Daily Report: Road Trip With Tyson

The internet went out while I was on my lunch break. (I made Jil's World Famous Fried Rice for lunch.)

Without any work to do, I decided to take Tyson out to get his vaccinations. We had purchased the vials and syringes at a veterinarian in Cagayan De Oro, and were told that we could take Tyson to either the Agriculture Department here in Jasaan to get his shots, or to the nearest veterinarian, who was located in the next town up the coast from Jasaan, called Balingasag.

We took Tyson to the Agriculture Department, and they wouldn't give Tyson his shots. They'll inoculate stray dogs, but not family dogs. They don't want to be liable for making a mistake apparently.

So, Epril and I decided to put Tyson on the motorcycle with us and drive him the 15 kilometers to Balingasag. Epril sat behind me holding onto Tyson. We've taken Tyson before on short motorcycle trips, and he squirms a little bit, but mostly to get comfortable, or to get his face in the breeze... but he doesn't try to jump off. He did fine for the 25-minute trip, alternating between curling up on Epril's lap, and standing on my shoulders with his tongue flapping in the breeze.

By the way: The drive along the coast from Jasaan to Balingasag is simply gorgeous: The very apotheosis of tropical island vistas with mountainous jungle looming on one side, beautiful shoreline on the other, and the volcanic Camiguin island in the distance. (Next time, when I don't have a 20-pound dog sitting on my head, I'll stop and take pictures.)

When we got to Balingasag (a town that is actually prettier than Jasaan in many ways), nobody there had ever heard of a veterinary office in town. On a whim, we went to the hospital and asked if they would send out a lab tech to inject Tyson. No. And no, they didn't know where to find a veterinarian either.

We went to the office of the Agriculture Department in Balingasag and the guy there was all ready to do the injections, and was filling up the needle when he asked Epril something in Visayan and she replied, "Jasaan." Shit. I knew instantly what was being said without speaking a word of the language. "Why didn't you go to the Agriculture Department there to get the shots done?" "Uhh... We did. They wouldn't give him the shot." That was the end of that.

So it was back to Jasaan.

I figured now was a good time to stop by the mayor's office and ask him about setting up the Jasaan Eagles Club, but Mayor Jardin wasn't there. I talked with his assistant, the eminently nice guy, Alan. I asked him if he knew of any vets in the area so that I could get my dog his shots. "The Agriculture Department downstairs will do it," he replied. In short order, Alan had arranged for us to stop by the house of one of the Agricultural Department guys after work, and (in a totally unofficial, non-liable manner) the fellow quite expertly gave Tyson his shot.

The internet stayed out the rest of the night. We watched Forrest Gump on DVD and drank Jil's World Famous Cagayan Cocktails.