Tag: pet

Every Day Is A Dog’s Day

M's Adventures
At the super cute puppy stage. This one lives at the kayak club.

Türkiye is famous for the cats and dogs who live on the streets and “belong” to everyone. The dogs who have been fixed so they can no longer produce, have a tag on an ear. There are bowls of water and food in front of many shops and people generally take care of these animals, including grooming them.

This dog has a tag on the ear.

So if you don’t want to have your own pet, you can just get friendly with the ones on the streets. I am accustomed to the one dog who hangs out by the exit to the mall. And the other two who sleep on the steps. It just seems normal.

Dogs napping on the mall steps.

As for the kittens and puppies, watch out. You might end up adopting them.

When “Bizarre Food” Traditions End

M's Adventures

It is often “bizarre foods” that are old traditions that no longer are available. In Italy, people asked me if I had tried “Casu martzu” which is maggot cheese. No, it’s illegal and I do not need to have maggot larvae jumping at my face while trying some cheese. I am not Andrew Zimmern. Like most of us, I was raised to try everything one is offered. But, I think that is different when offered things that are a bit on the special side. Often, I think that people are pulling one’s leg. When the situation is legit, then I will try it. Unless my gag reflex tells me not to. So I have tried moose nose and it was okay, but I was not offered the seal blubber because I was not of high enough rank. I have also tried to eat steamed aloe vera, but could not because it was worse than snot.

This is in Annandale, Virginia.

Other odd foods I have heard of are “virgin boy piss eggs” in China where eggs are marinated in urine. Apparently this was done with horse urine in Korea in the old days. Speaking of Korea, the Koreans have outlawed eating dog. Apparently there are parts of China that have banned eating cats and dogs. In several places in the world, I have seen unfortunate sign juxtaposition of Korean restaurants and veterinary practices. Was this oblivious, on purpose either from malice or humor? Whatever the reason, this will, with time, disappear as the people slowly realize that the Koreans no longer eat dog.

This is in Rome, Italy.

Because of the connection with Koreans and eating dog, I was a bit surprised when I saw what I thought was an oven for dogs… but it was a specialized dog dryer — a sign of the opposite end of the spectrum for dogs — from meat to pet.

At an H Mart, a Korean grocery chain.

Biodiversity Wonderland, But the Dog…

M's Adventures

But the dog… the special dog of Peru is the Peruvian Hairless Dog or Peruvian Inca Orchid Dog Breed. I do not have a photo (which is odd given how many photos I take — but when I googled “dog” and “animal” in my photos, I got some interesting results — corn — but no hairless dog. The one in the jeans and striped top is a French one, I think) so I include a link here. There are several types of Peruvian dog but the most noticeable is the hairless one.

I first saw one and in an “adding injury to insult” sort of way, this particular hairless dog not only had a skin disease,  but also has a “job” where s/he interacts with lots of people all day long. Actually, maybe the skin condition helps keep people from petting him/her?

The Peruvian Hairless Dog looks a lot like Anubis, of ancient Egypt.

In my part of Lima, I don’t see that many street dogs, but I see many other pooches! There are several dog parks and even a dog fair (I don’t think they sell dogs… adopt! Just accoutrements.) on the malecon.

Some gelaterias even sell gelato specially made for dogs. As I wrote in November, I am predicting that the new trend in restaurants will be dog menus (no, not menus made of dog).

Lima doesn’t seem quite as pooch crazy as Bogota but perhaps it will become so.

Like in Bogota, the vets will make house calls. Dr. Cols makes calls and he speaks English (and canine — oh, and feline and whatever).

Really, this blog posting was just to show some photos of dogs.

NOTE: I do not receive any monetary remuneration for any of the businesses (like the dog cookie business — get ya fresh wholesome all natural 100 percent ancestral grain puppy treats NOW!) whom I “advertise” (in the verb sense) on my blog.

The term for pet is “mascota” in Spanish and aren’t they just?

 

The Next Big Food Trend in Lima

M's Adventures
Last year, I predicted that poke would be the new food trend in Lima. This year, I’ve seen the rise of food halls, burrito/tacos, shawarma, gluten free, and artisanal EVERYTHING.
Food halls: with the advent of Mercado 28, a food court with 10 or so restaurants and bars, is all the rage. It is a food hall, a concept that started trending a few years back in Europe.
Burritos/tacos: With the return of Taco Bell, the arrival is complete. It seems everything is in a flat bread these days.
Shawarma: shaved meat in a flat bread. Sort of a burrito on a upright rotisserie.
Gluten free: Yes. Also, keto, and other types of diets.
Artisanal (most of the artisanal bread is the antithesis of gluten-free): What goes around, comes around. In the old days, this was called home-made or hand-made. Now it’s artsy.
But, I’m predicting the new trend will be gourmet food for your dog. You read it here first! Event cookies that you can share with your dog! More and more restaurants are advertising pet friendly, but I’m predicting they will soon have dog menus too!