Suspicious

Since returning from Tactic, there has been an alarming trend of dogs dying in the street outside of my house. Within a week, I have seen three. One was actually in the process of dying, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. The other two were fly infested and bloated lying on the side of the road. What I find surprising is not that the dogs are dying, but that the bodies are being hauled away so quickly (over the course of about three weeks, I watched the decomposition of a dog carcass left on the road between my town and the training center).

The deaths do raise some questions, however, and I have a suspicion that my town is undergoing the apparently common Guatemalan practice of controlling the chucho population by setting out diseased meat. I am sure every animal lover is cringing at the thought of such a cruel procedure, but after putting up with mangy, nasty street dogs for the past three months, I honestly think it is a great idea. As long as they keep disposing of the carcasses in a timely manner, I am all for it.