Pets

Last night, I dreamt that my cat, Fagan, died. He had gotten some kind of wound on his neck, and by the time I got him to the KSPCA (Kenyan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) on Langata Road here in Karen, he was already cold and stiff. There was nothing to be done for him. I very calmly excused myself, and blogged that I was “deep in sorrow”.

Of course, when I woke up, I knew instantly that it had only been a dream. Fagan is much bigger than the cat in the dream, and he is nowhere near the KSPCA. Why my subconscious felt the need to blog about it I’ll never know.

During breakfast this morning, Fr. John asked if I had any dreams during my sleep. My family will tell you that I always have extremely vivid dreams, and I am always eagerly relating them. So I launched into this story about my poor beloved Fagan’s untimely end. By the time I finished, Fr. John was staring at me with the now-familiar look of absolute confusion. “Jo, I do not want to be rude, but that just makes no sense to me. Why do you have a pet cat?”

Ah, yes. Pets, at least the way we Americans think of them, do not exist in East African culture. Yesterday, when Fr. John was showing me where the guard dogs live, I told him about my own dogs, two German Short-Haired Pointers called Pip and Magwitch. When I told him that they live in the house, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He told me that sometimes, the white people who live in the area will allow their dogs to ride in the car with them, the thought of which had him shaking his head in disbelief. When showing me the rabbit hutches, he grabbed one by the ear and held it out for me to inspect. I quickly cradled its hind legs with one hand, while gently petting his middle with the other. Fr. John had never seen someone handle a rabbit with such care! When he pointed out the KSPCA from the Matatu, he was quick to say that *this* was not started by Africans.

I can understand his incredulity at our adulation of animals. How can people concern themselves with the welfare of animals when the welfare of humans is at risk all around them? The animals here have their purposes: protection, pest-control, food, income.

But all the same, I am glad that my Fagan is safe and sound back home.

(… he is, right? This wasn’t a malaria-medicine-induced premonition, was it? WAS IT?!?)