Even though my moms didn't have ME with them, they were apparently surrounded by canine cousins. They traveled to Mexico (far, far away, they told me) and in Mexico dogs lead a very different life -- or so I've been told. First, very few of them are either attached to humans or have to wear leashes. Instead, they wander the streets eating scraps of food off the dirty roads, lounging on a curb, or sitting in front of the butcher's shop waiting for an act of god.
Next, while they bark a lot, they rarely fight with each other or bite humans. Dogs rest outside their houses and bark at passersby, but their barks are merely warnings letting their families know that "foreigners" are approaching. The photo below is one particular dog who "greeted" my moms as they approached their "casa" or house each evening.
On the beach, where my moms spent most of their time, the dogs run up and down the surf chasing each other, digging in the sand, and splashing in the water. Tourists pet them, some feed them, and others throw balls or sticks into the waves and watch the dogs chase after them. They pee on beach towels, they poop right next to surfboards, and they sleep on any pillow they can find.This is one particular dog who hung out next to my moms on the beach one day. She slept, they say, for hours, curled up on someone else's beach bag only moving every once in awhile to tuck deeper into the warm sand. Apparently, this dog had quite a wild night and needed lots and lots of sleep!
Third, all dogs spring from the same mother, or so it seems. They all have some kind of pit bull blood line, but unlike the pit bulls in the US, these pit bulls are much more mellow EVEN those who are "fully intact." Few Mexicans spay or neuter their dogs, something my moms find this rather upsetting, but the dog of one of their friends was recently spayed after the birth of a litter of pups. The friend kept one of the puppies who hangs out with her mom and plays wrestling games all the time.
Finally, some dogs are tourists, too. People actually take their dogs to Mexico and you can spot these dogs because they are completely different from all the ways I just listed: 1) They are always attached to humans. 2) They are almost always on a leash. 3) They usually aren't sleeping on the beach. And 4) They aren't pit bulls in any way shape or form. In fact, they look an awful lot like Monty!
Which begs to question -- if other tourists took their dogs on vacation, why didn't I get to go?I've asked this of my moms and they go on and on about plane rides and dog crates and long hours in dark places. Of course, they didn't take any pictures of that now did they?
