Cujo

You might remember me posting about a little stray dog that lived here with us. There are stray dogs everywhere in Guatemala, usually with mangey fur and nasty pussy sores (sorry, that's supposed to say puss-y but I don't know how that's spelled; different image, I know). This dog is surprisingly healthy looking aside from some fleas and dirt. She found a way through the fence and started hanging out near the volunteer houses. One of the old volunteers felt bad for her and started taking care of her, and she's been here ever since. People call her Marie after the volunteer who initially took care of her. She's gone through a few caregivers now, people leave after a year to go back to their home countries and someone else takes pity on her and starts to feed her.
The other day I was walking by her and she jumped up all of a sudden and bit me in the leg! She didn't actually get me, just my pants, but she growled and tried ripping my pants by shaking her head back and forth a few times. I was really surprised because it wasn't like I snuck up and startled her or anything, she clearly saw me coming and just decided that she didn't like me.
The first thing I thought of was, "Shit, I didn't get a rabies shot and if this dog bites me for real I'm going to need to go to the hospital." I spent the next couple of days taking the long way around her, never getting close enough to spark her memory of how chewable I am. Finally yesterday I decided that I wasn't going to spend the next year afraid of going to my own house. I made it my goal to befriend Marie. I went to the supermarket and bought her a giant can of dog food and a box of treats. For the last two days I've carried treats in my pocket and every time I see her I give her one. Let me just tell you, not only are we cool now, we're SUPER cool. She runs up and licks my hands whenever I leave the house now and tonight she laid at my feet (with her nasty little flea covered body) while I did the dishes outside. So I guess we're better now. I still think that if I fell down the stairs and passed out she'd probably chew my face off, but at least she'll stop trying to do that while I'm still walking and talking.
Isn't she cute?