Other – 06/15/2011

I am an adventurous person and normally enjoy the unfamiliar, the new, the change in routine that a vacation brings. A two week stay in Santiago, Chile, however, left me in doubt of my adventurous spirit. Perhaps it was the fact that Santiago, Chile is largely a city filled with dogs… and I did not have my beloved Laila with me.  

The dogs are wisened street dogs, accustomed and attuned to the noise, the cars and the people, who almost entirely ignore them, regardless of whether they are picking through the trash or instigating a fight with another dog. Some were aloof, some were goofy, some were hungry. None of them seemed particularly bonded to people.

One day a protest occured outside a Santiago news station. I couldn’t understand what the people were on about, but I certainly understood the dogs as they bounded about, barking an enthusiastic support (or perhaps annoyance) at the cacaphonic crowd.

Some dogs approached warily, perhaps hoping to garner a bit of food or, in rare instances, a friendly scratch behind the ears. They rarely lingered, but often quickly departed, lured away by the passing of another person or the enticing scent of a nearby fish market.

 Fountains are their favorite bathing and watering spots. And I am convinced that it is a universal inherent genetic canine trait to bathe, approach the nearest person and shake vigorously. After all, it isn’t a bath unless you share the delight.

My family went out for breakfast one morning. When they returned, they informed me that my dog was waiting outside for me. I went outside. She lay on the sidewalk next to the entrance of the hostel. She didn’t get up to greet me. She didn’t wag her tail. As I had learned to expect of the street dogs, she remained aloof and immune to my attempts to befriend her. I went inside and returned with a piece of bread, which I lay at her feet. She sniffed it, got up and approached me where I sat. She wagged her tail, smiled, let me scratch behind her ear, then returned to the piece of bread. She had thanked me in a clear, deliberate gesture of gratitude. 

 I really missed my Laila that day…