Galle Puppy Saga - Vol. 5: The Happy Ending

It has been a week and a half since the puppies were smuggled out of the harbor and deposited safely at Animal SOS. Walking through the harbor just hasn't been the same without seeing the six of them sprinting toward us at top speed. I missed them. So I called the shelter and made plans to go hang out and volunteer!

When I arrived, the puppies were still in their cage inside the clinic, above another cage containing five other puppies. I played with them inside for a long time, and also made friends with the resident one-eyed cat, Boris. Boris (a girl cat) climbs up and down the cages and loves playing with all the puppies. The puppies liked to run directly at her and then hop around her in circles, barking. For her part, Boris just looked at them and occasionally tried to rub her face on them; she even lets them chew on her ears!

That very day the puppies were scheduled to be moved to an outdoor pen. The pen is set a little ways back on the Animal SOS land and is gated off from the main pack of dogs that have the run of the property. This would allow them to be outside and have more room to run and play, plus the two cages of puppies were being combined to form their own puppy pack. Eleven puppies!!

Here's what their new home looks like from outside:

And here's the view from the inside:

Ok I'm kidding, but that is how most of my pictures turned out. Here's what it really looks like:

The puppies were very excited to have company in their new space. I sat down on the bench, which prompted the puppies to try and get up to sit next to me. They're still pretty little and needed some help. I obliged Two Spot here.

This pen has many amenities, including a tree in one corner. At the base of this tree is dirt. Very quickly, paws became muddy as they started working on digging a hole. (Very important puppy business.) Air Bud looks so innocent but the evidence is all over her feet!

The stairs were also a very exciting new feature; they enjoyed running up and down them at the only speed puppies know - as fast as they can. They're all clumsy but determined, and even a stumble down a couple stairs couldn't deter them from trying it again! Here's Three Spot, victorious at the top.

Although the puppies knew I was there, every time I stood up it was like they had momentarily forgotten. They swarmed my feet excitedly and it was hard to walk around!

Eventually it was feeding time. That was a sight to see! Three trays of food were brought out, but instead of spreading themselves out evenly, all eleven finished the first tray, moved to the second and inhaled that, and finally demolished the third. Gone at light speed!

After dinner, it was nap time. Two Spot and Skinny Brown curled up right behind me in a pile. Skinny Brown used to be the shyest and hardest to catch, but she was jumping around me for attention more than any of the others! She's become so friendly!

The stairs also make a good napping spot, as Air Bud and Big Spot can attest to. Three Spot is more interested in my camera...

... or maybe he just wanted the top step.

And now for the Coffee Black Collection. All these puppies are adorable and personable, but CB is still my favorite! She's very smart, attentive, and incredibly bouncy. She liked to lay close to me. Really close!

So cute, look at that face!

Paws make good pillows.

Eventually it was time to go. There were 150+ other dogs to play with and feed, and our puppies were tired out after their first day playing in their new, bigger pen. Animal SOS is an awesome place full of dogs who all want to sit in your lap, be held, play, or at least bark at the new person! I think a trip back may be in order. I don't think I can stay away from this...

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Galle Puppy Saga - Vol. 4: Puppy Smuggling

Our happy days of cavorting with puppies recently took a turn for the scary.

There are many, many stray dogs in the harbor, around Galle, and I can only assume Sri Lanka in general. These dogs wander the streets and are often terribly skinny and covered in fleas and mange. Many are very friendly (especially if you have food) and we see the same dogs around the harbor every day. However, the locals treat these dogs with complete disregard, and sometimes violence. We've heard that the crew of some cargo ships that come into the harbor will actually catch and eat the dogs roaming around; the friendly ones are the easiest to catch. One construction worker told us that there used to be a very friendly female dog that the workers would feed and pet; she was one of the dogs caught by such a crew.

Some of the personnel from the harbor (we're not sure what their job is or who they were) recently took notice of the attention we gave to the puppies. For whatever reason, they decided to catch one of the puppies (we're also not sure if it was one of "our" puppies or a different one, as there are many litters around the harbor) and abuse it right at the end of the dock, in plain view of all the boats tied up there. We weren't on the boat during all this, but our neighbors on the dock were and told us about it. These people obviously did this because they knew we loved the puppies, and they were trying to get back at us for some reason unknown to us or just to feel big.

