The adventures of Kua have continued and show no signs of slowing down. I went to Kukurantumi (the new training site) last Saturday for the trainer vs. trainee football match. I successfully left the house without rousing Kua but as I biked down the road, I realized that I had forgotten my cleats and would have to go back. I got back and was greeted by a very excited Kua. I asked Paul to hold her back while I biked away but as I looked back, I saw that the wily dog had given him the slip and was in hot pursuit. Since I was on a nice bicycle and was going 5K on a mostly downhill road, I decided I simply outrun the dog and she'd have to turn back. I sped my way down the road and after a few minutes, I saw no signs of her behind me. I arrived at the junction and dropped my bike at a friends house before walking the last 50 meters to the roadside. When I got to the road, I was met by a limping, out of breath Kua. I was shocked!! I was moving at a fairly fast pace and Kua is not only short legged but is also pregnant. That's right, despite the debacle that was my trip to Kumasi for a spaying, Kua is pregnant.
A few months ago, I was confused as to why so many male dogs were lingering around the house. I've had female dogs in the past but I've obviously never lived among so many stray dogs. I thought that maybe the spaying would keep Kua from conceiving but wouldn't keep male dogs from chasing after her. Each time I'd return from time away from site, I'd find at least one dog following Kua everywhere she went. I chased and shooed them away and after some time I figured that the dogs had gotten tired of being chased. Wrong again! The deed had been done. A few weeks ago, Kua's milk glands started growing noticeably and it seems that she's now only a month or so away from delivery. I was initially annoyed but now realize that I'll have 2 months with puppies running around my house. I spoke about the prospect of puppies with Stephen and he let me know that one of the cats is also pregnant. The Bormase family continues to grow.
And I digress. Rather than biking 5k uphill with Kua, I decided to travel with her to the football match. She was tired enough to be less of a hassle but as you can imagine, a white man carrying a dog in his arms (I don't let her walk around on unknown busy streets) gets some funny looks.
This years training group couldn't hold a candle to ours and the match was a lopsided 7-3. The highlight was having a chief play goalkeeper for our team. Nana, the nephew of the Ashanti King and the chief of Anamasi, fearlessly defended the net for the last 15 minutes of our match. Only a penalty kick got past him.
Kua laid lazily on the sideline and limped behind me after the match. After a thorough inspection, I saw that she had worn holes into the padding of her paws. She was so anxious to follow me on my bicycle that she wore holes in her paws.
The trip home was interesting. Kua and I arrived at the junction in the middle of the day (it's HOT this time of year) and she limped slowly behind me. Each time we found the slightest bit of shade, I would stop and allow her to burrow in the cool soil and pant away for a few minutes. The trip took over an hour but was nice. I can't overwork the pregnant Kua.
P.S. Between my time in Kumasi and my return to Bormase, I developed a series of blisters on my left elbow. The first day, I had a curling red line with one blister. On the second day, I had no fewer than five blisters along the line. I thought that it may be a worm so I ate pawpaw seeds (local de-wormer) and also took a proper de-wormer but saw no signs of improvement. I've since applied a warm compress and the blisters have gone away. I'll send pictures to the medical office to be sure it's nothing that will come pack but it sure was ugly!!
Love to all.
Ira
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