I know there is much going on in the world, and here I am writing about animals. It’s just that I’ve enjoyed recalling these memories, and I hope you enjoy this post!
Every night when I go to sleep and every morning when I wake up, I’m reminded by the sheer amount of life just outside the walls of my house. Puerto Rico is teeming with plant and animal life. This post is a short collection of memories of random encounters with some of these animals.
“Sato” means stray dog/mutt
I was walking my dog through our semi-abandoned apartment complex (see this post for more pictures of these trails). There was rustling in the bushes behind us and a pack of five satos1, or stray dogs, appeared on the path.
The dogs seemed more curious than aggressive. But my dog, never one to back down, began to bark and raised the fur on her back. Panic began to settle into my stomach. I tried to back us away while facing the oncoming dogs (if you turn your back, their instinct to chase can kick in).
They quickened their pace. I remembered my Peace Corps training.2 I made myself big, raised my hands and yelled curse words at the dogs.3 This had the intended effect and the satos left us alone. After that, whenever walking our dog in nature, I would bring a walking stick.
“Pato” means duck
The duck’s name was Pandemia, which is Spanish for “pandemic.” For reasons still unclear to me, she was included in the purchase of our house here in Puerto Rico. The previous owners of the house named her Pandemia because she arrived at the house unannounced during Puerto Rico’s strict lock-down. They let her stay and began to feed her. She had been living in the backyard of the house for months by the time we moved in.
The duck couldn’t stay, sadly. Our dog chased it constantly, and it pooped in and around the pool. Our dog ate the poop. The duck, even though we found it oddly appropriate for pandemic life and cute in its own way, had to go.
But where? Could we drive somewhere rural and leave it near a pond or lake? Should we ask on Facebook? Is there some government agency that collects unwanted ducks?
The problem of Pandemia was solved the day the exterminator came to treat our house for termites. He told us he lives in “el campo,” meaning a rural part of the island, and we asked if wanted to take the duck. He said of course.
After they treated our house, I helped him and his son corral the duck and put it in their truck.
…
A year passed, and we found a nest of mice in our garden. The exterminator was called and we asked about Pandemia. He said she just had six little ducklings and is doing great!
“Rana” means frog
On three separate occasions during the first six months in our new house, I found myself face-to-face with a wet, pale frog4 in my bathroom.
And for some reason, each time we crossed paths, I was completely naked.
The first time: The frog watched me undressing for a shower from the closet wall. I nearly bumped into him walking through the door. I chased him while naked for several minutes through our closet and our bedroom, trying to trap him with a tupperware and its lid. My wife wondered what all the commotion was.
After dumping the frog outside, a question emerged.
How did he get into our closet?
It’s on the second floor. Could he have hopped up two flights of stairs? I chalked it up to a strange one-time occurrence.
The second time: Two weeks later and I’m just about to enter the shower when I noticed little wet spots on the bathroom floor, as if someone had just gotten out of the shower. I pulled back the curtain and sitting there was the frog, looking up at me in my birthday suit. I again chased him around the room and trapped him and threw him outside.
This could not be a random occurrence again. This frog was gaining access to our bathroom and I didn’t know how. So we scoured all possible entry points.
- My wife and I patched a ripped screen in a bedroom window.
- I plugged a small hole created by our AC unit in the wall
- We pledged to keep the door to the room closed.
The third time: The lizard part of my brain processed the small puddle of water on the bedroom floor before I did. Something was not right. He was near.
I started to look around the room and my dog, sensing something is up, began to investigate too. The dog found the frog, this time sitting calmly atop one of my folded shirts in the closet, dripping wet and slimy.
My mind could think of no possible way this frog was coming back. Was this a supernatural occurrence? Could this frog be a prince looking for a kiss? Does it live in the walls somehow?
I did what I should have done earlier — searched the internet for help. A random forum for Australian homeowners recommended to check the toilet vents on the roof (these usually are little pipes coming out of your roof). The frog, it seems, was falling onto our roof from a tree, climbing down the toilet vent pipe and swimming up inside the toilet, explaining why he was always wet! I covered the toilet vents with a mesh net, so that air could still pass in and out.
I’m happy to report we haven’t had a visit from the pervy little prince since.
“Pavo Real” means Peacock:
At five AM I woke up to the sound of footsteps. And they were coming from a very unexpected location — the roof.
I rushed downstairs and threw on my slippers. My dog followed at my heels, suspecting something was amiss.
I climbed the hill in our backyard to get a better vantage point and that’s when I saw them. Two male peacocks5 fighting each other on my roof.
I didn’t have my phone, but watching this dance unfold in the predawn light of Puerto Rico was unreal. The dog began to bark, and the peacocks, seemingly bothered, glided away.
Here’s a photo of one of the males that visited a different sunny afternoon.
PS: The peacocks belong to our neighbor who lives on the hill above us. I’m not sure how many they have. They occasionally like to visit our backyard.
That’s all for now, until next time be well!
Footnotes:
- Fun fact – my in-laws have a movie star dog! Their pup named Pancha had a lead role in a movie called Satos. Here is the IMDB page for the movie, and she is noticeablely missing from the cast, even though she’s on the cover of the film (the one on the left).
- I use “training” lightly here – I don’t think there was an official training on dealing with stray dogs, which are common in Morocco. I remember explaining to my host family that in the US, people have dogs as pets and allow them into the house. They were floored. Here’s a previous post reflecting on my time in Morocco.
- Specifically, I yelled “Back the FUCK up” over and over.
- “Rana” is frog and “sapo” is toad. From my research, I think this was a frog but I’m not 100% sure.
- “Pavo real” literally means “royal turkey” which I think is a suitable name for these birds.
Gringo Green 
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