We were, of course, very angry when we heard this. These puppies had only just learned to trust us, and now there were people hanging around who had no problem hurting them for no reason at all. The only solution (besides enlisting six new, furry crewmembers on the WTP) was to take the puppies to safety. I did some research and learned there was an animal shelter a mere 40 minutes away. The name of this shelter: AnimalSOS. It was founded by Kim Cooling, from London, after she saw the horrible situation of stray animals in Sri Lanka. AnimalSOS operates from a large plot of land in Midigama, where they take in strays, give medical attention and regular meals, and most importantly spay or neuter them. Most of these dogs live the rest of their lives at the shelter, although the organization also operates an adoption program.

With this destination in mind, we set about planning our trip. The harbor is surrounded by a tall concrete wall, with a gate at the entrance; we must show our shore pass upon entering and exiting. The guards (some armed with guns) are required to check this pass and also search our bags, to prevent us from importing any goods we've brought from the boat into the country. They had never checked our bags before but we thought carrying six puppies out might cause a problem.

Our solution: Puppy Smuggling.

I had a duffel bag big enough for all the puppies, and our plan was to load them into it and see if we could get out of the gate. Hopefully they would be still and quiet long enough for us to get past the guards. If that failed and the guards forbid us from taking the puppies out, Adam was going to take them behind the bathrooms near the harbor's encircling wall, while I made my way out of the harbor to the other side of the wall at that same spot. Then, Adam was going to throw the bag over the wall, and I would catch it. We were very determined and vowed that nothing would stop us!

We packed the puppies into the duffel bag, leaving it unzipped until we were close to the gate. We approached the gate. Only three guards, fewer than normal - good. The puppies were quiet. We handed our passes over. The puppies were still quiet. The guards made small talk while they recorded our information. A puppy whined. One guard looked behind me, convinced himself that was where it came from, and looked away. We breathed a sigh of relief. The guards were sure taking their time with our passes. More puppies started whining, and then barking. All the guards looked in my direction, at the bag, and then asked the inevitable question: "What's in the bag??" I calmly responded, "Puppies!" The guards grinned a little and looked puzzled. "We're taking them to the vet for shots!" I said. One guard walked over and motioned for me to open the bag. I opened it the tiniest little bit, one puppy stuck her noise out, and I moved to zip it back up, reasoning, "We have to keep it closed or they'll all fall out." The guards continued to look extremely puzzled... but handed our passes back! We were all free to go, puppies included!

Once outside the gate we called Upa, our tuk-tuk driver. While we waited for him I opened the bag so the puppies could get some fresh air. A local woman in a nearby shop noticed the puppies and came over to where we were sitting. She asked to hold one of them and we obliged. She then asked an odd question: "Any boys?" I was ready for this, though, and told a white lie: "Nope, all girls!" She handed the puppy back and returned to her shop. While perusing the AnimalSOS website, I had read that locals prefer male dogs... because they don't have puppies, and one dog is all many households want. They may not physically have puppies of their own, but an unneutered male dog is just as much a cause of unwanted litters as an unspayed female dog. And, as the majority of stray dogs in Sri Lanka don't seem to be spayed or neutered, there are many unwanted, uncared for litters that grow up to have litters of their own. Eek, what a huge project AnimalSOS has tackled!

Upa arrived and we all clambered into his tuk-tuk. The puppies, who had grown up next to a construction site, responded calmly to the noise of traffic around them. Most of them even fell asleep!

After a few wrong turns and stopping to ask for directions, we found the bumpy back road that led to AnimalSOS, or the 'dog house' as many of the locals called it. An apt nickname, I think! While waiting outside the gate I grew nervous. What if the shelter was full and they turned us back? I had emailed the contact on the website a few days ago, but as things in the harbor had escalated we were bringing the puppies in before we technically had the go-ahead. My fears were unfounded though. Debbie, the shelter manager, opened the gate, took one look at the puppies in the tuk-tuk, and said, "Well, let's each grab two and take them inside." Hooray!

We were greeted by a chorus of dogs barking as we followed Debbie into the intake room. Once there, the puppies were placed on an examination table, where Debbie conducted an intake exam. She checked them for ticks and signs of mange, and declared that they looked pretty healthy. She then gave them each a dewormer pill (Adam and I helped administer these). Three Spot managed to spit his out twice, and then just held it in his mouth until it foamed up and dripped out! Debbie then sprayed them each with a flea and tick spray, and transferred them to a cage in a seperate room for their first few days. The puppies have roommates, though, in the form of another litter of puppies and the shelter's three resident cats!

