Throughout my travels, I have come to the conclusion that you can tell a lot about a place by the dogs. I suppose it could be used for any animal but I think the dog is one of the most common “pet”. I have no particular affinity or aversion for/to dogs or animals in particular but that’s neither here nor there.

In Spain, well at least in Granada, lots of people own dogs and while they are not dead ringers for their owners like 101 Dalmations would suggest, they do correspond to the owner’s lifestyle. For example, the majority of people here have “apartment dogs” (think dogs small enough to carry) because, well most people live in apartments. In the US these would be called “yappy dogs” but I have yet to hear a dog bark or display any excitement in Spain.

Then there are the gitano and hippie dogs are usually big. Those people don’t have to worry about the size of their dogs because apparently they live up in Sacromonte which is basically a series of caves. Most of them aren’t “Spanish” they are either Roma people or other european people who come to Spain because it is more liberal and the climate is agreeable (at this time of year)

All the dogs are well behaved, probably because their owners treat them like companions rather than glorified play-things/children as they are treated in the US. Not many people use leashes here but the ones who do usually live in apartments. Their dogs just calmly trot along beside or a little ways in front and go where their owner goes. When the owner goes into a shop, the dog, without being addressed at all, sits calmly outside the door until the owner is ready and then the procession continues.

The relation between man and mans best friend seems a lot more natural here. Also there isn’t so much a culture of neutering here (which I won’t really comment on either way because I don’t really know why it would or wouldn’t be done in a culture in the first place). Owners don’t insist on dressing their dogs in clothes. I don’t know what any of this says about Spain but I’ll figure it out lol. I’m good at the observation, not so much the conclusions.

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