Mexico City: Dogs

I went to Mexico City from May 28th to June 11th, 2011. Only when I got back did I notice a few things...

The dogs. They seem to keep to themselves, or they seem to be checking out other dogs. The ones with owners were extremely obedient, and the ones without seemed to have some sort of agenda or other that didn't involve humans. When walking around with my friend and her parents, there were excited dogs, stoic dogs, nonchalant dogs, stray dogs, but the dogs never barked at me (or her).  Not that I can recall. I mean, dogs bark, but they always seemed to be barking at other dogs or something/one else. Especially at night.   

When I got back to Scottsdale however, I decided to go on a walk to the store, and on my way home, I was about to walk past someone with two dogs on leashes.  The larger dog growled and barked a bit before being quieted by the owner. A few more guttural  growls and more barking as I walked past, with the owner telling the dog to be quiet. I'm not sure if it was just for my sake (like I perceived for it to be) but it got my mind to thinking. I was never barked at in Mexico City. Maybe dogs relate to humans differently there.

Of course I took account of my racial identity upon being startled, then reflecting on this experience. Especially since Scottsdale (and most of AZ for that matter) is predominantly white (in general terms).

A part of me wants to go back to the Mexico City version of dog-human relations.  There were even Great Danes that walking/running around with owners that didn't bark at us (me or my friend), and though there was general anxiety, only one Great Dane barked (or bellowed)...at a smaller dog.  Not to mention the street smarts. These dogs know traffic (and how not to get run over). I don't know why I'm so fascinated at this.  Maybe because being back in AZ (which means back to dogs barking at me) made me realize that things can actually be different and peaceful on so many levels. Down to the smallest dog.