After a long, exciting journey from their home in the pipes at the harbor, they had arrived in their new home, safe and sound!

And don't worry, this Puppy Saga isn't over yet. AnimalSOS loves volunteers, and I'm going to visit the puppies there! I will keep you all updated! In the meantime, check out the AnimalSOS website for more information about this awesome organization!!

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Galle Puppy Saga - Vol. 3: Official Introductions

Sometimes real life goes faster than the rate at which I can get posts up. This is one of those times. It has certainly been more than a week since I wrote Volume 1 of this saga, but it took less than the promised week for all six puppies to be fully converted. All six started off as scared pups who ran into the nearest metal pipe when they saw people approaching. By day 5 they were running to meet us as soon as they could see us, a herd of tiny furry things, furiously wagging their tails, ears flapping with each step. They often tried to follow us back to the boat, but being puppies tended to get distracted along the way.

Now, I would like to introduce all six of "our puppies," as we affectionately call them:

Three Spot - The only male of the litter, this little guy fearlessly became the first of the puppies to trust us. He is extremely playful and often tackles the other puppies, growling in mock anger. He is very easily distracted and often drops what he's doing to go explore, only to come running back excitedly like he'd forgotten we were there.

Coffee Black - Coffee Black (named after a character in Will Ferrell's 'Semi-Pro) is the smartest puppy of the bunch. She's very curious about everything she encounters. She is often the first puppy to notice us, and leads the pack as they run to meet us. She's my favorite because she's adorable and awesome (and maybe because she looks like Baron).

Two Spot - This girl is friendly and shy. She will rush up to sit next to our feet to be petted, and she likes to lick and chew on our hands. She's always wiggling around and her tail is always wagging!

Air Bud - She earned her name by resembling the golden retriever from the movie 'Air Bud.' She likes to be petted, and sort of likes to be held. When we pick her up to transport her onto the boat, she constantly makes cute grunting noises while stretching out awkwardly. As soon as we set her down, though, the tail starts wagging and she's off exploring!

Big Spot - I know, our names are so creative! When we first saw all 6 puppies, we chose to distinguish them by their markings, and the names stuck. Big Spot has a wiry coat like his mama. You may also notice that black line on her back leg... she got a little too close to some oil on the boat! She took a while to trust us, but once she decided we were alright there was no going back!

Skinny Brown, aka Mario - This cute little girl was the very last one to trust us, and is always the hardest to catch for the puppies' field trips to the boat. When avoiding us, she runs into the nearest pipe, hence her name - Mario (as in Mario and Luigi!). Her first name was Skinny Brown, although for this picture she had just finished a big meal of tuna and was quite rotund! She's very sweet, even if she is still a bit shy of us!

Needless to say, I often find excuses to walk past the puppies' pipes to play with them. They are incredibly cute little guys!

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Galle Puppy Saga - Vol. 2: Making Progress

Of the six puppies, 3 have been completely converted. Two of the white ones and the black one run to greet us every time we walk by their pipes. The mama dog, featured in this picture, is still a little leery about us. However, she's warming up due to the food bribes that we supply her with, including crackers and the squid chunk leftovers from Matt's fried rice. The other three puppies are still shy, but if we're quick we can grab them. Lately we've enjoyed having these tiny puppies as guests on our boat, and have discovered that they absolutely LOVE tuna, and will make a variety of fun noises when presented with a bowlful.

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Galle Puppy Saga - Vol. 1: Discovery

Many of my recent posts have featured cats. I've decided to change tack and focus on another adorable subject: puppies. Here in Galle Harbor there are many, many stray dogs. Some are friendly and some are skittish. All of them bark at us as we walk back to the boat at night, guarding the random buildings in the harbor. At the far end of the harbor, which is closest to the dock where the WTP is tied up, there's a pile of long metal pipes. Puppies live in these pipes.

We noticed them our first day here, and there are six of them. They were all very scared of us and ran back into the pipes. However, we managed to snag the white and brown spotted one in the picture, and I held him for a while. I would estimate their age to be 8-10 weeks. They are still very young, and I think they can get used to interacting with people. I imagine that with a little patience and positive attention, they will soon be running up to us, excitedly wagging their tails.

I give it one week.

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Siamese Cats Everywhere?

