There are so many dogs in Santiago. Everyone seems to have a dog that they leave inside their gate all day to bark at every single person that passes. There are also stray dogs roaming everywhere which seems to be very common in South America in general. When we were in Rapa Nui, there were hundreds of strays just wandering the streets as happy and friendly as can be.
This is all a dream for someone who loves animals and dogs. Jane is in heaven. Mark, Wilson and I cringe. We are not animal or dog lovers.
While dating, I remember sharing my dislike of animals as almost a confession to Mark. I was so relieved when he shared that he didn’t really care for pets either. It was like I had found the one other person that fit into my Venn diagram of “dislikes animals”.
The kids have come up with a game whenever we walk past the three gates that contain our neighbors dogs. They try to sneak past the gate without the dogs barking at them. Honestly, the barking is quite jarring. You’ll be walking down any street and out of no where a dog will wedge its head between two gate posts and bark at you like you’re the devil. I’ve jumped many times when they come out of nowhere and scare me half to death.
Also, unlike the US, no one picks up their dog’s business here. It is left in the grass at the park, on the sidewalk, anywhere it is deposited. In the span of two miles I counted 14 deposits on my path…that I saw. We have a pretty strict “No shoes in the house” policy here. Gross!
Gross!