One thing some guidebooks warn about when arriving on islands are the populations of stray dogs. Luckily, we haven't seen any aggressive dogs. In fact, most dogs we've met are at one of two extremes: they either run away, or rush up wanting to be petted. The majority of these dogs look like stray dogs: fairly skinny, possibly limping a bit, and maybe sporting a good scar or two.
Our first day in Neiafu we met a dog who we would later see quite often around town, either walking about looking for friendly people, or sleeping on whatever doorstep was coolest. We finally discovered that he did have both a name (Stinky) and an owner (Lisa, the woman who runs a local coffee shop). We also heard more about him and the other dogs around town.
Stinky was found with an embedded collar, which means that someone put a collar on him and never took it off, even as Stinky was growing. Luckily, Lisa found Stinky and with a lot of patience and care was able to remove the collar and get him back in good health. (In fact, Stinky was probably the fattest dog on the island.) We learned that the majority of the dogs roaming about town do have owners, and all dogs are required to wear collars even though we saw few dogs actually wearing them.
Owning dogs on remote islands is difficult, because often there are no vets. Luckily, Lisa was able to take good care of Stinky and he is now living the good life!
WWI