Stray dogs and cats are prolific in every country we visit. And if they're friendly, I will pet them. Most times, animals are unused to people actually wanting to approach them, and they respond accordingly. They usually act a little afraid first, and are hesitant to get too close to me. I usually squat down and hold a hand out for sniff-inspection. It is at this point that a dog or cat will either shyly stick around (prospects of petting good) or run away at full speed (prospects for petting zero). When it becomes clear that I mean them no harm and and might actually be nice, their demeanor changes.

The dog or cat in question will slowly come and smell my hand for a bit. Once I pass the sniff test, a total change takes place. What was a hesitant, jumpy dog or cat turns into an exuberant, wiggling, purring or tail-wagging machine. It always makes me happy to see this change take place, and to give these oft-ignored animals some positive attention.

Here in Thailand, I was especially looking forward to seeing the local cat population. Thailand was once known as Siam, and this is where the Siamese cat breed originates from. There should be Siamese cats everywhere, right? Well, half of that statement turned out to be true. There are cats everywhere, but I only saw one that had the typical Siamese markings (the centerpiece of my Thai cat collage).

The majority of stray animals, cats and dogs, looked to be very well cared for. They were fat, friendly towards people, and dogs and cats alike even had collars. So, even though there weren't the herds of graceful Siamese cats I was hoping for, I still obliged as many of the local cat (and dog) population as I could by petting them, and taking their picture.

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The Story of Almost Kitten

This is Kitten. She was never given another name, because that would have been even more dangerous than letting her live on our boat for the duration of our stay on Pangkor. She was often referred to simply as 'the kitten,' not that there would have been any real confusion among us during that week.

That week at Marina Island was quite productive. The boat was hauled out, the rudder shoe fixed, the bottom scrubbed, two coats of bottom paint and a new layer on the bootstripe applied, a new prop fitted - even the gold pinstripe received a touch-up. One evening after a days work, a few of us decided to go out to dinner. Matt, Martin from Anima III, Adam, and myself walked almost a mile across a field, through an empty group of apartments, crossed a relatively busy traffic circle, over the bridge connecting Marina Island to the mainland, and down a street to get to our favorite char kway teow cart. Sadly, the noodle cart was closed so we decided to eat at Kopitiam instead, which was on the way back to the boats.

While heading back up the street toward the bridge, I spotted a black cat near the road. Of course I stopped to see if it was friendly; half the cats and dogs were, but half would run away if approached. This one was friendly, and I happily stopped to pet her as the other three continued to walk. She was eerily similar to my cat, Isis, with her sleek black coat and raspy meow. As I started walking to catch up to the others, I was slightly surprised to find that the cat was following me. I kept going, sure that she would turn around after a little further. Halfway across the bridge she was still following, often running to catch up to Matt and I only to stop directly in front of us, as if to get our attention. Now, I'll admit that I did walk slower than normal, and Matt and I would pet her when she caught up to us, so maybe we encouraged her a bit... but she was still very determined on her own to keep pace with us.

We got to the traffic circle and I finally capitulated - I carried her across. I figured she would follow us one way or another, so why not help her cross this dangerous roadway? Martin and Adam were already sitting down outside when Matt and I arrived, and Martin's face lit up when he saw that the kitten was with us. I guessed that she was about 7 or 8 months old, still young enough to be called a kitten. She hung around the table and on our laps as we ate, and Martin not-so-secretly snuck her pieces from his plate. When we finished dinner and starting walking back to the boat, she again ran to keep up to us.

Once back at the boats, we decided to see how she would do on Martin's boat. Since the boats were up on jackstands, we had to climb ladders to get onto them. Kitten purred while being carried up, and then confidently explored Martin's boat. After her brief tour, Martin laid out refreshments in the form of cold milk in a dish, and after sampling this she jumped up on a cushion and laid down, purring. It was like she had lived on a boat her whole life. I made a litter box out of a shallow plastic container that Martin donated and sand from a nearby construction site, and she used this litter box without fail the entire time she was on either of our boats!

It had gotten pretty late, and we left Anima III to go to bed. We climbed down Martin's ladder and up ours, watching to see if Kitten would look over the edge after us. She didn't, but she did get curious when she saw us up on our boat. Adam and I were on the WTP, and Martin was still on Anima III with Kitten. Staving off sleep for a little longer, we decided to fashion a bridge, or a catwalk (ha ha..), to see if she would cross to our boat. Martin held one end of a long piece of canvas and we caught the other end, holding it taught over the twelve foot drop to the ground. With only a little hesitation, Kitten walked across it fearlessly! She explored our boat for a bit and then we climbed down with her and back up to return her to Martin's boat for the night.

