Going to the Dogs

Here in Chile a burning desire to have a dog has been reawakened in me. My parent's bought me a dog when I was 4, they weren't able to have more children and felt that I deserved a live-in playmate. Probably the best parenting decision they ever made. My golden retriever was a fantastic dog, and gave me a lot of security and comfort. As a pet she offered unconditional love that could be seen and felt. I am a current cat owner, and I love my cat, but he has never offered much in the love and loyalty department. I look forward to being a future dog owner with as much excitement and anticipation as anything else I have to look forward to in my future.

As an animal lover, in general the streets of Valpariaso and a lot of South America (speaking only for Chile, Peru, and Argentina) are a disturbing site. Maybe if The Price is Right wasn't my favorite childhood show, and you didn't have Bob Barker's daily reminder to have your pets spade or neutered you wouldn't be moved to despair by the number of street dogs looking half dead all over the streets of Valpo. There are so many confounding aspects to the situation. My American friend brought her cat in to get neutered and started asking questions about the street dogs and the lack of planned pregnancy. It's a cultural thing the vet said. And the Valpo attitude seems to be it takes a village. There are pet food shops dotted along most streets and people seem to feed these dogs, but as my father would say, it's unfair to have a dog in the city where he can't run around and get some exercise.

These dogs all seem flea ridden, eczematic, and unhappy. They lie around on the streets looking wasted and weary of life. Replace the dogs with people and you have the great depression and bread lines, street urchins and homeless. Hoovervilles. Valpo street dogs look like they've lost to will to live, and really why not, except for daily feedings, no one acknowledges their existence, there's no touch, no play, no love for these dogs, at least not the kind they deserve.

Lately I've been taking it easy with throwing my opinions around too much, but this has been getting under my skin. Where is Betty White and Bridget Bardot when you need a famous face to fight the cause. In the Bronx and Harlem they would often have these medical vans parked to provide free support services for people who otherwise wouldn't have access to healthcare. I want a white van to pull up in Anibal Pinto and offer free spade and neutering services to the dogs here.