island dog

Stray thoughts on the island dog

From a Nukualofa correspondent To anyone coming from the United Kingdom, the Tongan dog is a talking point equalled only by the English weather in terms of variety and be haviour. His reputation had already featured in the briefing exercise I had attended before departure, so that it was no surprise to me when I arrived at the Beach House, Nukualofa to savour not only the nocturnal excur sions, but the territorial disputes which took place from time to time over and under the garden fence.

Since those early days, I have had time to take stock—not only from my own impressions, but from others perhaps less disposed to regard the dog as a noble creature and ‘man’s best friend’. One considered verdict which I recall clearly, if only because of the unemotional way in which it was made, was that the common spectacle of underfed and diseased dogs was a deliberate ploy on the part of the Tongan owner. This, it was said offered in return, a survival pattern which protected at all costs, not only the meagre food diet which was the dog’s lot, but the goods and chattels of the owner.

Certainly, by comparison with the magnificent physique of most horses and foals, and the careless abandon with which the pig and chickens are reared on a free-range diet, the Tongan dog fares badly.

The agricultural expert will quickly explain that this is all due to a failure to understand the basic con cepts of animal husbandry. The dog is a carnivore while the others are all herbiferous eating creatures and so long as there is a shortage of pro tein in the form of meat for Tongans, the dog can hope for scant considera tion.

Those who advocate birth control as a weapon against poverty and hunger in the human situation, would no doubt sympathise with the idea that where meat is in short supply it is common sense to cull the Tongan dog until his numbers are consistent with the food available to keep those that survive in a healthy state.

It will be argued that the police do this business of killing with their shotguns readily and quickly. I have much sympathy for them in this often distasteful task, but the effect on the dog population is haphazard, for it takes no account of whether the

offending animal is male or female.

Modern techniques of rendering a bitch infertile are simple and straight forward, but Tongans themselves must first accept the wisdom of such action and then see to it that the facilities are not merely introduced, but used.

Another means of control which may well be alien to the traditional carefree mode of life in Tonga is a licensing system. This could give protection to the well-looked-after dog in the shape of a distinctive coloured plastic collar with identifica tion disc, and would permit the owner to possess a dog indefinitely for so long as the collar was wear able. This way, costs could be kept very low.

What would be the advantages of such a new deal? For a start, towns and villages would be able to go tc sleep at nights.

Probably too, the dog is second only to the mosquito as a carrier of the infectious tick and lice as well as disease to people in Tonga. A healthier dog population would lesser this risk.

Do not think however that I arr advocating the pampered pet life foi the Tongan dog. Nothing could hi more debasing than the sight of i European dog so reduced in size b} inter-breeding that the progeny wil conveniently domicile into a suburbar ‘semi’, or a Morris Mini. The Britisl are alleged to be a nation of do{ lovers, but I sometimes feel th< companionship of a dog at home i: sought, more out of a desperate sens* of loneliness than a genuine affectior for the domesticated animal.

This, I am positive, will neve happen in Tonga. A solution her* probably lies somewhere in betweer these two very different life styles but in saying this it might be as wel to conclude with a thought for th* views of Albert Schweitzer, th* doctor and Christian philosopher. H* believed in a reverence of all form of fife—the Tongan dog must hav* missed out somewhere.