Somehow a dad

I have a very handsome dog called Somehow. The word 'somehow' is used by almost every Sudanese person I have met to describe any and every given circumstance. How is the whether? It's 'somehow.' How is the food 'somehow.' So last August when the driver brought over the most adorable puppy ever, Somehow just felt like the most appropriate name and now no staff member can use the term without thinking about the dog. I know....I'm a linguistic butcher!

Now I haven't had a pet since I was a little kid back in Liberia when Dick (I think golden retriever) and Tracy (half German shepherd half stray dog) were the reigning champs, but having one of my very own was a a whole new pleasure. From the very beginning he was spoiled silly and as he got older it didn't get any better. But it was nice to have someone anxious for me to wake up in the morning and go running with.

Recently, he got a bone or other sharp object stuck in his throat, got an infection and was on his last leg. I was a panicked, crazy person. I was running back and forth to the vet (yes, there is a vet in South Sudan, livestock is VERY VERY SERIOUS business here), trying to get any advice that would save his precious life. He stopped eating and my staff thought my sanity was out the window when I was feeding him water and porridge through a syringe! I eventually got some human medication that I thought was helping but then I had to go to another town for work and had to leave him alone with a staff who had made it very clear that caring for sick animals was against their cultural and spiritual practices. I was sure he was going to be dead by the time I returned so I avoided asking too many questions while I was gone. Turns out the vet had come by and performed surgery on the dog with the him of 4 staff members, one of who exclaimed 'we touched the dog for the first time' as if it was the highlight of his weak. With gloves up to their soldiers, the held the dog down and drained puss from his neck. By the time I got back, he was his normal self again, jumping up to greet me as I got out of the car.

In addition to his still being alive, I found out last night that he is also a DAD!!!! This is slightly surprising because he relations with the neighbors dog had me convinced that he was very gay and needed one of those rainbow collars! However, turns out he was traveling by night to meet his girlfriend (who also had another dog on the side) who recently give birth to four puppies!!

Luckily, my girl (owner of his girlfriend) hasn't asked for a dowry yet!