Swarley and Me

This is a little ode to my Peace Corps dog, Swarley. I’m the third volunteer to have this dog and he’s something else. What can I say about my lovable and slightly neurotic dog? The name originated from the TV show “How I Met Your Mother” and at first I wasn’t too sure about the name for a dog. However after spending time with him I realized how well Swarley fits him.

He’s a bit tall for a Togolese dog (about three feet to the top of his head) and he’s a skinny thing. I’m working on fattening him up a little bit. He’s red brown in color with some white markings. What does he eat? I make him rice and mix that with dried fish flakes and typically one raw egg. He loves the stuff.

Swarley is an excellent guard dog. He loves me and likes my host family, but he hates everyone else. I feel very safe with him. I always know when I have a visitor before they have the chance to call out my name since Swarley always alerts me to their presence. He’s a bit on the aggressive side, but I appreciate that because I know he will protect me and my home.

He loves terrorizing chickens and goats. Always great entertainment watching him chase them out of the yard. He’s also great about chasing children out of the yard as well. This came in handy when I first got to village and had children camped out at my house either staring at me washing dishes, chanting the yovo song, or asking for money. Now when I’m doing work in the yard Swarley always accompanies me.

Don’t know what I would do without him. He helps fight off the loneliness especially in my first few months at post. He’s always making me laugh with his crazy antics from eating stinging ants to sleeping in my latrine when I’m gone. I love coming home from a trip to Atapkame and getting off that moto and having him practically jump into my arms.