dogspeak

I don't know if I've said anything about all of the stray dogs here, but it's a major problem in Romania. This afternoon we went to lunch at the fabulous Flora (usually it's not so fabulous but lunch today was good: cream of chicken soup, cabbage salad, buttered boiled potatoes and a chicken leg), and afterwards, while Steve was getting some therapy I saw this small gaggle of puppies playing and tripping over each other on the dry lawn in front of the hotel. Okay, I know it's technically a litter of puppies but gaggle sounds cuter and they were SO CUTE! And so stray. Their mom, who was extremely emaciated, had (I imagine) dug a little home out under a concrete walkway that nobody uses; so in and out of this hole they piled. They were sweet and scruffy and it was so hard to not pick them up and cuddle them... sad.

It's obvious almost as soon as you get her that there's a problem. There are dogs in the streets and parks, dogs waiting at stoplights (for real), dogs at all of the apartment blocks and puppies at the hotel. I couldn't find an official statistic as to what Romania's stray population is, but an animal rights group did a case study in a small town (Campina - not sure where that is), and based on the number of dogs in relation to the human population of the city, they estimated that there are no more than 1.5 million strays in the entire country. Bucharest's dog population is estimated at anywhere between 100,000 and 150,000; a guess for Constanta might be around 15,000 based on population. Apparently this is one of the many problems born out of Communist rule here; when Ceausescu had private homes demolished and cold concrete apartment monsters (blocks) put up in their place, people had no place or space for their dogs, and they were left out in the streets. Cities and Municipalities have dealt with the problem in different ways; before animal rights came into the picture dogs were rounded up and killed (though illegal, some say it still happens), and the neuter-and-return approach is another more effective, though costly practice. It seems as though the policy that's being exercised now is big-fat-nothing. Pounds and animal shelters are full beyond capacity and the population is increasing... like these poor puppies! The World Health Organization asserts that the only way to control and solve the problem is to spay/neuter and return; humane and effective. However, this has to happen on a national scale, and citizens have to be responsible for their own non-spayed or neutered dogs and not let them wander and get up to no good. Anyways, the sight of these poor little gaffer pups and their overworked, overtired maman was a cute one, but also a bit sad. Only half of the little ones will make it past five years of age, and the life can't be all that good. Or good at all. Sad. I looked up dog import rules for Canada when we got home, and imagined taking one of the little guys straight to the vet and then adopting him. Okay... enough.

So! We (me, Tammy and Jim) went to Bucharest yesterday to pick up Tammy's best friend Julie up from the airport, and drop Jim off to do some therapist-doctor rehab program business. I feel like I should give some background on who all of these people are... but another time. Anyways, the drive was much more interesting than the one I made last week when I arrived; I was awake and in the front seat. The landscape between the coast and the capital city is flat, and dotted with small towns and peculiarities. There were people on carts being pulled by ragged horses, several donkeys, people in the middle of fields with lone or multiple cows, donkeys or sheep, stray dogs, old women with their head scarves and puckered faces, and decaying towns, worn heavy with time and dust. One thing not at all peculiar? Crazy insane ridiculous drivers. Wow. I'm not really talking about speed, just a total neglect of rules, respect, and a will to stay alive. On our way home Jim kept saying, "I don't want to die in Romania, I don't want to die in Romania," and well sheesh, neither do we. Tammy did an excellent job at the wheel and we got home safely. We didn't do too much in old Bucaresti, but did kill quite a bit of time at a huge, incredible mall. There was some fabulous shopping to be had, but the highlight of our time there was Quiznos and Starbucks; a little taste of home. Yum.

I had my first practice with the team tonight and yes, I played front row the entire time. It wasn't so bad, just a bit comical; during warm-up the coach told me that if the running was too much (at least this is what I understood from his convoluted semi-okay English) then I could take a break and stop. No, the five minutes of running was just fine, as were the 90 minutes of jumping that followed. Whatever. At least I've earned my dinner; as soon as Steve gets home we're meeting up with Tammy and Jules for a dinner out on the townskee. Yay, food!!