There is a new man in my life. He came to me in quite rough shape, no doubt. His name: Fuzz Archer. His profession: shoe destruction specialist.
During a recent trip to Nsawkaw with David, we decided that some mangoes would be nice for breakfast the following morning. For purchase of mangoes, I always visit one particular woman near the Seikwa/ Menji junction. Her name is Ama, her daughter's name is Ama, and my name is Ama... So, every time I visit there is a lot of yelling about "AMAs MEINNSA WO HA," meaning "the three Ama's are here!"
Anyhoo, we walked up to her table, which as usual was piled with large mangoes in varying shades of green to yellow to orange to pink, depending on ripeness. I selected 3 mangoes, and paid Ama 2 cedis (1 dollar). I then noticed behind her table, sleeping in the dirt, a little puppy. His black fur was sparse and fuzzy and his protruding potbelly was covered in little sores and bumps. He looked sad and tired.
"Ama, me pe se me gye okra ba no," I said to the woman as I pointed to the pup (Ama I want to take the puppy). A few minutes later the puppy was in a cardboard box on my lap in a car headed back to Menji. I looked into the box... he had made a little gross poo in one end of the box, and was sleeping at the other end. At that moment, I realized just how small the little guy was. Except for his pot belly (where the dewormer at??), pup was rather small and weak... and very sick. Fleas, ticks, ear mites, wierd lumps, and sores. He was a project pup, and my inner vet was feverishly crying out, "make him better!"
When arrived home, I removed him from his poop box, then went to the kitchen to reconstituted some powdered milk. He greedily slurped up every last drop of the milk. The next part of the show, he didn't particularly care for... next, he went into the the blue tub for a warm bath with Johnson's baby shampoo. After his bath, he passed out into a deep, deep sleep on an old sheet on the floor.
The following days, I nursed pup back to health. I won't go into the details of his healthcare, because I don't want to gross you out... however, if you are curious and have a strong stomach, you can look up botfly warbles. Anyway, after a great deal of care and patience, pup's fur looks thicker and blacker, his ears and eyes clearer and cleaner, his energy level through the roof, his stomach less distended, and his body stronger.
His name is Archer. But, since I will always remember how crappy he looked laying there in the dirt at the mango stand, in honor of his origins, his nickname is Fuzz. Fuzz Archer.
fuzz is clean enough to get on the bed!
i wasn't eating the nanners or nothin...
