A dog life

Dogs are such an important part of La Paz and Altiplano life, that we couldn't avoid making a blog post about them.

You can find dogs everywhere, in all sizes and even in all races. Expensive dogs like Shar Peis, Huskies, etc. run in the streets without owners. But after a while, we have realised that many of these "street-dogs" actually have owners. They just let them run wherever they like.

Dogs here are also extremely good to cross streets full of fast driving cars. And people are so used to dogs, that you can find dogs sleeping everywhere, some times in places where they can easily be stepped on but somehow they don't. Dogs are well treated here. At least much better than what we have seen in Asia.

Some dogs can be violent and bite random people, like Andrés. Now he has to get 10 injections against rabies and a 5 day treatment with antibiotics. Luckily the government pays all the vaccinations. 

Sometimes we meet dog-gangs as well, especially in El Alto. Once I saw 10 dogs walking together owning the street, they were heading to their "puddle pub" for some drinking and fighting (see the last photo).

Some rasta dogs like to grow dreadlocks and are proud of it.

Dead dogs are lying everywhere, or at least they look like they're dead...probably after a hard night of drinking and fighting.

Dog gangs roam El Alto.