Man's Best Friend?

The stray dog which my husband has been feeding in an alley since July last year. Note the terrified stance

When I arrived in Khartoum in August last year, my husband told me that he and his technician, Marcell, were feeding a dog their leftover sandwiches. This pathetically starving and terrified stray lived in the alley at the back of the workshop.

As soon as I knew about the dog, I began to keep table scraps flavoured with leftover oil or gravy in a plastic container. The dog had no name until one day I used a container which had previously stored curry(vindaloo). I had written the word "Curry" on the lid with a black marker. When my husband took the container from the fridge that morning, he said: "Love, I've taken Curry's food" The name stuck.

Painfully thin and starving, but ever watchful while eating

My husband took the photos (two above and two below) at my request a day before we went out on break in mid-September. We didn't have to ask Marcell to continue to feed Curry in his absence. He just carried on doing it. He had seen what I had saved from the dinner table and followed suit. The company night-watchman also fed Curry scraps of bread when Marcell was off for the weekend.

Curry gobbles his food

Curry was terribly nervous and would only creep along to the container of food if all the humans stood stock still.

Above is the handsome, well-padded and relaxed Curry enjoying his food on a dinner plate! In these scraps I had added the fish oil from last night's fries

This week when my husband fed Curry, he once again took photos for me. Can you believe the difference in this lad? In the "before" photos he is virtually skin and bones. You could also see how terrified he was - utterly suspicious of humans - jumping at the slightest noise.

Today however, I was delighted when I downloaded the photos to see, not only has Curry gained a considerable amount of weight but his whole demeanour has changed - for the better.

Ca you hear him say "mmm"?

He confidently approaches the plate (he progressed to a dinner plate - hubby found an old one here at home), sniffs at it and begins to eat sedately. His ribs are not at all visible anymore and his shoulders and haunches have set out incredibly.

Curry's stance at the food bowl is one of calm confidence and enjoyment

The men still only get within arms length of Curry; as they put their hands out, he shies away. Meanwhile, they continue to feed him and hopefully will, in time, gain his confidence.

Note: On Friday I accompanied my husband to the workshop to feed Curry. It was the first time I'd seen him in real life. I can honestly say that he actually looks even better in the flesh than he does in the above "after" photos. Also encouraging was the fact that the dog came running up when he saw the vehicle we were driving. He obviously knows it's the "food van"!

Second Note: I've decided that Friday 15 January is Curry's birthday.

Happy Birthday Lad!

For more on pets around the world, click here.