Rabies? No thanks.

So I got bit by a dog yesterday.

First, let me drop a little knowledge on you. Dogs lounging around on streets are a way of life in Chiang Mai. This isn't a country where pet care includes a lot of leash walking and pampered indoor beds. Most people that own a dog will put food out for it once or twice a day, but the majority of a dog's time will be spent roaming streets and lounging around where it sees fit. I spend an hour on my bike every day going to school and back, and I see dozens of dogs outside in that hour. 40, 50 maybe? 60? I really have no idea, I honestly don't even notice them anymore, they are so prevalent. And even with my ever increasing knowledge of Thai society, I could not even begin to guess how many of those have owners in the truest sense, how many maybe have someone that feeds them semi regularly, and how many are truly wild. I would say....35% have some sort of owner, the rest are wild? But wild only in the sense that they have no regular place to sleep. (I feel like I should watch Lady and the Tramp for some research into what exactly constitutes a 'wild dog'.) They don't range in packs, terrorizing the city or anything. They are just forced the fend for themselves, find their own food, and try not to get hit by a car or motorbike. And this country is full of people on two wheel vehicles, so even on my pink bicycle, I hardly merit a second glance. In the year I have been riding my bike, I have had maybe a dozen instances where a dog saw me ride by, and started to run along side me while barking. But 11 or 12 instances in a year is pretty good, and I have never had one so much as take a chomp at me. Until yesterday.

I was biking home from work, right around the corner from my place, almost home, and I see a mangy looking mutt laying down on the side of the road. He looked pretty beat down and mean, even before I saw he was wearing a muzzle. And as I said above, I really don't even notice dogs anymore. So by the time I realized he was chasing after me and that maybe I should be a little more worried considering the muzzle, he was right next to me. With nary a bark or growl, he managed to open his jaws enough to jab a single canine (pun/irony fully intended/realized) into my left ankle as I was pedaling past him. All the while while wearing an, admittedly rather ineffective, muzzle. With the bite, he stopped chasing me and melted back to his vantage point overlooking the road, waiting for his next victim.

The bite hurt pretty bad. He had bitten me through my sock and/or pant, and as I was almost home, I figured I could wait to see if he had managed to break the skin. But I had a pretty good idea. So I was hardly surprised when I got home and pulled off my sock to find one little wound and a little blood dripping down my foot. My first thought was almost annoyance. Knowing the status of most dogs in this country, and knowing the Thai's in the area I was biking through weren't likely to be ones that spoke much English (and my Thai knowledge does not include the word 'rabies'), I realized heading back there to see if I could A) find the owners and B) find out if the dog had been vaccinated wasn't really an option. (And quite frankly, I am not going anywhere near that dog again. I was a little scared biking to work this morning passing all those dogs. None of whom even looked at me. Though I was convinced they could smell my fear.) The fact that the dog had a muzzle on meant that not only had he probably done this before, but that he most likely had owners or someone who cared enough to muzzle him and not just put him down after the last incident. Still, not really a factor in the vaccination status either way. So, after much googling into the effects of untreated rabies (ie, DEATH), I resignedly made plans to go to the doctor.

Went to work today, talked to Mai, learned the word for 'rabies test' (pitsooknakbaa dtrooah, spelled phonetically), covered my last class, and left school after lunch. Came home to change real fast, ended up sitting around for 2 hours, because honestly, who really wants to go to the doctors? Forced myself to google 'rabies' some more (did you know that in the end stages it warps your brain so you are actually afraid of water? crazy), realized that dying by rabies because I was too lazy to go to the doctor would have to rank in the top 5 most idiotic ways to die of all time, and finally got down to it.

And it was easy as pie. I had been to the hospital before for work, so I had my registration card and insurance and everything. Made it known what I needed, sent me to the ER, took my vitals, met with a doctor who spoke excellent English, and got the first of what will end up being 5 shots over the next month. Insurance even covered the first visit, though the next four will end up costing me about $100. And really, I'm just annoyed. It's definitely the wrong attitude to have, but I have literally like the smallest bite possible that still broke the skin. It happened yesterday, the doctor took one look at it and didn't even bother to clean it out. And this one little bite is costing me all this time and money. And rabies? What is this, the 1820's? The Office did a whole episode mocking the idea that people get rabies. (PS, so hard not to quote that episode this whole post. 'Myth: 3 Americans every year die from rabies. Fact: 4 Americans die every year from rabies.') Oh well, I'm not complaining. Just a silly occurrence in this zig zagging path we call life. I dated a girl used to say, 'If this is the worst thing that happens to you all day, you are probably doing pretty good.' And it makes a lot of sense. If a minor dog bite/mild rabies scare is the worse injury/most grievous bodily harm/closest I've come to death in my 14 months here, I guess I'm doing pretty well.

But seriously, rabies?

TPWWLT - Kanye West and Chris Martin - 'Homecoming'

PS. 'A woman shouldn't have to be hit by a car to learn that she may have rabies. But that is where we are in America. And that does not sit right with me. And that is why I'm hosting a fun run race for the cure for rabies. To raise awareness of the fact that there is a cure for rabies. A disease that has largely been eradicated in the U.S. But not very many people know that.'