It is often said that it is easy for one to laugh at a mentally deranged man who is dancing in the market place so long as the mental man is not his relation! True or false? That is the reason until COVID hits any member of one’s family, he or she would still be taking it for granted.

The thing dey o, yoo!

Family planning is good o. In listening to the advice of the National Population Council not to born plenty pikins a few years back, I bought ten pieces of eyi for my wife and I to use against any ‘not-ready-for’ baby. I hate to use the term ‘unwanted babies’ bcos they turn out to become some of the best! The following day, she travelled for 8 days and at the time of her departure, we were left with still only 10 pieces of the family planning ‘these things’.

When she returned it has reduced to 3. Come and see confrontation! Of course, I blamed it on Michael, that my friend who always feels shy to get to the pharmacy to buy his own. Meanwhile, Michael and his wife are struggling to have children so my wife wondered why Michael would want to do family planning when…hmmm. I should have told her the rats in the bedroom came for them as balloons like by now I am a free man! We are still fighting. God forgive me la!

It’s January 47th, 2021 so relax as far as salaries are concerned. When my salary is paid, I am going to do father Christmas again – sharing it among ‘unnecessary’ girls who are on my payroll.

What is it again? Haven’t you ever killed a crab or even mosquito or chicken? Ah ah ah!

This small kill, I killed too you have a problem with it. Why are you like that?
Please check your pockets now if your car keys are there. Have you finished? If not please go home and sleep.

In fact you lose nothing if you don’t continue reading the upcoming good for nothing black black dots.

It is with no doubt that dogs are some of man’s closest domestic friends and it is not uncommon to hear about stories being told about people especially in the Western World who have willed their properties to dogs because of the love they have for them as much as they do for humans!

In 2011, I ‘fell in love’ with a puppy that belonged to a neighbour. This puppy became an instant friend and I nurtured it so well and had the consent of the owner to name it ‘Cadafi’. ‘Cadafi’ because the name sounded like the name of a former African Leader. Cadafi was brought in just around the same time that the heat was on him (that African Leader) to step down in an uprising which eventually led to his exit from this earth.

Cadafi grew up into a fine hybrid of local and an Alsatian dog, very wild but reserved. Cadafi was always seen with me as I fed and bathed it!
At this point, I know you are asking “and so what”. That one is your problem. Na me send you? Hahaaaa.

It was not that big but very strong to the extent that at some point the real owner was neither happy nor sad about the name given it as it bore semblance with the style of the former African Leader. It feared no one but would not also trouble you if you didn’t ‘bring yourself’ re-echoing the fact that the primary responsibility of a normal dog is to bite when provoked or to ‘tame’ or scare away a trespasser or a thief.

Cadafi was the first to welcome me back from work upon hearing the sound of my car engine and virtually took over the driver’s seat when I got down from the car!.

Cadafi was a calm dog but feared by other dogs in the vicinity and occasionally accepted food from its original owner. It was my best ‘friend’ until December when I had just returned from a Christmas visit to a friend.

Cadafi upon seeing my car did not bother to get closer as usual. ‘Is Cadafi hungry or not well or probably had not seen me?’ I asked myself. I walked past Cadafi expecting the usual ‘embrace’ but no – it was not even looking my direction!

I entered my room, changed into boxer shorts and came out to hang my sweat-soaked singlet on the drying line. Cadafi was just lying down without any sign of sickness or hunger; quite unusual of my Cadafi.

Near mayhem reared its ugly head as soon as I called out ‘hey Cadafi’ and hell broke loose. My pet pounced on me in a morbid attempt to bite and chew me up. I could see its teeth exposed in an attacking mode. Immediately I realized there was something wrong with my pet.

Instant fear gripped me and I started screaming on top of my voice and a neighbor attempted intervening with a club but Cadafi was determined to ‘finish’ me. I had to run round my house in boxer shorts in the full glare of people around exposing some ‘confidential items’.

I scratched my back against some concrete blocks in the process but I survived the ‘Cadafi’ attack after it failed in its attempt to unleash mayhem on me. I was so terrified I could hardly enter my room but when I eventually did, while panting I picked up a big stone and threw it at my now enemy Cadafi to move further away; it did not budge but rather attempted swallowing the stone! It was then I had concluded that my ‘friend’ might probably have been infected by the deadly rabies. But how come? I asked myself.

After narrating my ordeal to the original owner, he, obviously with some experience with dogs, explained that the likelihood of it having fought with and sustained scratches or even mating with an infected animal could possibly be the cause.

My co-tenant was the next victim. While hanging his washed clothes on the dying line, Cadafi went to pull down the pair of trousers he was wearing and bit his buttocks in the process. He immediately had to rush for some form of an initial injection at a nearby clinic but sadly it was ‘mission impossible’ to get an anti-rabies injection.

We did not waste time but to get the ‘boys’ who found it as a delicacy to catch and do justice to it to end ‘its era’. Hard as they tried, they could not get it to kill it because it became wilder. After the third day or so Cadafi got missing and could not be found till date. ‘Assuming these ‘boys’ had been able to get it for a meal, was its delicacy even going to be safe for consumption by humans in the first place?’ I silently asked myself.

The above ‘unnecessary’ story is only a curtain raiser to recent developments as far as dog bites are concerned. I once lost a hen when a neighbour’s dog came to attack and munch it and its chicks right before my very eyes.

Barely a week later, it was in the news that some two kids were attacked and killed by dogs in two separate incidents under some bizarre circumstances in some parts of the country. In each of these cases, the dog belonged to someone else and not the parents or guardians of the victims.

In the case of one of the victims, his parents and siblings had had to be quarantined and treated to avert the possibility of spreading a possible rabies infection. I don’t think anyone wants to die this way or lose a loved one the way they happened.

As mentioned before I attended the funeral of a 14-year old BECE candidate who died after about 3 weeks following a dog bite possibly with rabies. After the bite, the poor family became helpless and did not take further action with the hope that he would be fine by God’s Grace; he died 3 weeks later.

I was told the anti-rabies vaccines can mainly be accessed at the Adabraka Polyclinic whereas Kokrobite, Ada, Kpone, Tema, Pokuase are all part of the Region but are not less privileged in terms of proximity in the events of emergency provided the vaccines are available.

Many dog owners do not see the need to vaccinate their dogs and as they mildly put it ‘our dogs are very calm and would attack and bite only when they are provoked’ – this is where massive education needs to be intensified because of the huge level of ignorance.

You naa, you have refused to wear your face mask properly and won’t keep quiet too. So so talking talking talking like me. Rabies is also in the system o and until you vaccinate your dogs, please don’t call me again.