Dogs of the Port

 

'Red Dog' is one of our favorites

Dogs here in Sri Lanka seem to have it better than in many of the non-First World countries we visited. Maybe it's the predominantly Buddhist culture, but people don't seem to mistreat them as readily.

Her tail goes a mile a minute when anticipating rubs

There have been a number of countries we have visited in the past where people regularly kick dogs, poison them, or eat them (as we as we know, we have been spared seeing dogs sold for or served as food). Even here in Sri Lanka though, dogs are shy around humans they don't know. It took a bit of time before the ones that hang around our boat would let us pet them and most of the dogs seem to run away if you pretend to pick up a non-existent rock (our go-to strategy if a dog shows aggression).

However, there are still a lot of stray dogs*, some in sorry shape. There are a few dozen dogs in the port here, loosely organized into 5 or 6 packs with each pack inhabiting an area that it considers "its own".  Of course, the boundaries are a bit fluid and the packs are always pushing the limits of their borders. This often leads to 10-12 dogs barking their heads off at each other for 10 minutes, oftentimes joined in by any other dogs within hearing range.  Not a big deal during the day, but when a dispute erupts just outside the boat at 2 a.m., one's love for dogs can be sorely tested.

Dinner time?

 

There is one exception to the dog boundary rule: the port has a singular male dog that occupies the alpha role over all the other port dogs. He is compact, muscular and has one dull eye, probably from previous battles.  He also swaggers around the port, from one end to the other, ignoring all the other dogs that will bark at him, but never confront him, while peeing on everything to remind all the other dogs who's boss. It may just be a coincidence, but the other significant feature of this dog is that he sports the most massive set of canine cajones we have ever seen. Not sure if that's what made him the alpha, but there you go.

We have seen several port workers who make an effort to feed the strays (mostly bread and rice), but there doesn't seem to be any official program to spay or neuter strays. Private organizations, such as The Dog Care Clinic (DCC), try to round up strays and 'fix' them, as well as trying to educate people, but it is an uphill battle. Some owners are against neutering their male guard dogs--maybe they believe un-neutered dogs will be better protectors. And even dogs that are "owned" by households typically have free run of the neighborhoods, so more puppies are born to eke out an existence and have more puppies down the line.

 

Pedro

This little guy pictured above (he could fit on your hand) started hanging out near our section of the port about a week ago and we thought he had a broken and poorly mended leg because of its weird shape. He also had a terrible skin condition and his fur was thin and patchy. We were able to feed him, get him into a box and hand him over to The Dog Care Clinic (Matt donned some heavy-duty gloves to avoid the nips and subsequent rabies shots that our friends endured when they tried to collect some other Port puppies earlier this year). The boys have given some money for his care to the DCC (thanks Nana for the generous donation). It turns out that he had a calcium deficiency rather than a broken leg, which the DCC is treating with supplements. They named him 'Pedro' after a previous puppy with a similar condition.

We feel much better now that Pedro is being well-cared for. If it works out, we hope to visit him to see how he's doing before we leave Sri Lanka. Despite the many extraordinary experiences living on a boat has given us, we still miss out on some things, like spending holidays with extended family (though this year we would probably be missing that anyway) and having a dog. It will be sad to leave our dog friends when it's time, but we're enjoying each other while it lasts.

Also, the occasional monitor lizard

*There are stray cats as well, but we don't see them as often and the ones in the port seem relatively healthy. Maybe they do alright with the rats and birds.

This is what passes for excitement these days...

 

Galle Port gets a lot of cement and cargo ships of various sizes, but we were surprised to see this ferry pull up a couple weeks ago. It is brand-new and was on its way from its birthplace in Vietnam to its final home in Trinidad and Tobago.

 

Matt made this delicious cherry pie for Thanksgiving

Our minimal activity (mostly walking a lot) since tying Perry to the wall here in Galle back in March has now ground to a virtual stand-still. Sri Lanka conquered the initial wave of Covid-19 by imposing strict lock down measures and seemed to have eliminated community transmission altogether. There were virtually no new cases in June, July and August and the total cases stood around 3000 (the few new cases were through citizens returning from overseas) and only 13 deaths. Then, at the end of October, there was a cluster of cases at a garment factory here. Now, a month later, Sri Lanka has had over 24,000 cases and 124 virus-related deaths. Although there are not many cases in Galle, everyone is being very vigilant.

Our area has not been subjected to any lock downs, but everyone wears a mask and stores require that you sign in, wash your hands, and have your temperature taken. We have chosen to go out only when we need to (mostly for groceries). We don't want to expose ourselves unnecessarily (if we tested positive, it's not clear whether we would be forced to go to an external quarantine facility and we don't want to find out) and we are trying to be respectful of the country's attempt to contain things.

But overall we can't complain (despite the fact that we now have two teens in close quarters <<muffled scream>>). Mark and Conrad made Halloween costumes and shared treats with the guards in the port. We made lasagna and cherry pie for Thanksgiving. We have been eating a lot of stuffing with our roasted chickens lately (bread is cheap here and we generate a lot of bread crumbs), so we decided on lasagna for a change. It turned out to be almost as much work as a traditional Thanksgiving meal since Matt had to make the ricotta and lasagna noodles from scratch. 

We exercise within the port, decide what to make for dinner, and feed/pet the stray dogs, to whom we have given creative names like 'Doggo' and 'Red dog'. Thank goodness for relatively inexpensive Internet and for Netflix (thank you Grandma and Grandpa!).

A couple days ago, there was a ten-foot crocodile in the harbor. By the time we saw it, it was too far away for a picture. That's yet another reason not to swim in the port (the scuzzy water and debris--including dead fish and animals--being the main reasons).

 

Look ma! We have been in Galle Port long enough to show up on the Google satellite images. I guess that's not unexpected when you've been in the same place for over eight months (having arrived with plans to stay for a week or two). The boats with X's through them are no longer here (one of them was a derelict boat that sank and the other two are cruising boats that have left).

The sailboat circled on the left is Nostromo. If you're bored, there's an interesting story behind how the boat came to be in Sri Lanka, involving the attempted rescue of a middle-eastern princess.

Many countries are slowly loosening their border restrictions (with many changing requirements). We plan to stay in Sri Lanka until early next year and then head to the Maldives. Chagos recently announced that it would reopen to cruisers, which is good news for us. If we are able to get a permit, we hope to go there after a stint in the Maldives.