Dog Lovers in Perpignan, Watch Where You Step

Text and Photo by Su Kim

People love dogs all over the world, but in Perpignan this affection takes a different form.

I saw one guy in a coffee shop put his dog on his lap and start talking to him as if the dog were his son. He started to clean the dog's eyes with his hands, kept petting him and talked to him forever. It's not the first time I have seen this kind of scene, but I cannot help feeling that something more is going on in Perpignan, and perhaps elsewhere in France.

The other side of the story about Perpignan's dogs is not that pleasant. Frankly speaking, I have noticed a lot of dogs' leavings everywhere on the street, and my group and I have to watch out wherever we go. I wonder how these people can love their dogs so much and not clean up after them.

According to an article by The Age in 2011, a scientist in Toulouse is working on a scent that controls where dogs defecate. I hope that people in Perpignan take the project seriously as well.

I have also seen dogs sleeping on the street with their owners. When I saw it the first time, I thought these dogs were dead. It seems they pretty much go everywhere with their owners. Fortunately, the dogs are really tame and do not even bark at you as lots of dogs do in the United States, so you do not have to worry when you are passing them by.

Just be careful where you step.

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About the Program

Fifteen college students came from North America to Perpignan, France, in June 2011 to produce these videos and stories. To find out more, read a welcome letter from program director Rachele Kanigel, meet the program faculty and explore the 2010 website.