Fur People: Finding My Pack Along the Way

Anyone who knows me well, or who has followed my blog over the years, will find this post to be rather...  predictable.  If you are new to me or this blog, I should probably start by saying that I am a huge sap.  I have cried at every animal movie I've ever seen, I worry about animals I haven't even met, and basically spend a large amount of my energy doing my part to help animals in need.  I'm what you might call a bleeding heart; it's physically painful for me to see anyone or anything suffer.  This being said, perhaps backpacking through 3rd world nations was not the best choice?  

Most areas here are overrun with stray animals.  I notice each one, my heart lurching each time.  More than once, I have thought of how I could smuggle a pooch home with me (seriously) or what I could do to better their life circumstances.  I have given strangers money to feed strays, groomed thick-coated dogs with my fingers as they suffered under their remaining winter coat, and even considered buying land to start a refuge for strays...   The last one might actually happen one day.   Stay tuned.  

But, don't worry, this post is not a melancholy treatise to the fur-people of South America.  Rather, this is my love letter to them, and a memorialization of the moments we have shared.  Some of these were merely fur-people that caught my attention as I walked by, and others have shared whole days with me, capturing a piece of my heart forever.  

This is the photograph that started this project.  I saw this sweet little soul perched atop a hill in Lima, all by himself.  He caught and held my attention, though all he did was sit like this, his eyes closed, leaving me to imagine what thoughts were going through his head.  Ever since taking that picture, I started taking portraits of strays and pets here in South America.  I'll share them with you here.

Try to figure out what this cat would say to me right now if it could.....   Clearly it can tell that I'm really more of a dog person...    Valparaiso, Chile.

Didn't actually meet this momma, but I loved watching her delicately weave between her furry followers in the search for food.  Each of her 4 puppies was distinct from the others, making for a beautiful mix.  I hope they are happy and healthy in Yungay, Peru!

This pristine pooch poised himself along the border or Bolivia and Argentina.  He sat just like this along the sidewalk as people bustled around him.

This sweet goofball was slow to warm up, but as soon as I started showing him affection, he loved the rubs and scratches, and soon was as alive and frisky as a puppy.  In fact, he got so wound up, that he started playing really rough, biting, grabbing and jumping!  I finally had to hustle away!  He chased after me snapping at the laces of my shoes!  I was shrieking with laughter, and simultaneously afraid he'd get hit by a car since he wasn't paying any attention!  Luckily, another dog came and distracted him enough for me to make my getaway.  Valparaiso, Chile.

This was one of the (few) beloved pets that I've seen on this trip.  He's a 1-year-old shepherd, who is seen here tied up for the first time, and pouting.  His family was hosting a beautiful BBQ, and this little guy is notorious for stealing food, so he spent the afternoon out of trouble.  He practically leaped out of his skin anytime I went over to give him a little scratch.  Necochea, Argentina.

These impressive pups have just run up Macchu Picchu, which seems to be their daily routine.  While I slowly huffed, puffed and sweated my way up the steep trail, the dogs were literally running full speed up the road, chasing the tourist buses.  They made it look so easy!  But then, they arrived and spent the rest of the day like this.

Not a good capture of either of us, but I met this lovely momma on the street as I was searching through finger puppets to give to my baby cousins.  She hesitantly approached me, and was visibly relieved to find that I was part of her tribe.  She lovingly rubbed her side against me, thirsty for a good scratch on her hips.  I ended up giving her popcorn, which was the only food I had with me.  She lapped it up eagerly.  As soon as any other dog came near, she quickly became a ferocious protector!  It was a complete personality shift!  Sweet as honey, but not to be messed with.  Copacabana, Bolivia.

This dog is apparently a high-roller.  It was the only passenger in this taxi.  I wonder where it has asked to be driven?  Buenos Aires, Argentina

Although he looks timid, don't be fooled!  This vivacious and affectionate puppy was my doting roommate for a few days at a friend's house.  He was used to being treated like the resident animal, so he was on cloud nine when I arrived and  treated him like a fur-person!  Love his sweetness.  He became softer and sweeter the longer we spent together.  Salta, Argentina.

