Los Perros – The Dogs

I miss my dogs!  I have 2 dogs, Judah and Brodie, which are back at home in El Paso, who could not or would not make the trip to Santiago for 5 months.  I don’t blame them, as they have it made, with a big backyard, all the food they need, bones and regular walks (thanks to our house sitter Chris). They also have each other, and that is a big reason why they are at home, it is a safe place (un lugar seguro) and they do their job in making it safer.  If you don’t know our dogs (nuestros perros), they are big barking beasts that are also among the most spoiled dogs on the planet.  You see, Sarah and I don’t have kids, so we make up for it by really going overboard with our dogs.

Judah is a large 90-pound cinnamon colored Lab-Mastiff mix with a bit of a drooling problem and a deep ferocious bark. He is also prone to getting in the grass on his back and barking, looking coyly at whoever is on the porch, to beacon them to come and scratch his tummy. Brodie is a large 75-pound black colored Irish Wolfhound who has wild hair like a Rastafarian and a bit of a digging problem in the flowerbeds.  Both were pound puppies we “rescued” from the Animal Shelter in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Or, should I say, that the two of them coming to our home in many ways rescued both Sarah and I, and hence, we spoil them.

Yet, they are living large in El Paso, and we are living small in our apartment (nuestro departamento) and we always have a dog-Jones that causes us to look for friendly dog faces wherever we go. On a trip to El Ingenio, you can meet up with a number of dogs who roam from home to home, but none more famous than “Chamelo” (pictured above), who is the ruler of the town (el pueblo), the mayor (el alcalde) if you will. 

There are also street dogs here in Santiago, and of course, many dogs that are not street dogs, but more apartment dogs or housedogs.  You can readily tell the difference (la diferencia) by which are wearing little sweaters, home dogs have them, and street dogs don’t.  In fact, the street dogs aren’t mangy mutts; many of them are beautiful full bred dogs, such as German Shephards, Rotweilers and others.  These street dogs are smart and will follow you across the street or stick close to you for a few blocks to see if you will offer them some food (alguna comida).  I’m not looking for new pets, but I have gone to carrying dog bones in my coat pocket and sharing them to buy some temporary allegiance and some general dog/Bill bonding time.

But, at the end of the day, I miss my dogs.  Sure, I get to see them each week on Skype, thanks to Chris and we do have their photos on our computers as screen savers (along with Condorito).  I know they are well taken care of and hopefully they will remember us, but in the meantime, I guess I will keep walking the streets with dog bones in my pocket (mis bolsillos).