Free-spirited Piko

 

Piko- my Balinese breed dog- became part of our family about  4 years ago as a clumsy little dog. From his look, nothing special about him. Dog of his kind is widely known –just for fun- as ‘balinese dalmatian’ because of the mix of black and white spots on their skin. He was given by a friend’s aunt who actually hesitant to let him go, and made me promise that I’ll take a good care of him. 

Rabies, Another Side of Story

Seandainya saat ini ada manusia se-kaliber Angling Dharma atau Santo Fransiskus dari Asisi, mungkin kita akan lebih mudah memahami berbagai penyakit yang disebabkan atau diperantarai oleh binatang. Kedua tokoh ini memiliki latar belakang yang jauh berbeda dan hidup di jaman berbeda. Angling Dharma seorang tokoh nusantara yang kisah hidupnya menempatkan sang tokoh antara kenyataan dan legenda cerita rakyat. Sejumlah tempat di nusantara mengenal tokoh ini, mulai dari Jawa Barat, Bojonegoro hingga Bali. Sementara Santo Fransiskus dari Asisi, Italia adalah santo pelindung binatang dan anak-anak, ia hidup antara tahun 1182 hingga 1226. Persamaan keduanya adalah kemampuan mereka untuk berkomunikasi dengan binatang-binatang dan menyatu dengan semua ciptaan. 

 

Balinese Dogs are Under Threat

I feel so mad today. There’s this BIG headline in today’s newspaper that Bali is Rabies Positive. And the newly elected governor gave instruction to kill ‘wild’ dogs for the sake of tourism, because 4 people already died because of it. I know it looks like a very ‘wise’ decision, to eliminate those wild dogs which highly suspected as the virus carrier. But the decision is so senseless, I just couldn’t believe my eyes when I read through the article. They don’t even bother to check whether the dog is ACTUALLY REALLY infected.