For the Love of Dogs by Yvonne Witter

This was first written in 2014 whilst working out in Yangon, Myanmar. I had never shared a house with a stranger before nor a dog.  John was originally from Hertfordshire but had been working for the British Council in Myanmar for 10 years. His dog Li slept with him and was a fine example of man’s best friend.

So here I was house sharing with a dog lover. The property had a huge gate and wire fencing all around. We had been relocated here due to a flood in the previous accommodation. 

I am standing behind as we look at the muddy water

Li and I are heading downstairs

I had noticed that Li was well fed by the domestic help and was not taken for walks. John left early for work and returned in the evening. 

At this new house the big gate had a gap and the dog had tried repeatedly to squeeze himself under it. One Saturday I observed him really excited as he communicated through the bars, with a dog who was on the other side of the gate, Li tried to wriggle himself out. 

I said to John, ‘Oh, seems Li has found a friend?’. John lamented that Li needed walks and to learn about the new neighbourhood, so that he could ‘play out’. I said ‘yeah, I suppose it’s like having a toddler isn’t it? You turn your back for a second and off they go’. 

We are upstairs where it is dry

Li was always howling. He used to bark at me and snarl until we got used to each other.  Here we are as friends, he is posing for me.

One morning I’m in my bed communicating via WhatsApp with those far away in different time zones, and my phone rings and John sounds frantic.

‘Please can you help’ he says, ‘Lin is howling.’

‘ Yes, I can hear him.’ I replied

The dog howled and cried a lot whenever John departed for work.

‘Well he got himself under the gate this morning, so I have locked him in the house, so could you ensure that he does not go outside?’ 

‘Yes of course, don’t worry, you go off to work and I will see you later’.

He thanked me and hung up. So Li had finally mastered how to get his body under that gap in the gate and find his new friends.

I left my bed as it was now 07.30, and I freshened up and went downstairs to see Li indeed ‘locked in’. I felt sadness for his plight on this nice sunny day.  I checked on him intermittently until 11.30 when the ‘help’ arrived. I had explained the situation, using more pointing and facial expression than language. People in Yangon love dogs too, so another family would have cheerfully taken him in.  

But in between leaving my bed and the help arriving, I had been thinking about dog lovers yet again. This thought started when Byron Katie interviewed Oprah Winfrey about her love for her dogs and the many surgical operations one of them had to endure, in order to prolong his little life. Byron Katie asked the question for whose benefit was this dog’s life extended. For whose benefit did he need to endure so many painful surgeries? I have watched that recording more than once as I find it interesting regarding how we humans ‘love’.

It was only four weeks prior to moving into that new house that Li had disappeared late one night or early morning whilst a party was in full swing, and no-one had noticed until late the following day. John was distressed and the domestic staff were told to focus on the search over the next few days whilst John carried on with a planned trip to a beach holiday few hours’ drive away.

According to Chinese horoscope I was born in the year of the dog and I do have strong dog traits of loyalty and honesty. I have a great affinity with dogs and befriend and play with the neighbours’ dogs when I am in Jamaica, but they do not live inside houses. They may sometimes have a kennel. My neighbours dogs become mine when I visit often. A couple of them spend more time on our grounds with me, than with their owner when I am around. I love it that these dogs in Jamaica have the freedom to just roam freely and nearly every yard has a dog. Obviously those breeds of dogs that are dangerous and used by security firms are not allowed out, but roam within large perimeter fences. In 2019 I plan to get myself a dog, he will of course share my home and be my best friend too :-) . 

This is the house that got flooded from monsoon rains

Byron Katie  http://thework.com/en