We find a family of nine homeless Podengo Medios

We have just found a family of nine dogs. The youngsters are about a year old. The parents maybe two years old. This is how it happens in the Tropics. They live on open ground near the defunct Hotel Sobrado in Santa Maria, the main tourist island of the Cape Verdes. They are being cared for by Caterina , who is a manager at the new Hilton and lives near the Sobrado.

One dog is very scared. But most of the others have the freindly spirit of the true Podengo, They all have narrow bodies and large ears, although some are not as erect as others. All have white feet and curly tails, and some have the lighter colored apron strings behind the front legs. Clearly, though, there are signs of another breed in the lineage of some of the dogs.

If anyone feels able to help these dogs, you may contact Caterina, a Portuguese who speaks good english at the Hilton, Ilha do Sal. Any shipments of worm or tick treatment, collars or leashes would be deeply appreciated for the salaries of hotel staff in Cape Verde are not high and imported dog food and medecines are expensive.


Better still come and have a look at the local scene. The climate is similar to Florida but without the hurricanes and living costs are much lower. Cape Verde international airlines, now operated by Icelandair flies direct from Boston Logan and Miami Dade. as well as major European airports. It is keen to develop more tourism to this idyllic island that has so many stray dogs.

I have seem two of the one year old puppies., again They were walking in a street in Santa Maria the main tourist town. They were on the sidewalk near a defunct italian cafe, which still flies the Italian flag outside. It used to sell some of the best coffee in town. It also produced good, cheap pasta.

But it closed suddenly. Now it is occupied by Senegalese traders who are selling paintings. These are mass-produced in Senegal rather along the lines of MS Lowry. They feature stick-men and women against lurid backgrounds, sometimes with a boat or a turtle thrown in. There are hundreds of them on sale in shops that have been broken into to tourists who take them home as souvenirs of Cape verde.

The Podengos, a male and a female, that I had seen before amonst the seven puppiese each had brand new collars. This is a sign that they have been taken on, perhaps by a caring local or resident foreigner. They will live in the street until such time as the brother and sister produce a litter of their own. Then we will have six to ten new Podengo puppies.