Dogs in Greece

Mom with a cute dog in Santorini

So mom took a little vacation and didn't take me with! I forgive her though, she said the airplane ride was 12 hours long and not very comfortable, and you know I only travel in style. So I'm glad I stayed home.

While she was away I got to spend the best two weeks of my life with my favorite pet-sitter Kelly, from Fetch! Her house is amazing and my dog friends are just very cool guys. We chased each other for hours, we romped in the yard and we even shared treats. What's best, I got to sleep in the bed with Kelly.

Mom petting another dog in Crete

Mom told me she missed me a lot while in Greece. She also said that she met lots of dogs over there. As it happens, we dogs roam the streets freely in Greece. Don't worry, she said that my canine friends over there are well fed because the government and the community take good care of us. We are fed by many and the tourists love to snap pictures of themselves with the dogs.

If you want to learn more about mom's experience with the dogs in Greece, read her article in Life with Dogs. You'll love it.

Mom is on vacation and sad.

Right now I'm missing mom and Master a lot. I've been staying with my awesome grandparents while mom is visiting her homeland of Cartagena, Colombia.

Mom was very excited before leaving - nervous too. This is the first time that my Master visits Colombia and mom just wanted to make sure that he will love the city and the country as much as she loved it when she lived and visited there before.

Mom had not been back to Colombia in eight years and she told me that a lot has changed. There are a lot more comforts, places to go and ways to shop. The city still carries its beautiful history and architecture, yet mom is not too happy there. First it is super hot - it is always 95 degrees if not hotter - but what makes mom so sad is that she tells me there are lots of dogs and cats living homeless on the street. People there are very friendly to each other, but not to four legged individuals like myself.

Mom told me that she has cried a few times because no one cares for us down there. Street animals are starving, suffering from the heat or very sick. Most of the "lucky" ones that have owners are treated bad, they are tied outside, left outside without protection, never bathed, and most withstand physical abuse daily. Few are loved and cared like it is done in the U.S. What's worse, no one seems to want to help homeless animals and they are always yelling at my four legged brothers and sisters to go away. Cats are also left to fend for themselves on the streets.

Throughout all these hardships, street dogs in Colombia are very friendly, mom has fed a few of them and has even pet them. They only want to be loved and be treated fairly. People down there think mom is crazy for caring for these dogs, they even yell at her when she tries to help.

Mom says that she misses me a lot and wants to come home right now, but at the same time she wants to stay and help all the needy animals of Colombia. She says that I will love it down there because of the weather and because dogs there are rarely walked on leashes. We can run free, but then again we are not welcomed anywhere so it would be hard for me to live comfortably down there. I love to be around people, I love to jump on the furniture, on the beds, I love to go on  car rides...I have a heart and I have rights, and I want to be accepted and loved like my family loves me in the U.S.

Come back soon mom, maybe together we can help the abandoned and unwanted pets of Colombia.