Everywhere we have traveled, we have been surrounded by stray dogs and cats. What is so interesting is that none of these animals appear malnourished! They roam around and different folks feed them and give them water.
I wondered if in the U.S., people just have more pets but according to some statistics I found online, the U.S. is not even first in the world in pet ownership. Latin America has the most pets and Russia has more than the U.S. I was shocked.
When we were visiting the pyramids, we were surprised at the number of stray dogs in the desert. I found this article online . . .you might not want to read it. The dogs we saw looked like well-fed strays. The article does point out that there is garbage piled up on all the streets and so the dogs can find food to eat - from the trash.
Of course, when I started reading articles like this one . . .I went down the rabbit hole. I did borrow this picture from the article.
I thought I had a picture of a camel with dogs around, but I can't find it! But I do have this one from the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.
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| AI shared this with me about him (above) The black dog or jackal-headed statue in the Egyptian Museum
of Antiquities, specifically the one found in King Tut's tomb, represents the ancient Egyptian
god Anubis, associated with mummification, the afterlife, and the cemetery. |
I do have these pictures of cats from our most recent trip in October 2024 -- cats in Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. The top one is my favorite. We were leaving a restaurant and Mr. (or Miss) Kitty jumped through a window and up onto a table to lick the fish bones clean!
This one reminded me of Harvey and I love how they casually lie around the ancient ruins!
These kitties were in an open air restaurant and I may have fed them most of my lunch. One of them was a nursing mama and she needed some food.
Do you have a cat or dog? If so, does your pet stay inside or outside? What is your pet's name?
It's sad how many animals are strays in other countries. Here in the UK, at least where I live, if a stray cat or dog is spotted people are on it straightaway, posting on Facebook, contacting people who will scan it for a chip (all cats and dogs have to be chipped now) and trying to find out if it is in fact a stray or has a home.
ReplyDeleteThere are feral cats here in my neighborhood and it makes me sad, though when strays are captured to be spayed or neutered, their ears are tipped off and they are returned to their neighborhood. The tipped ears tell authorities that they won't be reproducing and are left alone. I have two cats and they are not allowed outside. They have never been outside and don't seem to even be interested in venturing away from the comforts of home.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any pets these days. When our children were home we had cats and dogs. They were outside pets. We had a large fenced yard and lived in the woods. We did bring them inside when the temperatures dropped too low and they had an enclosed porch with lots of hay for when they were outside in the winter. They all lived to ripe old ages.
ReplyDeleteNo pets! But it's amazing that Russia and South America both have more pets.
ReplyDeleteI have two indoor only cats who showed up, moved in, and stayed! Benny and Baby Cat. I have a dog, Mickey. He goes outside when he wants, but isn't left outside. He's a house pet. Why have pets if you aren't with them?
ReplyDeleteThere were lots of stray dogs when we visited Puerto Rico. On the beach, on the city streets. A little boy was petting a puppy through the fence around the apartment pool. Almost all the yellow dogs most strays, wild dogs, what have your, end up looking. Dingo-ish.
I always wonder about the life on domestic animals in other countries as we travel.
ReplyDeleteDonna: Click for my 2025 A-Z Blog
Whenever I travel, I'll look out for cats mainly, not really dogs, to take pictures of, or if they're friendly, to hug
ReplyDeleteWe have always had cats as pets and I love seeing them when I travel. They are particularly well looked after in Istanbul even when they’re strays. Have you ever seen the documentary of them called Kedi?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt4420704/