Simple Pleasures Take 2

Little tiny window dogs

The dogs of Santiago give me more joy than can really be explained. They were one of the first things that stood out to me about the city. The street dogs are generally well cared for, well mannered, and so friendly. Tina and I knew our routs by the dogs that lived on them, a fact that my Spanish tutor couldn’t really get her head around. Of course there was Juliano who we finally got on speaking terms with, and sometimes even when a guard was around we would stop to pet him. There is Mitten Dog who is putting in more appeareances now that the weather is nicer and coming out of the cave that is his little mall to sun himself on the front steps.

Giant Dog and Friend

Now there is also BearDog, the biggest creature I have ever laid eyes on. There is Stoic Dog and Stoic Dog’s Brother. Giant Dog we finally re-encountered on the other side of La Moneda- he was looking a little rough and we hope he’s doing ok. A new favorite is Big-Headed-Leaping-Dog who lives by Santa Lucia and the first few times we patted his head, he surprised us by jumping over the fence when we started to walk away in order to follow us for a bit.

Big Headed Leaping Dog

Bear Dog!

Fat White Dog lives across the Alameda from us and is friends with a vendor. It has the terrible affliction of taxi chasing, which is the most popular dog sport in the city. Dogs will stand in the gutter with a gleam in their eye when the light is red, and as soon as it turns green and traffic starts to move they bark and chase and bite at the tires of taxis. We can’t figure out why it is not usually normal cars, though Tina’s theory is the black and yellow taxis might look like a herd. And I suppose any bus chasing genes have been selected against naturally…

Juliano getting some belly rubs

Stoic Dog´s Brother

There is a pet beagle who wears a pink harness and seems to get walked a dozen times a day, always by a different person. There is a fat bulldog who wore a “cone of shame” for a few weeks and we would see everywhere. There is a young guy who also hangs out at La Rosa and has a pug that he will pick up, throw over his shoulder, and carry through the park. Other times the pug very smugly sits on his lap at the table. I imagine it would eat off his plate if it felt like it.

Small dogs with short legs!