To the Health …of Your Dog

I think I’ve mentioned before that I love dogs. Every size, shape, breed – well except for the yappy poof ball breeds, especially poodles – but you get the idea.

Since I had to leave my Macy at home during these Brazilian adventures I’m looking for every opportunity to see dogs, even if it is through the glass at the local pet store.

We went to the mall on Saturday night. It is the only place you can get a meal at the unspeakable gringo hour of 5:30pm. We were hungry from skipping lunch and from not having any food in the apartment after our travels and didn’t want to wait until 9:00pm for our dinner.

We stopped by the pet store to check out the dogs as we normally do. To my surprise we saw this sign next to the pet store.

It was all about health – dog health – and about the things your dog should avoid eating. I have to say I was thrilled to see it. While a lot of people here have dogs, I often question the level of care due to the amount of strays I see and the lack of affection I witness between dogs and the owners out in the city. I never really feel that there is the love of dogs here like there is in the US.

I was glad to see the sign and of course it got me thinking. It is interesting that Maringá is up to date on dog care, but completely behind the times when it comes to other things. Some topics that come to mind include the importance of seatbelts and child car seats, the dangers of loud music and open alcohol containers in the car.

I guess this is excellent for the family pooch, but what about the two year old I see standing next to the steering wheel of a moving truck with his head two inches from the dash board? Sometimes the lack of common sense just gets to me. It exists in the US too, but I just find it more overwhelming here.