Bitten By A Stray Dog In Mozambique
Intro
When traveling, there are certain things that happen that are bad, and there are certain things that happen that are really bad. However, being bitten by a stray dog in Africa might just be one of the worst things to happen, and it was all my fault.
The Experience
Once arriving from Johannesburg, I made my way over to my Airbnb, where I was staying with this lovely couple. Waiting outside the Airbnb were four dogs.
As I headed around town for the next few days, they followed me everywhere, acting as my guard dogs. Whether I was heading down to the beach on a walk or heading into town, they would even ride in a Tuktuk with me (it was a tight fit, and I had to leave behind). To put this into perspective, I couldn't go anywhere without them.
While this was cute, one night, I decided to be really dumb. I was having dinner on the beach but was getting quite full. With half a steak left, I decided to give a couple of pieces to the dogs (Yes, I know the saying). However, I got so close to one of the dogs when feeding them that it knicked the inside part of the thumb, just to the point where it broke the skin.
The After Effect
The only thing that I ever knew about rabies was that it is a disease that is 99.9% fatal once you have become infected (it goes to the brain). Due to this bite, I ended up having to cut my trip short since I wanted to err on the side of caution.
5 visits to the doctor later in the USA, and I realized that I had completed the cycle. I'll never forget walking into the Providence Hospital in Rhode Island and informing them that I had been bitten by a stray dog in Africa. They had to call the Department of Health, and I ended up staying 8 hours in the hospital just to get my first shot.
Final Thoughts
Getting bitten by a stray dog wasn't exactly on my agenda on this Africa trip. Unfortunately, this meant cutting down my trip by a few days, but fortunately, I have now completed the whole series of vaccines.
Moral of the story: Don't get bitten by a stray dog, and don't be an idiot like me
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