Aug. 8, 2011
Since Sophie’s first trip to South Africa when she was 7, the dogs have captured her heart. In Hamburg, there are several dogs that follow us to the beach and play in the sand and keep us company. Wherever we are walking, dogs come out and bark at us when we pass or follow us. Sophie is in love with every single one of them.
In Hamburg, the dogs are owned, fed, and looked after. She has named each one of them based on their characteristics and her whim. Jack and Howie are the family favorites, little Jack Russell terriers.
In Canzibe, however, the story is different for the dogs. Dogs are not so much pets here as either roaming or used as guard dogs. They run free, no spaying or neutering at 6 months, so we see a lot of strays. Those that do belong to a household may be starved and beaten so that they will be mean when strangers come. They are infested with ticks and mange. So last year after her first visit to Canzibe, Sophie came back with her heart sad and full of compassion for these dogs. She resolved to do something about it.
In preparing for our month-long trip here, Sophie went door to door in our Virginia neighborhood, explaining that she was collecting food, treats and flea collars for the mistreated dogs in Canzibe. Our neighbors and friends were more than generous. She packed two suitcases – one for her clothes and one for the dogs.
A few days ago in Canzibe, she and her sister Hannah and their South African friends Lara and Emelia packed a bag of goodies and headed out to huts and rondavels to find dogs that needed some tender loving care. We didn’t have to go far. Just down the road from the mission lives a family I don’t know very well. There were about 5 or 6 small children, one teenage girl. I didn’t see any adults. And about half a dozen dogs…
We explained to them in Lara & Emelia’s elementary Xhosa that we wanted to give some things to the dogs. Once we received permission, the girls carefully approached each dog to try to give treats and loving pats to each dog. One was so old and sick that she did not even get up and barely nibbled at the kibble Sophie gave her. Others ran away from the girls, cowering as they were approached, as if they expected to get beaten instead of petted.
When the teenage girl who lived there saw how much these white girls loved the dogs, she went into a tin storage shed and came out with a newborn puppy – only days old. The girls erupted in squeals of “awwww” and “oh my gosh” and “look how cute!” The teenager came out with two more in her hand so that three girls had a mewing, still-blind-from-birth pup in their arms. But when the teenager went back in for another, she came out holding a black limp pup by the neck. The mother dog had been laying on it and must have suffocated it. The girls almost melted in tears they were so upset. But the teenager was unfazed by this inevitable fact of life. She nonchalantly tossed it on a dirt pile.
We had a few more outings like this and Sophie distributed food, flea and tick collars and chew toys to 16 dogs in all. What I am so amazed at is that she is not afraid of any of the dogs, even if they bark and seem vicious. She approaches them gently, getting on her knees and talking to them softly, until they shyly come to her. She pets them, rubs their ears, checks them for ticks, and even removes the ticks. They flinch initially when she pets them, but most then just relax after awhile, basking in the only positive attention they may have ever received.
If Sophie doesn’t know her calling in life yet, I sure do.
-- Amy Zacaroli
Since Sophie’s first trip to South Africa when she was 7, the dogs have captured her heart. In Hamburg, there are several dogs that follow us to the beach and play in the sand and keep us company. Wherever we are walking, dogs come out and bark at us when we pass or follow us. Sophie is in love with every single one of them.
In Hamburg, the dogs are owned, fed, and looked after. She has named each one of them based on their characteristics and her whim. Jack and Howie are the family favorites, little Jack Russell terriers.
In Canzibe, however, the story is different for the dogs. Dogs are not so much pets here as either roaming or used as guard dogs. They run free, no spaying or neutering at 6 months, so we see a lot of strays. Those that do belong to a household may be starved and beaten so that they will be mean when strangers come. They are infested with ticks and mange. So last year after her first visit to Canzibe, Sophie came back with her heart sad and full of compassion for these dogs. She resolved to do something about it.
In preparing for our month-long trip here, Sophie went door to door in our Virginia neighborhood, explaining that she was collecting food, treats and flea collars for the mistreated dogs in Canzibe. Our neighbors and friends were more than generous. She packed two suitcases – one for her clothes and one for the dogs.
A few days ago in Canzibe, she and her sister Hannah and their South African friends Lara and Emelia packed a bag of goodies and headed out to huts and rondavels to find dogs that needed some tender loving care. We didn’t have to go far. Just down the road from the mission lives a family I don’t know very well. There were about 5 or 6 small children, one teenage girl. I didn’t see any adults. And about half a dozen dogs…
We explained to them in Lara & Emelia’s elementary Xhosa that we wanted to give some things to the dogs. Once we received permission, the girls carefully approached each dog to try to give treats and loving pats to each dog. One was so old and sick that she did not even get up and barely nibbled at the kibble Sophie gave her. Others ran away from the girls, cowering as they were approached, as if they expected to get beaten instead of petted.
When the teenage girl who lived there saw how much these white girls loved the dogs, she went into a tin storage shed and came out with a newborn puppy – only days old. The girls erupted in squeals of “awwww” and “oh my gosh” and “look how cute!” The teenager came out with two more in her hand so that three girls had a mewing, still-blind-from-birth pup in their arms. But when the teenager went back in for another, she came out holding a black limp pup by the neck. The mother dog had been laying on it and must have suffocated it. The girls almost melted in tears they were so upset. But the teenager was unfazed by this inevitable fact of life. She nonchalantly tossed it on a dirt pile.
We had a few more outings like this and Sophie distributed food, flea and tick collars and chew toys to 16 dogs in all. What I am so amazed at is that she is not afraid of any of the dogs, even if they bark and seem vicious. She approaches them gently, getting on her knees and talking to them softly, until they shyly come to her. She pets them, rubs their ears, checks them for ticks, and even removes the ticks. They flinch initially when she pets them, but most then just relax after awhile, basking in the only positive attention they may have ever received.
If Sophie doesn’t know her calling in life yet, I sure do.
-- Amy Zacaroli
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