Just a few thoughts-dogs and doorbells

The guard dog is chained.

Mieshka, the roaming dog

dogs having doggie fun

Pica the dog has moved on

Whitey and Mieshka off for a romp

Dogs and door bells.   Let the animal lover be warned.  This story has details you may find disturbing.  One of the first things I noticed upon living in Moldova is that every house had at least one dog and there was no shortage of dogs on the loose.  The one required dog is both a security system and a door bell.  In the village, every house is actually a compound with a fence and a gate in the front of it.  The standard role of the dog is to be chained close to the gate inside the yard so that it can come close enough to any intruder to scare him away.  This dog is also taught to bark at people who seem to stop at the gate of the house.  This way, the owner knows if someone is intending to come in.  In this way, the dog is like a door bell.  In the village, there are no door bells.

The life of the guard dog can vary from owner to owner.   The dog may or may not have a house to sleep in at night.  The dog is fed scraps from the table, maybe twice a day.  The dog has a bowl for water.   The dog will be chained up for an indeterminate amount of time.  In most cases this is for weeks or months at a time.  For the most part, this dog will not be petted, or washed, or played with, or walked.  If the dog is addressed by its owner, most likely it is to quiet down.

 

Most of the dogs I’ve seen in Moldova are small dogs, very few German shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labradors.  Many of the dogs remind me of Russell Terriers, or small spaniels or what we always referred to as a mutt.  It is an amazing sight to see a person walking a dog on a leash.  I’ve seen it a half dozen times in two years, mostly in the city.  I’ve see fancy poodles and dachshunds on the leash.  I’m even aware that they have an annual Dog Show of pedigreed dogs in Chisinau. 

If there is another dog besides the guard dog in a family, more than likely it is a dog that has the freedom to roam.  He can come and go from the house and run through the neighborhood having doggie fun.  This no doubt is the source of many extra dogs.  ( Dog bites by homeless dogs are actually a common public health problem.)  He will often accompany his owner into the field during farm work or stay with the animals as they are pasturing. 

Where I lived, we had three dogs and a cat.  We had Whitey, who was the door bell, guard dog.  We had Mieshka, who was the free roamer.  We had a second guard dog chained in the chicken yard.  I’m sorry to say that I never heard a name for him.  But every night about sun down he began is steady ‘hram, hram, hram.’  Our cat was Antoine or Antonio, depending on our linguistic mood.  He was welcome to come and go inside and outside the house.  The dogs were never allowed inside the house.

So that’s the life of a dog in Moldova.  Not a pretty picture to our American eyes.  But it’s the place dogs have in this society.  Inspite of that reality, they are true to their breed and think very highly of us.