Los perros

There are dogs everywhere (at least in Southern Chile) on the streets, in the parks, at the bus stations, wandering in and out of the little food shops. 

It's hard to tell how many of them are strays, and how many of them are pets with a LOT of freedom. In our entire time, we've seen two leashes/collars and hundreds of dogs.

Their coats don't look bad, and they aren't terribly skinny. They don't really "talk" to people, and for the most part ignore cars (but not traffic lights. They obey traffic lights). And for all the dogs we've seen, we haven't seen dog poo in the streets or grassy areas. 

One exception: this little guy followed us (escorted us?) to the rodovario in Puerto Natales. He didn't really talk to us, or beg, just walked with us for about a mile. He did his business along the way, and...well...let's just say it was clear that this dog eats garbage all day. 

The dogs do seem to look out for each other, particularly in Chiloé. We've seen more gangs, and more group efforts to...get food? This pack seemed to be doing a public shaming of one of the dogs. It was a fascinating dynamic to watch, as it was clear who the leader of the pack was. 

And it wasn't the one doing all the barking.