Hard to see the way they treat animals in this country, most of all dogs. From a country where most people greet their canine friends before they greet their wives, Uganda is a tough place to stomach for it's complete indifference towards a dog in need of attention. I came home to my homestay family brothers playing with a 3 week old, lady pup. She was bleeding on her entire, 5 inch left side of her stomach, and was unable to step more than 3 paces without falling over. When I picked her up, her stomach was orange; not from dirt, or dried blood as I first guessed, but rather from the pure mass of dead and still moving fleas that totally encapsulated her skin. When I began to clean her, she simply lay in my hands, ready to admit defeat towards what must seem like a worthless world to even attempt to live in. I cleaned out the initial layer of fleas to find 4 small pen size holes in her left side, filled in with swarms of maggots in each orifice. 2 hours later, after digging out the maggots with my fingernails and washing away most of the fleas, I was able to find the mother of the dog and reconnect them.
The hardest part about all of this was the incredulous nature that my homestay family had with me even trying to help the animal. They sat and laughed while I stressed out about it's well being, running inside to grab antibiotic, salt, and iodine to clean the wounds that would have soon ended the animals life. It's not a question of personality, or of their inability to feel pain; simply a realization that this is not a place that has time to worry about the things we do in America.
Did I tell the family why I was upset? yes. Did we talk about it, and did they understand and did I possibly change their outlook on it the next time it might happen? Perhaps. I think I just have to learn, though, that I'm not in Kansas anymore.
10 days till I go home. (to Ngora). Can't. Wait.
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