Vaccination Day!

Yesterday was the day I’ve been looking forward to since I arrived in Serengeti. Yesterday I got to participate in one of integral parts of the project as we vaccinated dogs and cats in Ngarawani village for rabies, protecting not only domestic animals but also wildlife and humans from this deadly disease.

As we neared Ngarawani, I noticed some people walking their dogs, a sight you don’t typically see in Serengeti district. As we pulled up to the site, there were at least twenty people already waiting patiently with their pets. The people were catching up on village gossip and observing our equipment, signs and log books, somewhat entertained by our quest for registration tables and benches.

The dogs, however, were a totally different story. Most of these dogs had never been on a leash or in the company of sooooo many other dogs and strange people. Many dogs would readily approach the vaccination line so they could sniff the other dogs, but they would suddenly put on the brakes as soon as they saw the needles. There were howls, screeches, whimpers, whines, barks, growls and a whole slew of other animal noises coupled with butt sniffing and tail wagging. The only “quiet” ones were the kitties, completely petrified and probably hoping that if they remain silent, we might forget they were there.

It was a fun, fast, blurry organized chaos. The turnout was great—villagers formed a line at least a city block long and registered their pets with the team. Once they obtained their certificate of registration, they proceeded to the vaccination line, at which point the dogs and cats received their vaccinations. Some pets also had their blood drawn for serological testing. We worked on drawing blood from cats, as the fact that they’re smaller than dogs doesn’t necessarily it’s easier to draw blood from them (They have smaller veins, are much harder to hold onto and have four paws worth of razor sharp daggers they are fully capable of using.)

There were pets everywhere, people chattering, kids playing, syringes flying, but all in all we vaccinated almost 500 dogs that day. It was an important step toward protecting Ngarawani against rabies.

Now, as I’m heading to the airstrip to head back home to Chicago, I can’t help but think how fast this month flew by, how many things I learned, how many people I met and all the really cool things I got to do. I know, however, that this is not the last time I will be visiting—our work here is not done yet. There are so many things we have yet to decipher about the disease dynamics of rabies and the effects of vaccinations on the lives of the dogs and cats.

As I’m having this riveting moment of self-reflection, we drive over one of those rhino-sized potholes, and so I get smacked upside the head by my seat belt into the car door. Goodbye Tanzania, or rather, see you again soon!

Anna Czupryna