Here in Ghana, dogs and cats aren’t really considered pets.  Many of them just wander the streets, along with chickens and goats.  It’s a very odd scene.  The breeds here are very different from back home and are quite small.  I’m not sure if it’s from malnutrition or just breeding (probably a combination of both).

Meet Aya, our ferocious guard dog.

We are staying at the Aya Centre and have a guard dog named Aya.  He’s a pretty small scruffy thing with brindle coloring.  He’s supposed to be ferocious because he’s a guard dog but he’s very sweet and kinda goofy.   Ghanaians lock their dogs up during the day and then let them out at night.  Apparently, it’s in an attempt to desensitize them to human contact.  I don’t think this has really worked for Aya.  Of course, American students don’t like that the dog is locked up during the day in small cage without food or water in the hot Ghanaian sun.  We’ve taken it upon ourselves to perform mini-rescue missions and have attempted to offer Aya snacks and water.  He hasn’t caught on to the whole “pouring the water in through the bars” trick but we’re confident he will catch on eventually.  I have some pretty adorable pictures with him.  He’s very hyper when he finally gets let out of his cage and tends to go a little crazy when you try to walk back in the house.  I’ve enjoyed a few evenings out on the front porch with my book, a bottle of water, and Aya in my lap.  Our theory is that if Aya loves us, he’s more likely to defend our house.

 Mara and I entertaining Aya.  

On our way back from the Cape Coast and Elmina trip, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch.  It was right on the beach and this giant dog was running around (when I say giant, I mean big even for American standards).  All of us are a little wary of the dogs and cats here, Ghana has some type of animal vaccination program but I don’t feel like getting a series of rabies shots so I’ve been very careful (Mom, be proud.  I’m no longer just running up to random animals).  He very casually moseyed his way up to us and then suddenly we were petting him.  He’s obviously someone’s “pet” because he was well-fed and relatively clean (Ghana standards).   He was very loving and super sweet.  He and I shared a special moment.

 

It was love.