Who Let the Dogs Out? (tacky title I know but appropriate nonetheless)

Alright, so if ever you plan on coming to Argentina or really any third-world country in South America, I would recommend that you be prepared for lovely companions whenever you go out and about.  Mind you I am not speaking of human companionship though that may be true as well.... I am talking about the overwhelming number of street dogs that inhabit the lovely city of Mendoza.

I know I should probably be past the shock by now, but I still can't seem to get over the absurd number of homeless animals that are roaming the streets. I feel like I have a slightly unnatural attachment to all of these dogs because most of them are just so cute and I'd want to take them home with me if I didn't fear the nasty critters that might come along with these furry companions.

However, some of these street dogs have come to be particularly loyal companions to my friends and me while meandering the city. For example we have this one doggy friend who we have come to name Sparks who looks sort of like some sort of Australian shepherd/ Belgian Sheepdog mixture who will literally follow us from one end of the city to the next. He will wait for us when we go into bars and restaurants and will sit with us if we are eating/drinking outside. He also has the tendency to walk my friend Coral and me home from an evening out, especially if we are walking alone. Some people might laugh at us as we whistle and pet our street friend but I can't honestly see how anyone could have given this dog up in the first place. We never even gave the thing any food up until a couple of days ago when I bought this absolutely terrible sandwich that was barely edible and luckily it didn't go to waste since Sparks was ever so grateful for the snack.

The other night as I was walking home from Plaza Independencia the cutest of all things occurred. This puppy of I have no idea what breed, who looked as if he/she had been born this past week began following me home. It just kept whining and crying and jumping at my feet and it was probably the saddest/cutest thing I had ever seen. It followed me the entire 45 minute walk back to my house and when we finally arrived at my gate it tried to accompany me through the door. Unfortunately, my family's dumb obnoxious excuse for a dog started barking and yapping at the puppy scaring it senseless. When I told my family about the pup, they said I would have been able to keep it if Coki (their dog) hadn't scared it away. Needless to say I was horribly disappointed.

So now if I find a homeless pup and can get it safely in the house the next step is to see if my family back home will let me keep it..... (hint)


Well I'm off to enjoy this brisk winter day before it starts to snow/sleet later this evening