Wild Dogs

I now have a fear of dogs. It started my first day in Antigua. My friend Christie offered to help me find my family’s house since she had been to Antigua before, and we got lost. A walk that should have taken 10 minutes took 2 hours. (I learned quickly that people here won’t tell you they don’t know where something is. They will point somewhere. Anywhere.) We combed the neighborhoods looking for no. 7 (The numbers do not go in order. You’ll find 3, 5, 9, 15 in a row. So frustrating!). In one place, there was a cul de sac, and I wanted to get closer so I could see the numbers on the houses. There was a dog in the middle of the circle, and something about it told me to stay away. I backed away and hoped no. 7 was not in that cul de sac. That was encounter #1.

Then yesterday, my new friend Jesse was walking me home because it was getting dark, and there was a wild dog in our path. He made me cross to the other side of the street to pass. I figured if a street-wise guy says to cross the street because of a wild dog, then they are something to stay away from. And they are everywhere! That was encounter #2.

So you can imagine my fear when a wild dog decided to walk me home today. As I turned the corner on my street, a dog came up and started walking right in front of me. It was like he was leading me. Strange. He was walking in the same direction as me, a few steps ahead. I stopped to let him get farther away, and he stopped too! I would take a few steps, and he would take a few steps. I would stop and he would stop. I tried to pass him, but he wouldn’t let me. He would move over in front of me, always a few steps ahead. He would stop and look back like you do when you want to make sure someone is following you. I was starting to get really freaked out just because it was bizarre. Then I thought about how animals can sense fear, so I was trying to not be afraid. A Guatemalan man started coming the other direction on the street, and he just laughed at the white girl and the wild dog doing this little dance. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Side to side. I was hoping maybe the man would help me out, but he just walked by. Ah! Finally, I guess the dog got bored and went on ahead. Phew.