Thursday, January 24, 2008

Chile: Puerto Natales Puppy Gang

Okay, this one´s for the softies out there. But Puerto Natales runs amuck with stray dogs. This is heartbreaking, of course, and a real problem all over Chile where puppies are loved, but then often left to fend for themselves when they get older. Spaying and neutering is the exception rather than the rule. It´s rather crazy to see these large packs of dogs roaming all over, but they never seem aggressive or dangerous. Rather they sort of seem like lads out on the town, looking for leftovers or recruiting new members. And oddly, they almost always seem to run with other dogs their own size. There´s the group of shaggy mid-sized dogs. The larger group of bigger dogs. And, on our hostel street, there was a gang of puppies. They would waddle up the street en masse and then scramble through this hole in a fence. There were usually five or six all together, but some were camera shy. Anyone want us to mail one home to them?


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