Once, Nope Twice in a Million

Is there a record in the Guinness book for most foreign countries within which a single traveler has been bitten in the back of the leg by a potentially rabid street dog?

That’s right folks. It happened again. You can’t make this stuff up.
*If you didn't know me during my semester in Cameroon, you can read about the first incident at this link: A Story to Tell*

Things that were the same: me, innocently walking along a well-traveled road, minding my own business, not approaching any animals and not transporting large quantities of raw meat or dog biscuits.

Things that were different: this time there were five dogs and the one that bit me was black not yellow. This time I put up a much better defense including rock throwing, yelling, kicking, defiant eye staring, and an attempt at telepathically informing the dogs that if they came any closer I would “rip off their limbs and beat them.” (The last strategy was shared with me by a concerned fellow Fulbrighter hoping to help get rid of the terrified smell that all dogs within a mile radius can apparently smell on me.) Apparently I would benefit from a self-defense class geared towards canine attackers.

Other notable facts surrounding the incident:

-          Hand sanitizer must be a fairly strong disinfectant because it stings like nobody’s business when you dump it into a fresh wound since it's the only available semi-medical supply.

-          The pharmacy in Nagarkot does not include the anti-rabies vaccine. Fortunately, I’ve already been down this road before and my shot series is recent enough that if I can’t get to a doctor for a day or two or five I probably won’t die. 

-          I will shamelessly be using the hole in my dress as an excuse to buy a brand new kurta.

Also, if dogs were not a deal-breaker before they certainly are now. The line has been drawn. More than before, I am officially a cat person. While I hate punishing the whole group because of an individual’s behavior, the entire dog species has lost any points they may have been regaining since the first time I was bit back in 2011. Me and dogs…we are NOT friends.

*Update*
I got the first of two shots on Thursday -- the bite took place on Tuesday -- and the wound is healing quite nicely :)