The Dog Days of Guatemala

Kindness and poverty weren’t the only things I found in Guatemala. What was unexpected was the sheer number feral dogs roaming the streets of Guatemala. They’re in every corner of the land, both urban and rural.

What’s also surprising about these feral dogs is that they’re largely friendly, if not a bit shy sometimes. This is a direct contrast to the feral dogs in Taiwan which I grew up with. Taiwanese feral dogs, unfortunately, were often mistreated by humans forty years ago, so you can’t fault them for being skittish or vicious. The Guatemalan feral dogs intermingle with people and dogs unmolested, and they’re naturally more trusting growing up in this friendly environment.

One of the dogs even joined the kids on a pick-up soccer game in an ancient plaza, and another one volunteered to be my pharmacy technician at a make-shift clinic in a remote village. I did catch him sleeping on the job often.