"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its
animals are treated."
-- Gandhi
This
is Han Solo. 
He doesn’t
live with me, he lives on the streets of Santiago. He doesn’t live with me
because I have a Mike. If I didn’t have a Mike I’d have an apartment full of Han
Solos. The streets here are peppered with them. We’ve taken to naming them
after the nearest metro stop or main street we first see them on. Salvador;
Tobalaba; Francisco; Miguel,..... they are unlike any other street dogs, save
those of Athens, in that they are highly socialised. They don’t bite; don’t beg
and if you’re missing your own pooch they’ll happily act as a substitute,
playing with you in the park. They exhibit amazingly gentle behaviour and even
the hungriest among their ranks would never snatch food from an offering hand.
One remarkable thing that sets them apart from the unfortunate, mangy mutts
littering the paths of cities abroad is that these guys are largely
infestation free, albeit a little dusty.
In marked contrast to many of the world’s abandoned canines, tossed from their
homes when they grow too big for their bumble bee suits, these guys see
themselves as a part of the society. It’s not uncommon to see them sitting
beside someone sharing their lunch, or waiting amongst the legs of pedestrians
for the lights to change so they may cross safely. They don’t seem at all bitter
about their lot in life, frolicking without malice equally with each other as
with the pampered pooches, who have a home to go to when the sun goes down.
While the Santiago street dog’s life is more comfortable than that of other
homeless creatures
(Old ladies are
largely credited with seeing they don’t go with out food. Old ladies and odd
foreigners, it would seem.)
it
is not without its perils. Some say that very occasionally, and very much
against the wishes
of its citizens, the city does a round-up, gathering together all they can find
and having them
put to sleep. While this would be a blessing to the dogs of Bangkok whose flesh
is peeling
away from their festering bones, it seems like a terrible tragedy here,
especially for the likes
of Han.....Indeed, here is a dog so cool that only the coolest of characters has
a name fitting
for him.
