Les chats, les chiens, los gatos y los perros

After the craziness of finals (I got an A!) and work (still crazy, but I’m refreshed), we left the menagerie and headed to Spain and France. My mom volunteered to move in and take care of the gang (thanks mom!), and being able to get updates made me miss them a little less. I still commented on every dog and cat I saw, and copped feels when I could.

We started our trip in Barcelona, where we noticed that the ‘basic mutt’ looked much different than our beloved Chicago Brown Dog. In the parts of Spain and France we visited, all dogs seemed to have a strain of wire-haired terrier in them. We even saw a super-cute pitty pup that had an extra scruffy look, probably due to local mutt genes. Dogs were everywhere, often off leash walking nicely beside their person. 

We moved onto Cadaques, the tiny coastal town where Salvador Dali lived. More tourists, fewer locals, so fewer dogs, but plenty of cats snoozing in the ample sunshine.

We spent the rest of the trip driving from charming small town in France to charming small town in France. 

Most dogs looked like this.

Franklin would fit in great over here. Except he’s a little too exuberant. The French dogs were so used to being out and about that they were pretty non-reactive to everything. They didn’t get excited when someone walked up to them. They ignored other dogs. They just hung out beside their person quietly. I saw a few playing, but for the most part, they just hung out.

We saw a variety of dogs doing all sorts of stuff.

Dogs at markets

Dogs napping in quiet plazas

Dogs patrolling restaurants 

This guy was so cute - he belonged to the server at this restaurant and just rested in the doorway while his person waited on customers. He was rewarded with a big hunk of bread when his person sat down to eat his lunch after the customers left. (The dog was much more interested in the man’s steak than his piece of bread).

Dogs patrolling shops

And some dogs just hanging out without a person in sight

The dogs were for the most part amazingly well-behaved, probably because they're so well-socialized. Turns out Lola and Franklin were doing a lot of cafe dining around the neighborhood while we were away, so they may be getting better too!