Bichos

bicho  n. 1 flea, mite or other unpleasant bug: los perros tienen muchos bichos. Synonyms: pulgas (fleas)

My mother-in-law Carmen has four dogs. She started with two: a husky mix and a bichon frise mix. Being intact and of opposite genders, it wasn’t long before two became four. The family’s idea of pet ownership is to provide food and water and make sure they don’t escape. When Ruyman and I arrived, all the dogs were filthy, matted, and untrained. Since we were introducing Laila into this pack, we knew something had to be done.

I spent a good chunk of my first day in Tenerife cutting mats out of one of the dogs’ fur and helping to hold her while Ruyman trimmed her coat. In some places, the mats had turned into two-inch thick pieces of felt. Intermixed with the hair were fleas, ticks, and another insect I couldn’t identify. Feces still dangled off her back end. We ended up wearing surgical gloves to handle the dog because she was that disgusting. After three hours of cutting and trimming, we finished with a bath and an application of flea and tick meds from the states.

The next day we worked on the oldest dog, who had ticks the size of raisins all throughout her coat. By the time she was shaved and bathed, she was half her original size.

Besides the fleas and ticks, there’s a thriving population of cockroaches here. The little ones are about the size of the tip of my finger and the big ones are the length of my pinky. For the most part, the big ones stay out of the house, but the medium sized ones make regular nocturnal visits. Add all the bichos to the mouse (raton) living under the couch, and it’s a pretty lively house.