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Old Dogs of Pera

No, sorry, this is not a post about trashy women in Pera hanging out at the equivalent of The Boat House! It is really an observation on the crazy dogs of Pera...


Having a dog really opens your eyes to the amount of other dogs there are around here. From little mini dogs with a sharp bite, to crazy insane dogs tied up all the time. Now my dog hero Ceaser Milan (I have read one of his books and I am sold, although not sure I quite have the calm assertive temper he requires), would do his nut seeing how some of these dogs are tied up all day as guard dogs.

Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that us Brits have a different view of pet ownership than many in Europe. Our dogs are part of the family (maybe too too much in some cases) and I do understand that our culture of pet ownership is just different. But when you have a dog yourself you realise how mental some of these tied up dogs can be.

Meet the old dogs of Pera.

This little chap is being looked after by neighbours while his family are in France. He is a cutie, no idea what he is called and our dog actually likes him.

On the other hand we have Kaiser, this dog is nuts. Totally nuts and possibly a danger. He has got off his chain and attacked Lord once already and no amount of kicking and hitting from Peter and I managed to pull him off. It was not until his owner pulled him off by smacking the dog around the head did he release Lord. Even taking this photo, the dog went nuts. Hackles up, dog slob dripping from his mouth, pulling madly on his chain. The problem is he is a guard dog, kept chained up all day with no where to go, not a chance to exercise, and he's a big dog, looks like a rottie cross. Like I say, Ceaser Milan would do his nut. We don't walk past this dog anymore, but even at the other end of the square you can hear him going crazy when I walk Lord. I suppose you have to feel sorry for him really, the dog hasn't had a chance, humans mess up dogs and this one is a mess.

Now let me introduce you to 'Barky Beagle'. Barky Beagle (not his real name (obviously)) we pass most mornings on our dog walk. Lord goes nuts when we pass, tries to strangle himself to either get away from the dog or to attack it. Hopefully I will never find out, as Barky Beagle lives upstairs.





Poochy is the village dog, he is a little brown thing that just loves to come and wind Lord up by barking at him from the street. Watching Lord and Poochy run up and down barking at each other is very funny, I wanted to video it for the blog, but Poochy has not been round today and unless I get this blog updated now I never will. So, you miss out. Sorry.

I do have this though. This is the noise made by three dogs who live opposite our friends Wilf and Sam. Holding onto Lord during this noise is a real show of strength!






One poor local dog lives in an old broken down house, again tied up all day he has nowhere to release any aggression or pent up energy. Although he is fed and watered every day, has a little dog house to live in, to me it just does not seem right. Portugal does not have an RSPCA as far as I know, the attitude is just different I suppose - it's something you just have to get use to and not judge.

There are a few local dogs I have not included in this observation, including lovely lonely Freddy who lives at the end of our garden. An Alsatian cross, tied up most of the time to guard the veg patch of our neighbours. Freddy looks scary as hell, but once you go in, hold your nerve and pet him, he is so desperate for some love he is all over you (not such a great thing because he smells bad). His owners are lovely people, they own Poochy too, so it is not that people are cruel, it is just a different culture. I also have not included a photo of BIG DOG. Big dog lives up the road, he is an Estrella type dog. Guarding the gates of his home with possibly the oldest dog I have ever heard bark as company. Big dog jumps the gates, it looks like he'll either come over them or through them! However, when I went up to take a picture he was as scared as I was!

Finally, the horror of the village (although Peter thinks he is sweet), is Rex. Rex will have a go at anything. Leaping teeth first onto Lord, biting at our heals just out of reach of my kicking feet. Rex is a dog with small man syndrome....

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