Dogs dogs dogs

Percephany, our mutt who looks more like a goat than a dog, is in heat. I have never really been around a dog that was in heat. Most pets in North America are spayed or neutered....of course, most dogs in North America have homes. Most dogs in Namibia are strays. We have learned from our weekly internet visit that Percy will be in heat for three weeks. Since we do NOT want any puppies, it is a constant battle between us and the motley crew of canine suitors that are literally crashing through our fence to make their case (or just make whoopee). Some of them whimper outside the fence, others dig holes or try to gnaw their way through the chain link fence. We have since repaired several holes and are currently without a broom or mop since they were ideal fence-mending materials. The fights between the dogs (there were ten of them outside our gate this morning) are getting louder and more brutal each day, too.The real problem is when Percy escapes from our compound. She has done this twice and it attracts every male dog in the community. Since she has no interest in returning to solitary confinement, we have to catch her. She does not have a collar or leash (both are completely unknown concepts in this country) and she's slippery. Fortunately, she stops frequently to pee on every second bush that she passed. It is during these vulnerable times that we try to grab her front paws, usually without success. Chloe caught her the first time and I managed to grab her the second time by paying lots of attention to our other dog until she got jealous and came too close. Once caught, she acts like a deadweight and we have to carry her back home (last time she'd already run several kms). The locals think we're crazy since we're the only people in town who carry a perfectly healthy dog halfway across town while a half dozen other dogs nip at our her (and our) heels.It's highly entertaining to watch the dogs try to break into the compound but at the same time, we need to be vigilant to keep them from succeeding. 10 more days and hopefully we can return to a "normal" life.