Good Boy

We live in a gated compound on the outskirts of Sunyani. The complex is surrounded by a high cement and iron wall and we have two gatekeepers who act as security. They are here 24 hours and take turns sleeping overnight. They open and shut the huge metal gates at the entrance when we come and go. There are seven little apartment-type condos within the walls. We were the first tenants to move in but now all of them are leased. Of course we are the only "obrunis". The other residents are all working, high-class people and we really like all of them. Our closest neighbor is an older woman who has a high-ranking job at one of the major banks in town. Enoch is a wheeler-dealer who has lived in the states for many years and he is only here occasionally. The rest are single guys or at least they live alone here and their families live in Accra or some other place. Richard and Edward work for Newmont, a huge gold-mining company about an hour out of town.

One morning we could hear a dog barking, with a "big dog" bark. This is really unusual because the dogs in Sunyani are not pets--they are considered a food source. They are small, unappealing, scruffy, mongrel-types that scavenge for food and when things get pretty tough, they often go in the fufu stew. The barking belonged to a huge golden brown dog who looks like a cross between a rotweiller and a yellow lab, and belongs to Richard, who brought him from Accra. His name is "Good Boy" and they have made a pen behind the apartments for him. He is quite intimidating to everyone, which is good because it enhances the security. We love him dearly because he looks a lot like Zeke, our yellow lab at home and he is about the same size.

The gatekeepers have taken to him and they walk him around the complex and even let him run when no one is home. Every day a young woman comes to the front gate with a huge basket of food containing a dry-type dog food mixed with large amounts of fresh meat and vegetables. We really like Good Boy but it occured to us that he probably eats much better and healthier than most of the people who live in Sunyani.