The next morning, Adam was very confused when he woke up to find Kitten on our boat again. Did Martin carry her across sometime in the night, or very early in the morning? He asked, and Martin said he thought Kitten had left sometime in the night. This would be difficult considering that she would have to climb down his ladder in order to leave... but that's EXACTLY what she did! And not only did she climb down Martin's ladder, she knew where we were and climbed UP our ladder to get to us on our boat! Incredible!

Needless to say, Kitten hung around our boats while we worked on them, and made herself quite at home on both of them. She spent most of her days sleeping on someone's bunk, on top of the sail bags, or sprawled out on the floor. When we left, we would just lock her up down below with food, water, and the improvised litter box. On one trip the the grocery store, I bought a small bag of cat food because the tuna didn't last long once it was out of the can. If we left for a day, she hung out with Martin. When Martin left to pick up crew in Kuala Lumpur, she stayed with us.

When it was time for the WTP to go back in the water and test the new prop, Kitten came with. She didn't seem to mind the engine being on, or even the motion of the boat on the water. She was a bit scared when we turned the blower on (a fan to keep the engine compartment cool) but she soon got over that. She walked around a bit, and then, apparently bored by the whole mess of sailing, went to sleep under the dinghy. We stayed on the dock right across from Martin that night, and Kitten went back and forth between our boats, equally comfortable on each. I think she liked Martin's boat because it had more places in the shade to sleep. And he spoiled her by giving her cold milk!

The day before we were scheduled to leave, we all talked about the pros and cons of having a cat on board. Yes, we almost decided to keep her. It was really close. But, we weren't sure about the rules involved with bringing a cat into the countries remaining on our route, and it was up in the air who would keep her upon our return. I have two cats already (Isis and Dart!) and I'm very happy with the dynamic that they and my dog (Baron!) have; I wasn't planning on bringing another cat into the mix. Another factor that weighed heavily on my mind was the possibility of rough weather and the dangers they posed to a small creature in a big ocean. It would be all too easy for her to wash overboard during a storm, unless she was locked down below. Things sometimes get hectic though, and it would be better for her to stay in Pangkor, where she'd lived her whole life, than to be faced with the chance of washing overboard.

With these thoughts in mind, crews from both Anima III and the WTP carried her back to where we found her - through the field, past the apartments and the traffic circle, and over the bridge. We set her down and walked to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner. When we exited the restaurant and started over the bridge to go back to the boats, we were split into two groups- Martin and everyone else. The big group walked around the corner toward the bridge and spotted a familiar black shape laying on a chair. We kept walking, looking back frequently to see if she followed. She didn't... until Martin rounded the corner behind us and passed her. Then she leapt off her chair and sprinted after him. He crossed the street to lose her, and she crossed it after him. He crossed it back and picked up his pace to lose her, and she followed him and ran even faster. It seemed that she really didn't want to stay behind!

She followed us the whole way back to our boat, this time on a different dock entirely than Martin's. Resigned (and not a little happy) I went off to fetch new sand for her little box, and Adam went to open hatches on the boat. He turned his back on her for 10 seconds and when he turned back she was gone! We thought she might be confused on the new dock so we set off to look for her, hoping she hadn't met the dog that hung around the marina. Then, lo and behold, we see Martin walking toward us holding a small black something. "I think you lost something" was all he said as he handed her over. Kitten had found her way to Martin's boat, probably looking for her litter box (or cold milk!).

Our plans changed, as they do, and we ended up staying in Pangkor for a couple more days. Kitten hung out on our boat during that time, and I really liked having her (I think we all did, Martin included). She was always sleeping somewhere cute, or willing to be held and purr contentedly. We all waffled back and forth on whether or not to keep her (it seemed to be definitely yes or definitely no depending on what hour of what day it was), but the original decision held. In the hour before we left, I got a car ride back to where we found her. I set her down in the grass and then got back in the car, and sadly headed back to the boat so we could shove off. It was terribly hard to leave her like that, but I know she'll be fine - she has been so far in her life on Pangkor.

Plus, there's still a chance she'll find her way back to the marina a third time, and spend the rest of her life sleeping on and getting spoiled by every boat that comes in.

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