Would They Really Kill Fleck?

Ellie and I had worked on the ship our first day in Levuka, Fiji. It was the first capital of the country when they gained independence.  The old-style downtown was so unchanged since the 19th century that it is a World Heritage Site.  One of the highlights of the location was the 199 steps to a lookout over the harbor.  We were going to stroll the old city and see what we could see in our last stop in Fiji.  And spend the last of our local currency since it would become worthless in thirteen months as the bills were to be phased out.

Sue, Doug, and Laura joined Ellie and me on the tender to take the ten-minute ride into town. The view from the water was a traditional South Pacific landscape.  Palm trees and green hills overlooking the old city hugging the shoreline.  The breeze helped to tone down the humidity that was already pretty oppressive in the morning sun.  We planned to take the waterfront walk down one side and back the other.  The objectives were a couple of churches and lookouts as well as the 199 steps that others said were worth taking a look at, but not climbing. And, as in every port, Ellie wanted to pet a dog.

The old stone wall along the water made the history more real as some of us opened umbrellas against the sun.  My usual plan was to keep a hat between me and the UV rays from above.  One of the two main churches was across the street from us and merited a pause to take a quick picture. The town was small, and after ten minutes, we were nearing the edge of it when we saw a healthy little dog coming our way on the sidewalk.

Opportunity knocked, and Ellie invited the pooch in for a pet.  She has years of experience with dogs and knows when to pet and when to just walk away.  This was not only a willing recipient of her attention but seemed to take a liking to our group and became our companion for the rest of the day.  She became our shadow and was thus named “Shadow” by our little band of wanderers.

We saw the base of the 199 steps and approached as far as the first few steps to record just the view from the bottom.  Shadow wandered up the steps and seemed to be going home until we walked on, and she quickly scampered up to us to seemingly keep us from getting lost.  We knew that there was a nice view of our ship from nearby, but we would need to go through a restaurant.

The Levuka Club was not open, but the gentleman sweeping in front said that we were welcome to enter.  The smell of barbecue smoke and the bright colors suggested what the place felt like when it was in full swing.  The words on the wall, “Drink, Dance, Laugh, Enjoy,” felt like an island auntie inviting us in.  A large grassy area in back had a few palm trees and the view of our ship that I had been hoping for.

I got my shots of the ship and then realized that my friends holding their umbrellas made a lovely trio.  I guess that Ellie and Laura thought the same about me standing in front of a palm tree with the ocean behind me.  The image reminded me of a photo I have of my dad from around 1950.  Funny how little things trigger memories.  And now I’m trying to make my own memories for future me.

We stopped by the World War I memorial and took a moment to reflect on the seriousness of the site and the sad loss of life that had touched even this little island.  The inscription "Our Glorious Dead" seemed to paint war in too pretty of strokes for its reality. Shadow had left and returned as we went a bit further and sat on the sea wall.

Across the street was the second church, and a friend from the ship, Jimbo, was coming out and said that we were welcome to go inside.  The outside looked pretty worn with age except for a pretty little white flower growing in front.

We went into the back entrance and took some time to look at the stained glass and worn pews that glowed inside the church.  I took a moment to reflect on where I was in life and felt a warm hug from the building that became angels’ wings in my mind.  I later noticed that the Latin inscription at the front of the church said, “Ecce Panis Angelorum” or “Behold the Bread of Angels”. Google says that it is referring to the Eucharist, or Communion.  I chose to interpret it as I felt it.  I have called Ellie my angel.  What she does for me just by being who she is makes me satisfied with who I am.  My Angel feeds me life.  It works for me.

In some public places, Shadow would not follow.  She was happy and calm to come inside with us for a few minutes. Then we made our way back into town.  We found a bakery and bought fresh-baked buns to have with our lunch when we got back to the ship.  We spent the rest of our Fiji dollars getting snacks to share on sea days later.

As we were preparing to get back onto the tender for the ship, Shadow was across the street with some locals.  One of them took a piece of wire and wrapped it around her neck as she snapped at him.  Ellie and Sue went up to him and asked what was going on.  He said that this was his dog, Fleck, and he was taking it home.  I joined them and asked another man sitting nearby if that was true. This man said that it was true and that he had about twelve dogs, and this was one of them.

Sue was sure that he was lying and that he was just taking the dog away for bad reasons.  Ellie had been involved in dog rescues in Mexico and seen a lot of third-world animal treatment.  She was skeptical, but not shocked.  There was really nothing more that we could do, and Fleck was taken away to wherever the owner was going.

As we were getting ready to get on the tender, Ellie stepped aside to speak to a local law enforcement officer.  She described the dog and the name Fleck as well.  The officer said that she knew the dog and that it was truly being taken home.  It was a good thing too because soon they were going to be eliminating all the strays in town.  They would be put down.

Ellie had not only been involved in dog rescues, but in sterilization programs for years.  She had done relocation of unwanted dogs from Mexico to good homes in the United States and Canada.  This was not a case of animal abuse, but saving a beautiful animal from a rather crude means of controlling the overpopulation problem on this island.

Travel can mean an education in more than just the local foods and customs.  Our standards are not the only ones.  On two previous occasions, we had gotten involved in trying to start a local sterilization program and getting medical treatment for a small horse that had an obvious problem with its leg.  Making a small difference one day at a time where we can and learning more about the world is a gift that I hope never grows old.

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