DON'T READ THIS IF YOU ARE A DOG LOVER OR ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST...There has been a big Rabies outbreak here on the island. Apparently, it's the first time that this has ever happened in Bali. There are thousands of stray dogs here. They are everywhere, and most of them are barely living. They will eat anything just to survive for another day. Often, you can see the dogs fighting over scraps of trash. Many of the Balinese believe that the dogs are evil spirits because they will often eat the small bit of rice found in the offerings to the lower spirits.
So the Balinese don't like them that much, and the Javanese, Sasak, and Madurans hate them even more (because they are Muslims). If you hit a dog with your car, no problem, but if you hit a cat, you have to take it home and have a small ceremony for it.
All of that gives rise to the current situation. When the government announced the threat of Rabies, some of the local government leaders encouraged their people to kill dogs that were possibly infected. I think it got a little out of hand... On the front page of the paper was a picture of a dead dog and an Indonesian with a club in his hand. In the tourist areas, people would kill the dogs early in the morning so that the tourists wouldn't see. In our area, I think it became an excuse to get rid of the annoying dogs.
There are big posters all around warning people of the rabies situation. So I think it is maybe getting under control. Sanglah Hospital is right down the road from us, and it was mentioned in this article. Kenan was born right across the street from there.
Good thing we all have had our Rabies vaccine!
