A moment with wild dogs in Africa

Unlike the crooner, Tony Bennett, I did not leave my heart in San Francisco.

I didn’t leave it in a Sampan disco in South-East Asia, either.

Instead, it was brazenly stolen from me in the Sabi Sands game reserve in South Africa while on safari with our friends Phil and Karen.

The culprits were a pack of adorable wild dogs (lycaon pinctus). It still makes me smile when I remember how lucky we were to come across them. There are fewer than 500 African wild dogs, or painted dogs, in South Africa.

The slobbering, trotting, howling, sniffing and tail-wagging encounter was the icing on the cake on our African trip after crossing off the “big five” that were the original motivation for our holiday. Elephants — tick. Leopards — tick. Lions — tick. Rhinos — tick. Cape Buffalo — tick.

The Sabi Sands game reserve, next to Kruger National Park, was teeming with them all, along with giraffes, hyenas, hippos, and 300 species of birdlife.

But nothing compared to the early-morning surprise when our guide stopped mid-sentence during his theatrical commentary of our usual wildlife smorgasbord — two leopards up a tree, a huge lion at close quarters, vultures eating a dead buffalo, a sick hippo wallowing in a lake, huge elephants and their babies gracefully and silently wandering by our jeep.

“Wild dogs,” he thundered as the two-way radio crackled confirmation the pack was close by. The vehicle roared into action, tearing up and down sand hills and through muddy ditches in hot pursuit, with the guides far more animated than we had previously seen them.

When we spotted the pack of around 10 dogs sunning themselves, apparently blissfully unaware of their endangered status, we understood the excitement as we realised we were seeing something extraordinary in nature.

Over the next 15 minutes, we too fell under the spell, as the guides explained the pack’s teamwork in hunting, their incredible stamina, and their caring behaviour.

As they trotted around, the team leaders — an alpha male and female — checked on other pack members, waiting for stragglers to catch up and showing real care for their mates. They reminded me of several things: the West Coast Eagles trotting on to the oval, hyped up and ready for battle. Young people at Subi cafes as they catch up animatedly with colleagues. Young members of group fitness classes bonding as they exercise together at the gym. Excited young surfers chatting about their waves.

That was enough to win me over and, after another equally enchanting encounter the next day, I had gone from crazy elephant woman to wild dog convert. But alas, I came away with no souvenir, apart from the memories embedded in my brain.

But when you travel with a good friend, the wild dog behaviour of looking out and caring for others is infectious. Enter my friend Karen. Imagine my delight when I opened my gift from her on Christmas day — a painting of a wild dog she bought at a fundraising auction to save the rhino. Thank you, Karen! And no slobbering, howling or sniffing.

What a star.