This little guy had the saddest eyes....  Always on this stoop.  Cusco, Peru.

This little furball always made himself right at home in the Backpacker's Hostel.  He came right in, climbed on all the beds, and snoozed away the afternoon.  I loved having someone furry waiting for me when I got home.  (Ok, he was only waiting for me in my imagination, because he couldn't care less, but you can pretend with me, right?)   Paracas, Peru

I loved this little rhasta dog.  He was busily surveying the street, but tolerated my scratching for a little while.  I loved this picture of him silhouetted against one of the famous murals of Valparaiso, Chile.

Peru was tough for strays...  many tears shed there.  This pair caught my eye.  They were so sweet to watch.  So different, but inseparable.  Each waited for the other as they sniffed, marked territory, or monitored other passing dogs.  The walked in front on me like this for 15 minutes as I headed to the market for some new shoes.  It warmed me heart to see them with their own little custom pack.  Cusco, Peru

I mean c'mon!  Look at this face!  He would reach through the bars to pull your hand back if you stopped scratching!  The other smaller one behind tried to get her scratches too, but this one would push her out of the way and grab your hand!  So fresh....  but still infectious!  Valparaiso, Chile.

Saw my first dog walkers here!  I don't know how he could take so many at once!  Buenos Aires, Argentina

As intimated earlier, Peru is not known for it's love of animals...  Much like the Grinch, my heart grew ten sizes when I saw this pup.  He came sauntering out on the pier after a pair of rough-looking fisherman.  they gave him a few gentle pats, and then he hopped right in the boat with them!  He spent the day like this, perched in their boat out on the water.  Paracas, Peru

Beautiful, healthy shepherds that took guarding their yard very seriously.  They were just so vibrant in the setting sun, and I couldn't resist the urge to take a picture.    They were unbothered by humans, but were keenly aware any time a new dog passed by.  Valparaiso, Chile.

This sugar drop was melt-in-your-mouth sweet.  I had just walked for hours along the tracks to Aguas Calientes, ready to climb to Macchu Picchu the next day.  I was exhausted, cranky, and lost from my group.  Then I met this fluff ball, and my mood immediately improved.  He warmed to me quickly, followed me around for hours after.  It was very hard to walk away from him that night, but he had lots of other pups to keep him company.  Aguas Calientes, Peru

This is Dolly!  Her owners came home just as I was snapping a few shots of her sweet face.  She was immediately more at ease as soon as I put the camera way, even enjoying a few head rubs before deciding she'd had enough and biting my hand.  Valparaiso, Chile.

This dog was no fool.  This was the only shade around, and he had claimed it for himself.  #respect  Yungay, Peru

By now, I began to suspect that I send out some sort of vibrations on the dog frequency.  Or maybe he could just tell I needed a dose of unconditional love that day.  Though the park had many visitors, this stray came directly over to me, tentative at first, but soon showing me his belly for a rub.  Part shephard, he still had his thick winter coat in tufts, despite the hot summer sun in mid-December.  I alternated scratches, rubs, and removing tufts of unnecessary fur.  He lay like this, relaxing into his spa treatment like he was born to it.  We spent nearly an hour this way, enjoying each other's company.   Cordoba, Argentina.

Though it wasn't often, it did happen that I saw others taking a moment to lavish affection on one stray or another.  My heart warmed any time I happened to notice.  Both the scratcher and the scratched bloomed with the time together.  Valparaiso, Chile

Even better than that, once I even saw a group of teenage boys feeding the strays!  You can imagine how my heart jumped at the sight!  Especially since this had been my pack just moments earlier, as more and more strays gravitated to me.  Pretty soon I had at least 6 furpals.  Then, here come the boys, toting a large bag of food.  So far, I have only seen this once, but I won't soon forget it.  Aguas Calientes, Peru.

