Dogs!

For a largely flat-dwelling nation, the Spanish seem to have a prodigious number of dogs. Some of these are surprisingly large, once more I say, considering that they live in flats and don't get to run around in a garden all day. I often marvel at how well trained they must be. It's one thing to have your dog whine at the door to go out to do his necessary business when you can let him out directly into your garden, but quite another if you have to go out and wait for the lift to take you down umpteen floors to street level. This is especially so if, as in our flats, you are not allowed to let your dog run around in the garden area at the back. I must say that I agree with that last ruling. How nasty for the chap who maintains the garden to come across little packages which clog up the blades of his mower! 

 I read that until 2004, Paris boasted a fleet of what they called "Motocrottes”, motorised pooper-scooters that would pick up dog dirt. These were abandoned after accountants calculated they rid the city of only 20% of the 350 tonnes of dogmess deposited on the streets of that capital. I just love the name! 

 Paris may have abandoned its "motocrottes" but it has "incivility brigades". These are a kind of police force who can impose instant fines on people who drop litter, throw their cigarette ends down in the street and other such related muckiness. What an excellent idea! Around here you see very little litter as a rule. This is largely because of the street sweepers who are out with their carts first thing in the morning. Even then, they mostly seem to be sweeping up cigarette ends, which the Spanish do quite liberally distribute around the streets. 

You do see the occasional dogmess, but not a great deal as most dog owners nowadays are well-trained pooh-slaves! I wonder how the street sweepers feel about cleaning that up! 

And I am often amused to see big bulky men walking those ugly little pugs which are so popular here, or other very tiny dogs. No doubt these have been chosen by the wife or girlfriend but on occasion have to be walked by the chaps who look as though they should be walking huge Alsatians instead. so long as they clean up after them, I guess it's OK.