Dogs in Lima.

Dogs in Lima



They seem to have an unusual relationship with dogs in Peru. Then again, we can be pretty odd about them in the UK too. You know how in the UK young men like to walk around with those snarling, ugly and seemingly inherently stupid breeds that they have clearly got to try and fulfil a stereotypical image of being a council estate hard man but they insist there is nothing wrong with their dog whilst it bares its teeth at anything that walks past and you read yet another article about how these particular breeds have maimed another child but it had "never bitten someone before"? Well, young men in Peru seem to have very different tastes. They prefer to walk around with silly little dogs that they have dressed in ridiculous outfits. Something that is only usually reserved in the UK for attractive young women who have a penchant for mild animal cruelty. If a young guy walked around with one of these Paris Hilton style abominations in the UK I'm pretty sure they would get laughed out of the park. However, I probably prefer this fad slightly to the child maiming breeds that you see outside the Costcutter's of the United Kingdom.

Another thing I have noticed Peru is how people you see walking around that don't own dogs seem to very often be terrified of them. Since I have been here I have been taking a very timid Golden Retriever and a friendly (if not a little annoying) Black Labrador for regular walks. On many occasions one of my dogs has gone and sniffed someone’s shoe only for them to recoil, run away, or in one case actually scream. My only explanation for this is that Peru is absolutely teeming with stray dogs (which can make dog walking quite difficult) and people are scared of getting rabies. But even so, you would think the fact that I'm casually walking them around would be proof enough that they probably don't have rabies. 

One of the favourite breeds of dog in Peru is the 'Peruvian Hairless Dog'. These are probably the ugliest canines I have seen in my life (apart from 'Sam: The Worlds Ugliest Dog'). A couple of times I have had one of these wander up to my dogs and they actually make me feel a bit sick. If you want to understand why I feel like this then just have a gander at one of the little horrors below.

Fancy a lick?