Dogs of Chile

A beautiful painting on the streets of Valpo of a dog, representing the many many dogs we've encountered in this country.
There are dogs everywhere in Chile.  They belong to everyone and to no one.
The community seems to care for them by setting out food and water. One place on Chiloe Island even had a row of dog houses lined up at the end of the street.
The dogs seem friendly enough and never bothered us. They are just there, on the streets and on the sidewalks among the pedestrians. I did see several kids on bikes in Puerto Natales being chased by dogs. They seemed to know how to manage the situation.
Most look well fed. Some are mangy and some look freshly bathed. Of course, there is dog poo everywhere which grossed me out.
This dog belonged to one of our hosts. So it's a combination of dogs with collars and owners, and stray community dogs.
I read that Chile has no effective animal control laws so the dogs just keep multiplying. One person told us, the dogs are a problem for small wildlife who fear them. So, I really think they need to figure out a way to control the dog population.




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