In Morocco there are also traditional and religious beliefs about the dogs
that they are
unclean and must be treated in a certain way.
- If you serve a dog water in a bowl - you must clean it seven
times after.
- A black dog is a devil.
- Hair from dogs are unclean and distracts from prayers.
- You don´t let a dog enter a house and certainly not sleep
in your bed.
There are certain hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) to support a dogmatically anti-dog position. Angels will not enter a house if there is a dog present, says one. Another warns that a Muslim keeping a dog will lose out on some of the spiritual rewards from his good deeds. Yet there are caveats. Angels don’t seem to mind if the dog is outside. And dogs used for herding, hunting, farming and guarding appear to be exempt from the rules.
Keeping Dogs in Islam: Allowed? (External link to source)
The street dogs of Essaouira are not aggressive, they are afraid
of people. It is common that they dont like "dirty people",
like drunkards or people looking for garbage in the containers
and they could then bark. In that way they keep the block clean
from such problems. They learn quickly who is good and who is
bad.
Health. The dogs who
live at the beach (Pack Bhar), just north of the ramparts
of medina, seem to be clean and in good health. Fishermen give
them fresh water and also some food. They are very safe sleeping
at the rocks offshore at low tide.
Dogs living near the forest and in the the blocks of Frina
(sea) Sekkala (sea -duneforest), Tafouckt and
Bouhaira (Lagoon forest) are in different shapes. They
have infections of the skin and lice, bugs. Rarely that they
have lost all hair. More seldom open wounds, injuries from fights
with other dogs or accidents. Damaged limbs are common. Dogs
who are injured are afraid and therefore it is advisable with
precaution.
Dogbites
" I
have once been bitten by a dog and that was in a Eureopean
mans house in a nearby village and I was told before this
dog was unreliable - Anyway it happened and I went to
the hospital Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah and got
a prescription of antibiotics and an ordonance to the
local anti rabies center where I got antirabies shots. All free of charge.
Mentally most dogs are shy and afraid of man. The dogs belongs to a flock in ranking. It is common a flock attacks a lonely outsider, who is week and submissive. My impression is that the dogs in Essaouira really like to follow and be with people. They like to live in the blocks with us. They like to play and walk with us. The dogs are educated to behave in a proper way. They understand signals. Example: If you meet a dog and are afraid. You can bend down as you are looking for a stone, and then they dog will go away. "
FD-20120810
INFO ABOUT RABIES
Killing dogs does not prevent or control rabies. An estimated 20 million dogs are killed every year to try and control rabies, but it has little effect on controlling the disease.
The best way to control rabies is to vaccinate dogs regularly.
The rabies virus is primarily transmitted in the saliva when a rabid animal bites another warm blooded mammal.
Scratches from an infected animal can give you rabies because an animal's claws have saliva on them.
If an animal has rabies, it often drools excessively, and the saliva drips on its claws.
After a person has been bitten:
An anti-rabies vaccination can only prevent rabies if it is given to the victim before the virus reaches the nervous system. There are no definite external signs of rabies before the virus has reached the nervous system.
The vaccination cannot cure rabies once the clinical symptoms appear in the victim.
Rabies vaccination is only effective during the incubation period.
If you are bitten by a suspected rabid animal you should wash the wound with soap and running water (from a tap or poured from a jug) for at least 15 minutes and then go to a clinic for further treatment.
After clinical symptoms appear the patients usually dies within a few days
There is NO test to diagnose rabies before the symptoms appear.
Remember: Rabies cannot be cured once the symptoms appear in a person, but the person can be made comfortable and given medicines to help relieve the suffering, which can also be a comfort to the patient’s family.
Source and more information : http://rabiesalliance.org/rabies/
Info folders in English:
Rabies and what I need to know
DO NOT.....
How to avoid dog bites.
Leave dogs alone when they are eating or near food.
Don’t grab a dog, as this can frighten it.
Never surprise a sleeping dog.
Don’t enter a strange dog’s yard without the owner being present and the dog being aware of your presence.
Don’t touch any dogs you don’t know or that don’t know you.
Don’t play with a dog with puppies, especially while the mother is still feeding them.
Don’t run away from strange dogs, as this can make them more likely to attack.
Just stand still when you are afraid of or meet a strange dog.
Take the GARC online course and get a Rabies Education Certificate!
