Noisy Deliveries in Nairobi

It’s one of the unusual sounds you can hear each night around 6pm in many neighborhoods around Nairobi, ours included. The sound approaches and then passes by our house and travels on down the street, getting quieter as it goes. Often, you’ll hear it again at around 6am, heading in the opposite direction up the street, if you’re up early enough to listen for it. It’s certainly something I’ve never heard or seen in the US, and I doubt you have either.

What is this unusual sound, you might ask? It’s the sound of barking dogs. Well, you might say, barking dogs aren’t unusual. But these aren’t our next-door neighbor’s dogs, nor are they someone’s dogs out for a walk with their owners from a nearby neighborhood. This isn’t the woeful baying of our Beagle, Pickles, nor the higher pitched barking of our neighbor’s sweet little Dachshund, Maple. This unusual sound that travels by our house twice each day is that of security dogs, usually German Shepherds or other fierce dogs with deep throated barks, being delivered to, or picked up from, their 12-hour guard shift each night. They are trained by security companies to become night-watch guard dogs, working the night shift at various homes and businesses all around Nairobi, protecting, along with a night watchman, the property to which they are delivered.

If you happen to be out for a run or walk at the time of delivery, you might even witness the security company’s dog handlers open one of the 15-20 side doors on the dog delivery truck to let out the dog chosen for duty that night. And if you also happen to be running with your Beagle, experience says I should warn you to not be too close when the dog handler releases said guard dog, just in case that dog, in all his ferocity, should get away from his handler and come after your sweet pup. And if he does come after your pup, you best be ready to keep your pup from him and hope the handler has a good enough command to retrieve said guard dog before your pup is injured in the process.

The experience from which I speak was a night when Dan and Lydia were out for an evening run through the neighborhood. When the dog delivery truck stopped about 100 meters from them, Jason the guard dog broke free from the handler and made a beeline to eat Pickles for an evening snack. Thankfully, Dan had the presence of mind to act quickly, yanking on Pickles’ leash and flinging him in a perilous arc just out of the reach of Jason’s snapping jaws. The dog trainer finally caught up with the 100 pounds of pure muscle that wanted to consume our little Pickles. Let’s just say, that if Pickles had been wearing pants that evening, they would have been soiled for sure.

Yes, sunset and sunrise here at the equator is an interesting time as these hounds clock in and out for their 12 hour night shifts around the city. It’s a good idea to give them a wide berth during delivery time, just in case they’re feeling a bit cranky about showing up for work that evening!

~Lesli