The dogs that came with the house are still alive and present. So we finally found a vet (or so we think) to come see the dogs. When Josh went to the vet's office, he was told the vet was out and then suddenly they produced this other man, so we're not sure if he is a vet or not... such is communication most of the time!
The dogs do not trust us much (they have clearly not been treated well in the past) and we don't trust them much. So we have hardly ever touched them. Keep this in mind....
Josh called me two days ago and said that he had found a vet and that this man could come right then to see the dogs. Do I want Josh to come home or am I okay without him? I thought I could handle it, especially because I had two teens with me who could watch the kids while I dealt with the dogs.
I started looking for the dogs. Bob (the male) was in Josh's "new" office - he's not allowed in there, but likes the shade, cool tile floor, and the isolation. Bob is pretty sick. So, I closed the door and left him in there. At least Bob is contained and I know where he is.
Now, Sala, the female dog... She is so skittish and scared that when I try to pet her and she just whimpers and runs away. She was nowhere to be found. The guy at the gate for the compound said that he saw her run toward the other houses, so I took a little walk... no luck. She walked into the yard a short while later and so I tried to tie a rope to her collar and she freaked out. And I freaked out so she got away. 'sigh'
The vet arrived soon thereafter and he examined poor Bob. He decided that Bob needed three injections for three days. Ok. Then he asked me to "restrain the dog" while he injected him. WHAT?! I'm a doctor, I'm a mom, not a vet, not a wild dog handler. I asked for his advice on "restraining the dog" and he just looked scared of the dog. 'sigh' So I used my most sweet comforting mommy voice, got behind him, and held the base of his skull as if my life depended on it so that he couldn't get his head around to bite. For a terrifying 30 minutes... no really probably 3 minutes, but it felt that long... the vet nervously injected Bob while Bob growled, snarled, and tried to evade my death grip on his skull. Finally, Bob, recognizing that he was overpowered by mommy-doctor-wild-dog-handler, just laid down and gave up.
Then Sala... I could not catch her, try as I might. So, after asking 10 different times, 10 different ways if there were tablets to deworm her (instead of injections), the vet said that there were tablets to deworm her. Great! Bring those tomorrow!
Day 2: the vet returns. Josh stays home to meet him to do the dog handling. Bob suffers the indignity of more injections with less snarling and is still friends with us. Sala eats all the meat (the precious meat!!) and leaves the tablets... argh! Then, the vet informs us that he needs to inject her still with a second medicine... WHAT?! argh. Josh corners poor trembling Sala who never growled or tried to defend herself and she gets an injection. It's 9:00pm and her pills, re-disguised in yummy food, sit uneaten. Shoulda given her the second injection. Again... communcation problem!
Day 3: hopefully will be less eventful! Already Bob is perking up, eating again, and wagging his tail to see us come home.
Side note - the rumor is that Sala had puppies this past year... oh brother! here I was hoping she was spade...yikes....
Comments
The problem is that these things have to be refrigerated, which I would imagine adds an extra layer of complication (in addition to ordinary issues getting meds and things into Uganda). But if you already have a vaccine supplier you trust, maybe you could get some canine vaccine for them? The vaccines are given sub-Q (you just hold up the little flap of skin on the back of their neck that their mama carries them with, make a little tent out of it) and inject the vaccine). Once you get the dogs to trust you, that might be easier than bringing a vet out. (Of course, I'd imagine the rabies vaccine would be one where it's extra important to get a trusted vaccine and make sure it's done right. But for the others, it's something to consider.)