All Things Strange and Wonderful

As a newly graduated vet Dr. Reb signed up for a two-year stint with the Peace Corp Volunteers, and found himself in Malawi. A national fuel shortage meant no delivery of supplies, and he had to improvise at every turn. Then he was introduced to a local witch doctor, Dr. Mzimba, and two very sick puppies, Skippy and Bozo. After shaking my hand, Dr. Mzimba took hold of both of my wrists and turned them over so that the palms faced upward. As he studied them, they began to tingle. The Peace Corps had given me extensive crosscultural training, but I didn’t recall anything about greetings of this nature. Then he stared into my eyes and while the tingling in my hands began to fade, my cheeks now felt as if an electrical charge was passing through them. Through a smile that filled his face, he said, “I’ve been waiting a long time for you, Dokotala.” So began Dr. Reb’s strange and wonderful adventures, where he discovered that in Africa anything can happen and usually does, especially when puppies become your companions in body as well as spirit.

Dr. Reb is an American citizen currently residing in Western Australia with his family. He has a degree in veterinary science and is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Associations. His adventures in Malawi were the result of a stint with the Peace Corp.