to come into Kampala to get rabies shots the next day.  I explained that it was more like a scratch than a bite, and they explained that you can't fix rabies.  I explained that going to Kampala kind of sucks, and they explained that the only person to have ever survived rabies is very unattractive and most likely lives alone in a cave with a bunch of bats.  I explained that there are already many bats living in my house, to which they explained that I need to get over it and move on with my life, please steer it in the direction of Kampala the next morning.

My plans foiled, I did the one thing I knew would make me happier.  I went home, washed up the wound, kept the same pants on, and strolled into town, bite holes shining.

"Dan, what has happened?"
"Dogs?  No!  Dogs!"
"Oh, sorry!  Dann-yyyy, are you all right!"
"These dogs, they just live in those hills!"
~ vigorous shaking of heads ~
"These dogs, they are such a problem!"
"Do you need help? Do you need medication? A backrub maybe?"

Nearly all of these lines were said, repeatedly, by the many, many people I showed in town.  Unfortunately for me I got bit in the late afternoon, so I could only show so many people, but somehow, I was able to show quite a few, not passing up anyone due to age, engagement in other activities, or level of interest.

My biggest target for sympathy did not disappoint.  I went to the prison where I ran into a guard I knew.

"Hey, your dog, it has bitten me!"
"Where?  When?  What dog?"
~ I fill him in on the juicy details ~
"We have no such dogs at this place!  I have been telling them, we must carry sticks, and we must kill all of those stray dogs!"

Pleased with this answer, I gave him a satisfactory nod, turned, and slowly limped away.

The converse to this being late afternoon was that the few people that did not see it heard about it the next day.  I received phone calls from concerned coworkers.  Immediately after getting my shots I had to attend a malaria conference and was gone for a week, inflating the sense of emergency of the event to my coworkers and community members.  People that I haven't seen for a week are asking me if I am OK.  They are asking about the bite, if it was bad, did I get all the appropriate treatment?

Today, I have shown three people the small marks where I once had a scratch, 10 days ago, on my left leg.  Now this might be the moment where I would learn a lesson, to stop crying wolf or being a huge baby or making a mountain out of a mole hill.  Let me tell you right now, that I have not learned this lesson.  I am still getting sympathy for a scratch that could have produced some blood a week and a half ago.  Grave looks of concern, furrowed brows, questions about my family history, all of these things have come by the grace of some small, terrorist dog.

Kill these dogs?  Well, unfortunately, yes.  That is the point where I do become serious and think that I run into 4 year olds walking by themselves on those paths, and while what happened to me was a scratch, if it happened to a child it could have been a lot more serious.  The things that inspire me to try to write a funny story about a dog bite are things that actually inspire me in my village.  My community members, while definitely a bit stoked by my theatrics, have their heads in the exact right place.  Right now, I haven't had a chance to talk to people at the Town Council about the incident.  Hopefully I will rewrite this or add on later about some sort of action taken by the community on this.  That would really make this a Peace Corps story, and it would add that little bit of heart to the end of a silly story.