Santiago wouldn´t be Santiago without the street dogs. Though it´s actually quite out of control, I can´t help but love the hundreds of thousands of four-legged friends roaming about the city.

The Dog Blog

August 15, 2009

It didn’t take me but a day of living here to realize that Santiago has a dog problem. There are random strays literally everywhere–it’s like no other city or place I’ve seen before. So upon further investigation, this is what I’ve found:

 

 

 

* They adopt you, not the other way around. I discovered this one day by giving a piece of bread to this little scruffy guy, and I was his until I went inside.

 

 

 

 

* Upon adoption, they become your protector. Though I’ve not experienced this personally, I’ve heard many a story about a stray deciding to adopt a person for a while and if someone else got too close, it proceeded to growl. I thought about this and saw that it could somewhat be to one’s advantage. So now, if I know I will be walking home alone, I try to always have a scrap of food in order to get adopted. Though this is not foolproof, as I have had one leave me upon something more interesting, you have to admit, it’s not that bad of a plan.

 

 

 

 

 

* The only time they appear to pose as a threat is for those on wheels—bikers being especially at risk. Honest, the other day I watched a dog chase cars, in the heart of a concrete jungle mind you, and next thing I know he’s literally attacking a car, biting at the paneling as it drove by; I heard his teeth hit the plastic.

 

 

* Often these seemingly homeless dogs will randomly appear with a makeshift sweater on during cold days. One dog possessing all the homeless traits, whom I’ve seen every day on my walk through Parque Forestal, suddenly had a jacket on when the temperature took a dive. This still remains a mystery to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* They seem to have an excellent grasp on the concept of crosswalks, as it is common to cross the street with a dog upon the green man’s appearance, yet waiting patiently while he’s red. Sure I’ve seen a couple jaywalkers, but for the most part this is an accurate generalization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* It’s really quite an ideal situation for dog-lovers such as I, who cannot make the commitment to actually own one. Just make sure you’ll always have access to soap and water wherever you end up, and enjoy their company!