1. Police dogs are not just Alsatians. At a show for the public in Quito I noticed this Saint Bernard cop-dog. I've no idea why the dog is on the copper's back, but he seems to be enjoying the ride.
2. Dogs are very popular here. Puppies are sold on street corners, or even to commuters in their cars at busy junctions. Only a complete arse would impulse purchase a puppy, and an incomplete one whilst waiting at traffic lights. This picture is of puppies on sale at Otavalo Animal Market.
3. The middle class don't usually walk their own dogs. They pay dog walkers to sort that out for them, in large but well-behaved dog gangs. You tried that in the UK you would just end up with the mother of all dog fights.
4. At least in Quito, dressing up dogs in clothes is considered perfectly normal behaviour, and not in the slightest bit pathetically anthropomorphic. The second photo is from the clothing section of a pet shop near my house. Notice the black leather gimp-dog manikins.
5. Dogs attend university in Ecuador. Where I teach, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, students regularly bring their dogs to classes. They also bring hamsters sometimes. This picture is of Loba, who lives in the university. She is a snob, I gave her a dog biscuit and she spat it out, glared at me and sauntered off. This university has a reputation for having brat students, a brat dog too apparently.
