Dogs of Athens, Athens

The dogs of Athens is something you notise rigth away coming from a country as Denmark where there is no dogs running free in the steets. The most have a coller from the mayors office as a sign of that they have been vaccinated and been castrated to limit the numbers. All the dogs I meet in Athens was nice and friendly and just liked to have a pat. If you have leftovers from a dinner you can have a real doggybag, I`m sure you make a dog happy!

The Athens cats are very nice to watch. You will mostly find them laying around or playing in the National Gardens as well as in Anafiotika but they also very well may pass you by when you are sitting on the terrace of a café in Plaka, stop, look at you and continue their way.

The Athens cats are clean and healthy. Of course there always can be the odd one that has a few foreign flees visiting Athens. From half of May on, you will see the kittens strolling around. They stay near the terraces and will play with you or sit on your lap and purr.

There are a lot of stay dogs in Athens. To some they are a problem, to others a part of what Athens has to offer. They are fed by both locals and tourists and you can see them having a siesta in the shade on a warm afternoon are strolling around alone or in packs. Most of them have their own territory that they will defend from other dogs.

You may not believe this but the Athens dogs are pretty smart and very well adjusted to life in the city. Don’t be surprised when you see a dog go to a pedestrian crossing, wait for someone to come and cross with him or her. The centre and Plaka dogs behave very well and are of good nature. They are used to having a lot of people around. There may be one that has a bad hair day and barks at you. “Bark” back at him and he will run off and when he does not, just ignore him. After a while, he will do the same with you.

The dogs are just as much a part of the town as the people or the landmarks. Definitely a fix for the animal lovers out there!!! Not sure where they have to go, but the shop and cafe owners take good care of their animals! Awfully smart, we were actually led to the Acropolis by one of the many "4 legged guides."
The photo doesn't even make a dent in the amount of canines hanging out around the city center.

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It's a dog's life in modern Athens.

We saw many dogs throughout Athens. They were all so hot & tired from the heat. Many times we saw them lying down on the ground looking extremely exhausted.

Sleeping anywhere on the street, i passed walking next to them and they didn´t do it anything.
I love dogs