A DOG IN THE HOTEL ROOM!

By Enimil Ashon

I was in Malta recently. In the hotel where I lodged, some of the guests were pets – dogs and cats, each to their own rooms! The management makes a public show of it. I read the following in the hotel’s brochure:

“Did you know that your pet is welcome to join you during your stay at …..hotel? (name deleted). We love running Malta’s leading pet-friendly programme and repeatedly welcome dogs and cats from all over the world.

“Your four-legged beast friend can join you for lunch (with special doggie treats on top), tea on the terrace, or can sit with you by the pool in the doggie-designated area.

“And we’re even delighted to offer a selection of dog-friendly bedrooms for overnight stays and a garden run where your pet can stretch their paws

“Plus, there’s so much more – Our programme provides the following for our furry friends:

• Complimentary in-room facilities including bowls, a bed, treats and toys
• A doggie room service menu, with a range of fresh foods available that are all cooked by our talented team of chefs
• Dog walking and dog sitting facilities
• Dog massages and grooming

“Our team will be thrilled to welcome your dog for just £25 per pet on top of our ‘people’ booking rate”

I turned to my Ghanaian colleague who had also read it. ”Is that where civilization has landed us?”. I wondered. Apparently I had raised my voice, unable to suppress my shock. A Greek lady who overheard our animated chat, joined us, laughing at my ignorance. “Did you know,” she asked, “that there are people who die leaving a fortune to their dogs in their will – millions of euro and dollars?” I sat stunned.

She asked me to Google on the subject, which I did later that night. There I found that apparently the Dutch are among the greatest pet lovers on earth. They have a “doggie motel” in that country. They even have Animal Ambulance which will rush the sick dog or cat to emergency veterinarians who are on a 24-hour call. There are people who have hired pet sitters just as you and I would hire a baby-sitter or a nanny

Dear reader, before you judge me for my “strange” reaction, come with me to Germany. In that country there are some states that have passed legislation requiring dog owners to pass a written exam. The exam ensures that dog owners know the basics of proper dog ownership. I haven’t shocked you. Read this: “Likewise, the dog must pass a basic behaviour test, usually at a veterinarian’s office!”

Ghanaians have kept dogs for as long as I remember. I recall that in the 60s, dog owners were required to register them and present them for vaccination. They did, but it was more out of fear of rabies than love for a dog. The big men in the bungalows kept dogs only as a deterrent to thieves and to frighten us, naughty school children, especially when the mangoes just outside their bungalows were ripe.

Things are changing. These days there are Ghanaians whom I see in my neighbourhood walking the dog at night or early morning, a common sight in Europe and America. There are Ghanaians who are genuinely in love with pets but I have discovered that most will go for the rotweiller or German shepherd trained to attack inruders. I don’t know if they will leave a fortune to them in their will. I also doubt if they will pay a dog tax!

We are becoming pet lovers. Call it imported culture, but some imports are not bad. There is nothing wrong in loving nature.

It becomes a problem when some of these imports are pushed down our unwilling throats. Take homosexualism or gayism. The Barak Obamas of this world may never have seen juveniles and second cycle students going about in pampers because of what is known as “Gay Bowel Syndrome”, an ano-rectal disorder resulting from having a lot of anal sex which causes the muscle that holds stool back to become loose and fail to control the bowel until one gets to the toilet.

Very soon, western Europe and North America would be asking Africans to practice bestiality. A movement has started in the “civilized world” that is asking for a law to protect their ‘right’ to have sex with animals.

In Africa, we differentiate between human right and cultural-right. Someone tell Obama that! 

The story is told of President Kwame Nkrumah and the first manager of Ambassador Hotel in the 60s. It is said that the man, in his application for work permit, had indicated on the form that he had one child. At the plush hotel fit for kings and lords, the manager had reserved one room for his child. It turned out that that child was his dog. He was deported.

By all means we are not an island. We shall impact others as we ourselves are being impacted by ideas and practices, Until we build the structures that can accommodate them, until we have trained and examined our pets to behave in certain acceptable ways peculiar to our African environment, however, I think we should be careful what we allow into our system which we would soon be labeling as culture, “a part of us”.

Who born dog!