Dogs in the night

Although I am safe at home I recently stumbled on an entry in my notebook written shortly before I departed Iraq.

I heard the dogs barking in the distance. Although I could not see that far past the barb-wire fences and the blackness of night, I imagined them out there in rowdy packs in the cold desolation of the desert. Their dirty fur spiked up in little clumps on their scrawny backs.
How fearful they could be living amongst hunger, filth and disease! Yet how magically their yelps and howls resonated through the wind and dust. They were free out there and I felt safe inside the base walls, the military cleaned the areas of any stray animals minus a few clever cats that lived inconspicuously under trailers.
There remained some mystery over these dogs and I felt slightly jealous of their anonymity.

They were unseen, but they were heard and, in a way, so frightening.