Chile has a problem of epidemic proportions when it comes to abandoned dogs. Driving down into Laguna Verde, or in fact any Chilean town, the amount of unwanted dogs left to fend for themselves is shameful and shows an urgency for educating the masses and highlighting the widespread scale of the problem. Would it be o.k. to abandon your children because of thier colour, because they were no longer small or cute, because they became to expensive or too much of a burden? A child is for life, not just for Christmas, and so is a dog!
The reasons for abandonment here in Chile mirror how discrimination works in wider society. Black dogs are rarely wanted, the more European and blonder the better, your face must fit, and if preferable, you must fit into a Gucci handbag. How heartbreaking to see dogs running into the roads, with little food, and even worse, mistreated and kicked by uneducated yobs only because of an inquisitive sniff.
Luckily there are many groups who are trying to make a change here. There are many people who love animals and try to find those abandoned ones homes. They leave food and water in the streets and knit them clothing for the cold. Which brings me to the story of Lucho.
Lucho is a mongrel who has recently won our hearts. A month or two ago, our poodle cross Pelusa went missing. Naughty little girl had escaped and was looking for mischief. We were delighted as she appeared two days later, but she arrived with a flea bag in tow. For several days, Lucho stayed outside of the gate, waiting for Pelusa, to shower her with howls of love. Finally we caved and let him in, hoping the dynamic with our other five dogs would work. We gave him the name ´Lucho´ because he fought so hard for Pelusita´s love and didn´t give up.
Lucho is rather a strange creature, with almost human eyes and a human sounding gruffy voice. He is ridden with fleas, but who could not love him? Due to the amount of abandoned dogs in Chile, there are some strange mixes of dogs, whippets with labrador heads and sausage dogs with chihuahua ears. He surely was abandoned because he has a big head and probably was too large for his owners who wanted a purse size pup. But we have grown to love him just as he is, even if he does cause tremendous mischief with Pelusa, he is now part of our family. And our story is one of many which gives me hope that things are starting to change, that it takes just but one person, and one dog to make a difference. Love and kidness is everything.
