Straw Dogs

I´m becoming more and more convinced that Ecuadorian dogs are better than most American dogs.
Why? I will explain:

Before this trip, we were told stories of all the stray animals there are here in Ecuador. We were told that it was sad but don´t pet or feed the puppies or the kitties. We even got rabies vaccines (Not the treatment with the seven shots in the stomach.). When we were preparing to come here, I was expecting to be cornered by dogs foaming at the mouth everywhere I go. That really hasn´t happened (Okay, so there have been two cases: one slight chase on one of our walks in Quito, and one story of someone being surrounded on their walk home.). What I´ve noticed is that these dogs are completely independent. They walk on the sidewalks, look both ways before they cross streets (Usually. But humans don´t do that half the time), and really don´t bother people unless people bother them. The dogs here have a crazy tendency to get onto places they really shouldn´t be. I´ve seen them in the most random places, for example, the ledges on the sides of buildings. And they will be just sitting there, doing dog things. It´s mind boggling seeing that most of the walls in the area are lined with barbs or broken glass.

So, these dogs are incredibly smart and great climbers, but what else makes them great? One of the shocking things I´ve noticed about these dogs are their breeds. The other night, while walking home, I saw a full breed Chow Chow stray. This dog would probably be thousands of dollars in the States. Here, he was just another independent dog living a simple Ecuadorian life in the fast lane (He was walking down the road, and as I said before, there are no rules in driving, so there were no rules for this guy.)