The Dog Blog

I’m going to be honest, this is not some spontaneous, flippant post that I came up with a few nights ago and thought it might be funny. I knew I was going to write this after only a few hours on the dog-laden streets here, although I had no idea of the kind of scope it would eventually grow to. Due to the number of pictures and the fact that I’ve fallen behind on every aspect of blogging, it’s taken me much too long to actually publish this.

But with that said, this is the dog blog.

Simply put, the Spanish love their dogs. There are dogs everywhere; the sidewalks, parks, in cars, sitting outside restaurants and shops, and even in bars late at night. And it’s not just the amount of dogs that is astounding, but also the distinctiveness of the dogs here. This is a gross oversimplification, but I think the three largest varieties of dogs can be labeled “Small Sweatered”, "Strange coat", and “Big and Hairy”, although such categories are a little rigid. Nonetheless it'll help me keep this organized.

Over time I’ve been collecting pictures of my favorites, and although it was a painful process going through the pictures and weeding out certain dogs that didn’t make the cut, I managed to get the number down to thirty or so that I hope you really enjoy. I may give you a brief description of what my favorite attribute of the dog is and anything that the picture didn’t capture. So basically what I’m saying is if you need to go to the bathroom or grab something to eat, do it now.

Big and Hairy:

This guy's the same breed as my dog at home, but with crazy long hair:

This breed is everywhere. I call them the Spanish Bob Marley and I think with a little care, my hair would look pretty similar:

Another Bob, but this might be my favorite dog of them all:

However, this may be the overall best snap-shot. The timing with crowd movement could not have been any better. And the best part: the only one aware of my scheme is the dog, who is clearly looking right at me (Okay the guy to my left may be a bit suspicious):

Could this dog also be confused for the infamous "Bah Bah Blacksheep"? I think so:

From the angle this may look like your standard German-Shepherd, but what you can't see are the 4 inch fangs:

I remember this one well because the owner's hair looks exactly like the dog's:

If your basement floods here in Sevilla, they use this dog to sponge up the water:

Unfortunately, this is one of the down-sides to all the dogs:

I'm not sure if it's the same dog, but I think this guy may appear later wearing a sweater:

Eye contact, genital sniffing, and butt sniffing all at once? I'm not positive he's their leader but definately held in high esteem nonetheless:

And now, Strange Coat:

Probably not a very good angle but you can see it's a leopard-coated greyhound (although the shadow looks like a kangaroo):

This black and white dog wanted me dead:

I don't like this one at all but I'm sure he's nice enough:

Maybe the owner painted on those spots:

Another leopard dog:

This dog was literally the biggest dog I've ever seen:

A great segway because we get a dog with a great coat, but also this brings us to our smaller variety:

Small Sweatered

She must wear the pants in the relationship (and the sweater):

Sweatered French bulldog. She would be french:

A personal favorite of mine because I see her waiting patiently outside this shop about every day:

Here's a glimpse of the care people give their dogs around here. The woman is pouring her little sweatered dog a bowl of water (probably about 2 euros worth) right on the main street of Sevilla:

This one's just absurd:

And now we see a sweater with a fur collar...ironic:

I'm pretty sure I've seen Harrison Ford wearing this same jacket somewhere along the line:

Doggie raincoat:

And just a classic:

I'll end with this guy because he's the rare hybrid of a big and hairy but also sweatered canine. He might also be part lion:

You’re probably asking yourselves right now if walking the streets of Sevilla is like walking in a mine field, and my answer would be that at times, yes. But that’s only on a few rare occasions, and although it makes it much harder for dogs to decide where to pee, the streets are cleaned every night.

Nonetheless, this brings me to the dog that I live with; Baxter (or Buster…It’s hard to tell). My “brother” Santiago now has a 2 week old baby to take care of, and he’s used this excuse numerous times to neglect Baxter and his walking schedule. So I’ve taken to walking Baxter every other afternoon or so, and I felt it necessary to share with you how Baxter likes to take a walk.

Walking with Baxter is kind of what I’d imagine walking with a 4 year old might be; he requires constant attention, and although communication is hard, you know something serious is going on in his head. For Baxter, I think it is his plan to pee on every pee-spot in the neighborhood and anywhere else I take him. And sometimes I think he just likes to pee on anything at all. He pees on walls, trees, bushes, grassy patches, fire hydrants, sticks, a basketball, man-holes, and a couple cars when I wasn’t paying attention.

On our last walk I decided to see how many times he could pee on one walk. The total count was 59, and I had to cut him off because it was lunchtime. Try and think about how large a number that is. I can only hope, for his sake, that he doesn’t get the same stop and go burning feeling that we do.

My friend Baxter (I caught him at an awkward moment):

The fact that this is just one dogs work begs the question, “Does the city just smell like urine?” The answer is no, unless you’re a dog or maybe a very small child. These great dogs only add to the quaint narrow streets and statued fountains that make up Sevilla, and apart from some confused looks from owners that have caught me photographing their dog(s), it’s always a pleasure to see them out and enjoying the fresh air.

I have to end this blog with an American dog. Actually the American dog: Blue. If you’re reading this Blue, know that these dogs mean nothing to me and I’ll see you soon, brother.