Who let the dogs out?

There is a type of dog here in South America which I have christened 'dead dog'. It isn't that the dogs are actually dead, more that they do amazing imitations of said state.

The dogs in South America are a mixed bunch, down south in Patagonia they are likely to be purebred or close whereas further north they are truely Heinz 57. However one thing they all have in common is their total lack of road sense. They think nothing of wandering out across a road regardless of oncoming traffic - in fact it seems the responsibility lies with drivers to avoid them even if the dogs are being stupid. In Chile the dogs have a fondness for chasing after cars as close as possible to the rear passenger wheel while barking loudly while in Argentina they just think they own the roads.

Despite this, the reason I call them 'dead dog' is their ability to fall asleep in public places without any concern for their security. On the grass of public parks is understandable, under benches in pedestrian areas is acceptable but on the pavement at one of the busiest corners in the city centre (Santiago), in a carpark (Ushuaia) and in the road (Chiloe) is taking things a little too far, and these are not isolated incidents.

When L and I travelled together, I initiated a game called 'dead dog' wherein the first of us to spot a sleeping dog would call out 'dead dog'. Unfortunately it soon got boring because we were calling out approximently twice a minute (although L came up with an alternative in San Antonio de Areco 'live horse' which she won hands down). I was going to take some photos but it would become incredibly boring very quickly so you'll have to use your imaginations. Look at your dogs asleep and transplant them to the most ridiculous public place you can think of - that's a 'dead dog' for you.