Raining Cats & Dogs

After almost 2 years living and working in Thailand, I thought I was beyond the farcical mishaps I had encountered in my early days. I thought experiences such as my first ride on a motorcycle taxi were a thing of the past. But it seems that when you start to let down your guard and relax, Bangkok is still there waiting to take you down.

Packing Up, Moving On

The focus of this week was supposed to be the big packing up process. And as far as Monday and Tuesday were concerned, it was. We'd spent weeks organizing and decluttering, and now we were ready for the small army of Thai movers to descend on the house.

And this all went on pretty seamlessly for two days and then that was it - empty house!

At the completion of this milestone in our relocation plan, we were now looking forward to enjoying the last few weeks in Thailand.

An Unexpected Visitor

Part of our general merriment plans included trying to eat at all the restaurants, cafes, food vendors that we've passed many times but not quite got round to trying. Obviously, in Bangkok this list is infinite but we were determined to have a go.

So on Wednesday night, we enjoyed a delicious meal at a German restaurant not far from our house. We filled our faces with many a German delicacy, all washed down with some Hofbrau and then headed home for an early night.

As we arrived home the dogs were in their normal position of faces pressed up against the patio doors, desperate to be released to terrorize normally non-existent prey. Little did we know that there was something lurking in the shadows.

Instinct

Now, I can't fully remember exactly what happened - it was dark and all very quick! But a few moments after the dogs bolted out of the door all hell seemed to break loose. My first memory is Chris screaming at Charles and trying to drag him away from the sun-lounger. There weren't many words but I clearly remember 'Chaarrrlllles', 'Emmmaaa', 'Oh Fuuuuck' coming up repeatedly.

As it was dark and I wasn't entirely clear what Chris was trying to tell me, I couldn't really make out what was going on. But anyway it seemed Chris needed my assistance so I rushed to his aid. This bit is all a blur but ultimately a black cat had been hiding under the sun lounger and had the misfortune to find it's way into Charles' mouth.

This isn't the first time it has happened but previously we've always been able to very quickly pry the cat out of his mouth without anyone (normally me) coming away with much more than a grazed knee. And we're normally very thorough in our cat sweep of the garden before the dogs are allowed out. But clearly, luck was not on our side this night. The cat had remained well hidden and seemed determined to fight its way out of this predicament, resisting any support.

After what seemed like an eternity, we somehow managed to release the cat. At one point I know my hand was inside Charle's mouth, just trying to get him to slacken his grip. The cat chose to capitalize on his new found freedom by jumping in the pool. It seemed I also fancied a late night, fully clothed dip so I followed it. I really have no idea what I was really thinking, but I guess after already going to so much trouble to aid its escape from the dog's mouth I couldn't then watch it drown in the pool.

The cat did not appreciate my efforts and promptly tried to fend me off, slashing my cheek and neck. Undeterred I grabbed it and threw it out of the pool. This time the cat chose dry land for it's escape attempt, and after narrowly evading recapture by Siale, scurried over the wall and limped away.

Surveying the Damage

It was at this point that we realised that this comedic episode had left us with quite a few injuries. Chris, who had not stopped screaming throughout the ordeal, was bleeding profusely from a very deep bite to the thumb. Rena, who was present for all of this nonsense but had sensibly kept her distance, was following him around wiping up blood. I had multiple wounds on my hands which looked superficial to me but were starting to throb quite considerably. At the time I was more concerned that I was dripping wet and was going to leave a trail of water through the house.

But no matter how minor the injuries may appear, animal bites are no joke, particularly when you haven't bothered to have a rabies vaccination or tetanus booster so off to the hospital we went.

Feeling slightly mangled

The Drugs Do Work

The various medical professionals at the hospital were, of course, unfazed by our predicament. Apparently, they see this all the time, although I doubt other people's injuries are quite as self-inflicted as ours. I am surprised they don't advertise an 'Animal Bite Special' as that's essentially the package we got.

After our wounds were cleaned I was starting to feel a bit better. Chris' post adrenaline nausea and needle phobia had subsided and we were looking forward to going home. But then the reality of the rabies treatment became clear. It seems just administering a few vaccinations is insufficient when you've been bitten or scratched. To genuinely stop rabies from developing they have to treat the point of injury which, without being too graphic, involves sticking a needle into every wound. It really is as horrific as it sounds and literally the worst nightmare for someone like Chris who feels faint if someone even says the word needle.

My favorite part of this was when Chris was having his 'needle in the wound' procedure and he kept telling the doctor to stop. The doctor just kept laughing and goofily saying 'Ok' only to just do it again anyway. I was chuckling away on the next bed listening to this ridiculous exchange of Chris saying no more, the doctor pretending to move away and then going in for the kill.

Brave Boy!

Ouch!

Ouch again!

Lessons Learnt

But anyway, we're both fine now, albeit I am taking two types of antibiotics, antihistamines and have 6 more injections to get. And the cost of all of the treatment is absolutely unbelievable so we thank our lucky stars we're both heavily insured by our companies. And our plight is the subject of much discussion and speculation in the Soi and at work - word on the Soi is that we were attacked by our own dogs! But have we learned our lesson?

Probably not! In all seriousness, owning two dogs that have probably been used for hare coarsing previously is not something you can underestimate. I like to think that cats might avoid a garden where it's clear two large dogs own the territory but this doesn't seem to be the case. 

Although in Thailand, people won't want to see an animal get hurt, everyone is a bit more chilled about death here, and there is no shortage of Soi cats. But I can't imagine people in the UK being so forgiving at their pet cat being maimed, even if it had ventured into someone else's dog-filled garden. So I guess we need to work harder to keep the cats out of Charles' mouth.