Stray

A little dog with a serious health problem has shown up at the villa for the last two days, once discovered lying beside my motorbike, and then on the step outside the front entry. This dog has some kind of infection or ulceration or tumor or all of the above involving her female organ, grossly swollen and very visible. Poor little dog. There's really nothing much to do about this in Bali. There is no one I know of to call, no rescue agency to inform. 

But what mystifies me is how it occurs to these dogs to show up wherever I happen to live. It is always the same--if there is an injured or sick or ownerless dog within the radius of the neighborhood, it is sure to show up at my door, or as close as possible to my door. Why? Is there a sort of neon sign, visible only to the eyes of a dog, that reads in flashing red "All dogs welcome here"? 

Moreover, the other people in the villa appear to automatically conclude that the dog has something to do with me, or I with the dog. "Pa Will, there's a dog by your motorbike. Pa Will, that dog is outside the door again." So what? I am all dogs' keeper?

Perhaps this is all Takut's fault. Perhaps he has been going around the neighborhood spreading the word that my place is a free soup kitchen, a free crash pad. I wouldn't put it past him--although, on the other hand, it doesn't seem very likely that he would risk having to share any of his own food.