So you come home one evening from the
expat bar to find an adorable little flea bag underneath your guard's chair. You know shouldn't keep it, but it looks so frail. So adorable. And heck, it may die anyways, so what's the harm in giving it some of your extremely difficult to find (so must buy all of it at once) UHT milk? Right?
All the sudden you're sourcing deworming pills, taking advantage of your proximity to VSF, and feeding the thing better than yourself. I grew up with dogs. I've always wanted one of my own, but knew that working in humanitarian contexts for the time being, that I likely would not have a dog for a while. I'd felt funny about taking in a dog while working abroad because I wasn't sure how I felt on the moral spectrum. We had a compound dog when I worked in Baghdad, but it belonged to the boss... and went back to the States with the boss when she left. I know that is not an option for me.
There are two camps on the issue.
Unethical/What the hell are you thinking?!: "Who's going to take care of the dog when you're gone?"/ "You're not equipping it for life outside the compound if the guards let it go."/ "There have been too many expat + dog stories that end in disaster."/ "Your dog is going to get rabies and bite you. I'm going to say I told you so."
Not the best choice you can make with your life, but it's nice to have a dog: Ok so no one says "YES GET A DOG!!!", but a lot of people who have dogs in the field take the point of view that for 1, 2, 3 years a dog that may not have cut it in the wild gets a pretty good life. There is a chance that the dog will be adopted by others that live on the compound or another aidworker after you go as well. Some do actually go home with workers, although this maybe so complex from South Sudan, that our dog probably will not have that option.
There is a recognition that is selfish, but...
Dewormed, and fattened up. Who could say scram to this face?
Oy gevalt. Welcome to the family Kapir.
*Stuff Expat Aidworkers Like has a much funnier
post about this.
