We were ready for many things moving to Chile but a entirely different version of pet owndership was not one of them. At least where we are from in the U.S., we generally don't have street dogs. Most dogs live in homes and are only seen at a dog park being walked by their owner. It was quite shocking for us to come across almost 30 dogs just walking home from the bus that dropped us off at Valparaíso. There is clearly a different version of doggy existence happening here and that is what we are going to explore in this post.
The wild street dog of Valparaíso looks very much like a regular dog except lacking a leash or owner. Hilariously, they are also often seen wearing fuzzy vests or other dog clothes. They can also be destinguished by how happy and smily they are. Each dog generally has an area that they like to roam about and can actually be quite famous. People often know the local dog's name and will casually tell rumours about what they have been up to. Carmelo is my current favorite. We run into Carmelo all over town but he is most often seen basking in a sun beam below our house.