They even put some up on the wall for this little one who had leaped up to have easier access to scratches.  

I loved this cat!  He was so just so...  hardcore!  Here he lay, blocking the entire entrance to the museum, and couldn't have cared less that people had to step over him.  He lazily groomed himself in the warm morning sun.  Cordoba, Argentina

This pup had a gentle spirit, pausing for a quick pat, and then moving on.  Valparaiso, Chile

These cuties are brothers, and the beloved pets of a worker at one of the hotels.  I first met them as I was trying to take pictures of some birds.  I was completely focused, and then out of my peripheral vision, here they came, bounding over for a bit of attention.  The one at the front made me work for his affection, used to being sidelined by his more vivacious brother and sweet mother.  I sought him out, lavished him with scratches, gooey compliments, and even a tennis ball I had found in my walk along the beach that morning.  Before long, he was fighting his brother to stay away from me to have the scratches all to himself!  He literally even tried to climb in the car with me when the taxi came to take me to the airport!  It was hard to leave for a moment, but it was easy when I remembered that he had a loving human.  Puerto Varas, Chile

Here is one of the brothers running with his mom and dog from another worker at the hotel.  Together, they made a raggle-taggle pack of 5! (one more not pictured).  The big one was clearly the alpha, and smothered everyone with his sweet, but persistent affection.  Puerto Vaaras, Chile.

This tiny thing was crossing the street when she caught my attention.  I wasn't quick enough on my camera settings to capture her crossing, but I managed to get this as she hid under a nearby car until we passed by.  Valparaiso, Chile.

This is how I first met Whiskey.  He was the hostel cat at my favorite hostel in Cusco.  He snuck up on me while I finished my breakfast to drink the milk leftover from my cereal.  This became our morning routine during my stay.  Though I stopped eating the cereal, somehow I always needed a small saucer of milk with my toast...  Cusco, Peru

Then we graduated to full-blown sharing....

Just grabbing a drink.  Cusco, Peru

Kitty burrito!  It got really cold some days at such high elevation, and whiskey would come right over any time I had a blanket.  This day was particularly cold, so decided to turn him into a kitty burrito.  Cusco, Peru

On especially cold nights, Whiskey went from one room to another searching for a warm bed with room for a small, sweet cat.  Somehow my bed was always big enough...  I enjoyed his company on more than one occasion.  He especially enjoyed when he got to go under the covers!  Cusco, Peru 

It made me so happy to see him so at ease  Cusco, Peru

Look at his tongue!  That's how he sleeps!  Always with his tongue sticking out just a little bit.  Cusco, Peru 

 While each of these sweet creatures has left its mark on my trip, there is one story left to be told, the story of a pup that holds a grip on my heart tighter than any other since Venus.

This is the story of a stray we took to calling Russio.  Ok.  I'm already getting emotional, so I'm going to have to make this brief or I will be sobbing by the end of it.    Here goes.

I met the dog we came to refer to as Russio on an outing with my hostel.  A group of about 15, we traveled by bus to a more remote town south of Valparaiso.  From there, most of the group hopped in a truck to drive to a remote beach where we would spend the day.  There wasn't enough space for all of us, so some of us set off walking instead.  Along the way, this friendly, rust-colored pitbull started following us with a scruffy little puppy pal.  They were both friendly, but not used to humans paying them much attention.  You could see them warming with every kind word, loving scratch, and belly pat.

Look at her face!  So sweet and gentle.  She is immediately loveable

They walked far ahead of us, but stayed with us all the way to where we met the truck to pick us up.  Here I was prepared to say goodbye to our new friends, but to my surprise, and secret horror, they ran after the truck.  Even as we had to double-back to where we started to pick up a late-arriving guest, they ran after us, their tongues lolling out of their mouths.

