Settling In 129important dog occasion because
I have not seen that many
since then.)
My social conscience told me
that we should train our puppy as
a house dog and not unleash him
in the streets. But his fi rst impressions of the city’s canine
society made him feel cooped up at home. Once he had had
his shots and learned to stop jumping on people, I let him
roam. After all, he had earned the right by accepting a typical
Bolivian dog diet—leftovers.
With Bolivia’s canine liberation, it should be dangerous
to walk the streets. But La Paz former health director José
Guillermo Prudencio once explained that most complaints
come from neighbours in reference to dogs owned by families
rather than strays. The most dangerous dogs in La Paz are
those that have received formal training to protect houses.
Some dog neighbourhoods are more dangerous than
others. In general, the more affl uent the neighbourhood,
As a lone uphill jogger in La Paz’s
hilly streets, I learned (from a
dog bite on the leg) to brandish
a visible stone in my right hand.
Strays and semi-strays have
learned to respect the stone-in-
hand signals.