Perhaps the History of Mojo Dog

Mojo Park is undoubtedly the most happening night club in Thimphu. Having heard about it so much I have been there thrice since December. The last one was yesterday at their Summer Gaga. Unlike hundreds who were passionately participating by coming in theme dress and screaming along with bands, I was a mere visitor in my jeans and jumper standing in a corner. I am yet to understand and live the urban culture but I love observing and appreciating small things happening in big places.

There was a fat white dog outside Mojo Park Gate and I have seen him every time I went there and assumed he lived there. The regular visitors fondly talk to him and allow him to sleep between their legs. Of many dogs there what makes this white dog their favorite? The interesting answer to it is that dog hates cops. He growls and barks at the sight of cops. I have personally seen this happen twice. Cops on night patrol make their presence at the club gate when it's about time to close down, and the dog barks at them with dedication as if he was trained to do that.

I have no idea about how this dog actually learned to hate the cops but the very character that made the canine popular among visitors made him unpopular among the cops. Last night, It broke my heart to see three cops waiting at the club gate, long after it was close, to put an end to this poor dog. I was waiting for a friend to return to pick up another friend whom she forgot to take along, which made me an eye witness to the brutality. The poor dog knew what was going to happen to him and was feeling very insecure without his hosts, who already left. He took refuge under the bench I was sitting  and was making pleading sounds. The cops closed in and asked us to move aside to avoid accidental hit. My friend protested and so did a hippie Band member (The drummer of the last event) but the cops were all set to finish the animal. He took one big hit on his back but managed to escape, crying in pain. The cops went chasing him and what happened after that will largely depend on his luck.

When Mojo Park opens on Wednesday if the fat white dog is seen around know that he has escaped a murder attempt, and that it's your love that brought him back to you. Perhaps it's time to untrain him. But if your favorite dog doesn't appear this Wednesday, that's what happened to him. Please pray for him. I will come around to check on him too.

Gentle Giant-King of Dogs

Nobody would want to mess with a dog that stands taller than a full grown man. But if you meet Titan, my cousin's dog, you will see what a gentle giant looks like. He is the largest dog I ever saw, perhaps he is the largest breed- Great Dane also known as King of dogs. He is very friendly, gentle and peaceful. He hardly barks but when he does you can almost feel the vibration.

Titan and I

Little Boy-The Victim of Fails

Kezang went to hospital this morning and was calling me and telling in deep anxious voice that my friend's child was hospitalized. I had heard the news of a young boy being attacked by pack of stray dogs in Khotokha about a week ago. The boy had gone beyond the fence to play when the pack of dogs attacked him. He was rescued by a monk who was passing by. And that boy happens to be my friend Damchoe's three year old son, who is now nursed back to health at Bajothang Hospital. It took 84 stitches on his head, back and arms to close his wounds. The boy is doing well now.

The repaired scalp 

The Dog Issue:

However, it's time we pay serious attention to stray dogs. Some half hearted dog rehabilitation attempts have separated dogs from human population and now many dog-compounds are shut down. Homeless and hungry the abandoned dogs are now roaming forest and villages attacking cattles. And this year alone we have reports of two incidences where humans were attacked- one was in Haa last months and the other my friend's boy. What measures can be taken to reduce the risk of dogs attacking humans? Who should be taking care of this issue? How long should we wait until we start taking action?

Drug Shortage Issue:

Another problem that surfaced today was the shortage of Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV), which is a must take vaccine for dog bitten victims. Even a smallest wound from dog bite requires this injection and in this case the little boy was bitten by around seven dogs and literally peeled off from head to back. Unfortunately ARV ran out of stock. Tencholing didn't have it, Thimphu only has enough for their patients and was waiting for the new stock to arrive in two weeks. My friends was asked to find it on his own. Medical Shops are handicapped by new policy. 

It was boy's luck that Punakha Hospital had some doses left. He was taken to Punakha for the first dose but there is no guarantee if there will be any left when he goes for the second dose, which is on 17th May. I took the issue to Twitter and I was inspired by the support and concern shown by fellow Bhutanese. Some even offered to send from Delhi and another from Gelephug. Thank you to all the people who answered to my tweets this morning.

In such time we must awake to the reality that something in the system is not going good. Such emergency medications should be readily available in every corner of the country. I am hopeful this concern will be considered seriously by whoever is responsible. And if it's very difficult to pave through tedious Bhutanese procedures then why not allow private pharmacies to sell them?

Wild Dogs and the Gup in Haa

March 30, Kuensel reported a story of a 68 year old man attacked by dogs in Haa, which is a matter of serious concern for the country because the story of shutting down of dog compounds is not isolated to Haa alone. 
One time there was lot of excitement about building dog compounds, and sheltering and feeding every stray dog. Where is that high spirit gone? Perhaps the budget has run out now?  I don't know which organization was behind this but I am already assuming they were after the project money. If there really was genuine concern for dogs or for the society where dogs were a threat then they would have sustained the project throughout. 

Man's Best Friend No More

Packs of dogs are seen in the forest between Thimphu and Dochula, where did they come from? They don't seem normal anymore, they have perhaps regained their wild instincts. If dogs in Haa could hunt cattle and attack humans then dogs roaming the forest anywhere could. 

But what's interesting about the case in Haa is that the Gup is more worried about the meat than Ap Desang's life or the wild dogs.

 “... we’re not sure whether the dogs killed one of the cows, and also doubt that Desang might have gone for the meat and not to save his cow.” (Quote of the Year)

Don't Mess With Me

This cute little dog and I had a bad morning in April last year. I stepped on him and he bit me on my ankle and I had to rush to hospital. I was scared his bite might cause me infection but the poor fella was cool, he knew nothing would happen to him. He didn't visit hospital also. Now, look at him- the price of biting me: lol

Before biting me

and After

Rabies Story- Don't Trust Doctors

If you are bitten by a dog, you should rush to hospital. But don't think TT injection will take care of everything. You must ask for ARV- Anti Rabies Vaccine. That's when your doctor will ask you to observe the dog for next ten days, because they don't want to waste the expensive vaccine if the dog is not infected.
 However, it's your life at stake. You must insist on having yourselves vaccinated, because recent cases in Phuntsholing and Gelephug proved medical theory of wait-for-ten-days wrong. The boy in Phuntsholing dies a week after he was bitten -are you going to wait for ten days now?, and the lady in Gelephug observed the dog for ten days, nothing happened. Three months later she died. Can you trust the theory anymore?
I had my experience a few weeks ago. I came home relaxed having received TT injection and blogged about it. Thanks to my blog, some comments there worried my wife and she insisted me to go back and start ARV, which saved my life, perhaps.
P:S: It's not just dogs, any animal bite must be treated the same. Man in Trongsa died of Rabies because he was bitten by his horse.

A Dog and I had a bad Morning

The poor dog was sleeping at the door of my class this morning when I came out, and poor me didn't see him until I heard a loud cry followed by a sharp pain on my right ankle. I bled and he bled. But for him it was just that one moment, while I had to run to hospital. My little students of class VII advised me to get some fur from the dog and apply it on my wound. It's took me quite sometime to convince them that it would only develop infection.

The unfortunate dog

I got TT injection and am given this tedious mission of observing the dog for the next 10 days. The fate of this dog is my fate for these ten days. If the poor fella dies, or if it starts acting wild, or if it sleeps throughout then I am advised to run back to hospital for the Rabies vaccine. My class captain agreed to aid me in observing the dog. I wish the dog all the best, because I don't want to die barking.