StreetView Street Dogs

Inspired by a story about a rescued street dog in California that could be seen on Google StreetView (here), I had a wander around some of the streets of Bangkok on StreetView to see what I could find. Here are a few of the results:

© 2012 Google

© 2012 Tele Atlas

Then I had a quick look at where I used to live in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand where street dogs were also quite easy to spot:

© 2012 Google

© 2012 Tele Atlas

Popping over to Mexico City I found fewer than I expected but in the right places where people gather and hang around there were also dogs:

© 2012 Google

© 2012 INEGI

Finally, on this quick tour I went to Moscow where there have been numerous stories in the recent past about the reported 30,000-35,000 stray dogs in the city. I spent about half an hour wandering around on StreetView but couldn’t find any of them. Interestingly, although I saw plenty of people walking about in pleasant weather I didn’t even see a pet dog on a leash. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean very much but does highlight to me that life for street dogs in different cities can mean very different things. In Thailand (and perhaps Mexico) they are accepted and live as an integral part of the urban community but in Moscow they seem to have to lead more furtive lives which is inevitably harder particularly given the harsh climate. 

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)