Now the mere fact of them chasing us may not be very impressive... but consider this, the little female had a bad leg.  She basically only used 3 of her legs, occasionally using her 4th to brace herself.  Plus, her legs were super short!  Add to this the mere time.  They were at a complete sprint for over 40 minutes running behind us!  I took a few pictures like this one below, where you can just see Russio sprinting over the dirt road behind us.  We were going at a pretty fast pace, so the only way they could physically keep up was because of the frequent ditches and potholes that forced us to slow to a near stop just long enough for them to gain back the distance.

In the end, our little female friend couldn't keep up, and dropped off after about 25 minutes of sprint.  My heart definitely fell with a mixture of relief and worry when I could no longer see her sweet, fluffy form some distance behind the truck.  But my dear Russio made it all the way, around corners, up hills, through the woods, all the way to the beach.  I spent the entire ride looking back on my new friend, always half-hoping that he would go home so it would stop torturing me, but at the same time loving him more with every determined step.

Russio spent the day with us at the beach, first making a pit stop to a nearby stream to drink up before coming to meet his new pack.  He lounged in the shade when he could, but mostly spent time coralling all of the humans in his new pack.  Anytime anyone would go out of his sight, he locked his eyes on the last spot they were seen, waiting to see them appear again and whimpering slightly.  My friend Alejandro and I spent the most time with Russio, both growing very fond of his sweetness, his gentleness, and his immediate loyalty.  He won over the other guests, too, and was soon our beloved mascot.  We shared what we could of the food we had brought, and he got scratches from everyone.

Oops, I um, dropped another roll....

After swimming a little bit in the ocean following after one of the human pack,
Russio decided to sit on my lap for a scratch.  I happily obliged.

As the end of our outing neared, I thought more and more about what was going to happen with Russio.  Especially for Alejandro and I, he had really come to feel like a family member.  He was clearly exhausted from that morning's run, so we hated the thought of him chasing the truck again for the return.  So, knowing there wouldn't be enough space for all in the truck, Alejandro and I set of with Russio on foot, hoping to escort him home.  I hoped with all of my heart that he had one that was eagerly waiting his return.  I never found out if that was true or not.

Our "family" portrait. from the walk back  # happy people, one of whom happens to have fur.

Ok, I made it through that story, and I only had to stop 4 or 5 times to collect myself.  I have to tell the ending quickly, because if I think too much about the details, and remember it too accurately, I will be overcome with a strong sense of guilt and pain at our departure.  We walked for about an hour back to the road with Russio.  Unlike the arrival, this time he didn't stray too far.  He would go off exploring down the side streets, but would always promptly return.  If we lingered too far behind, like when I stopped to take pictures of the scene, he would come back, circle us, as if to remind us that a good pack stays together.  We walked and walked, and the further we got, the more I worried about the last moment I would share with my new friend.

Ok, just got to 6 stops.  That's pretty good, considering.

That last moment came faster than I thought.  It's an anticlimactic, guilty and painful end.  The truck came to collect us, so quick that Russio didn't even see.  He was too far ahead.    After we got in, I saw him circle back to look for us, but hadn't realized we were now in the car.  Off we went.  No painful goodbye, no looking in his eyes one last time willing him to understand why I was leaving...  I just left.  I abandoned my pack.

7 stops.

I have thought of Russio every day since that trip over a week ago.  There are no more words left to say.



The issue of strays is a very large one here in South America.  I know that I will be searching out ways to help when I get home.  Maybe you feel inspired to get involved yourself?  One way to control the stray population is through spaying and neutering strays to prevent population incline.  Here are some organizations doing that work.  All could use donations to keep the work going.

Esther Honey, Pacific Islands
Candi Cat and Dog International, Mexico and the Caribbean
FixNation, California

Interested in learning more?
Beautiful Stories of strays adopted from South America!  Must read: Arthur and Chili Dog
5 Great Dog Rescue Groups in the US
Street Dog Welfare International
Helping Stray and Wild Animals
List of Organizations that Import strays into the US (scroll to the bottom)