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The first dog that we met was at the airport, running free and without a collar. He rushed up to us and was wildly enthusiastic and friendly. When we returned later at dusk, he came back and was again immensely friendly. Usually a dog without a collar has no owner. It is a dangerous place for dogs because of the dreadful driving of some of the local taxi and bus drivers. The island has dozens of three legged dogs who have been hit even off the road, some perhaps deliberately.
We have often seen dogs at third world airports, who have run there, sometimes over long distances. This happens when tourists or expats befriend them and then fly off, home. Sometimes dogs wait for days or weeks in an airport car park, in the hope that their friend will return.
The airport was built by Mussolini in 1939. But the first operator to use it was the Portuguese airline TAP, which used American Douglas DC3 Dakotas to connect the Portuguese colony to Lisbon. So we called him Douglas and decided to take him to our house for the night, which is just a few miles from the airport. Douglas has a long fawn body with auburn tints and a very long snout. He is the size of a Podengo Medio and has some Podengo traits of speed, agility and friendliness. But his ears are long and hang down. So does his tail.
He whimpered in our jeep, which we put down to not having been in a car before. We bought some very expensive Friskies to feed him and applied flea and tick treatment for his ticks. He did not seem either very hungry or thirsty but he settled down happily enough to sleep in our front yard, in the corner out of the wind. We deduced that he was used to sleeping outside in the warm climate (24C/75F).
The next morning , he was up early and barking at the jeep. We think that he was asking to be taken back to the airport. But before we could, he befriended a small dog, which lives nearby and then he disappeared. Despite searching for him in our condo and at the airport we have not seen him since. Perhaps he does have an owner, an airport worker, maybe living in the same condo. We hope that he found his own way home. If we have persuaded his owner not to leave him alone in the airport car park, all day, we may have saved his life.
The next dog, we met, had been abandoned by his owner, who had flown off to Paris. We knew his name Capitao - Portuguese for Captain. We were not sure whether or not he was being fed so we gave him some Friskies and put out water. He did not want to stay the night, but came to visit half a dozen times a day. He is also the size of a Podengo Medio, but has short black hairs on his back and in his tail. We suspect that he has some parentage from a Belgian Shepherd. An American, originally from another island, by way of New Bedford Mass, has been breeding them locally. The locals like them as guard dogs, for their properties, horses or chickens. But he also has some Podengo in him, particularly his white feet and his ears which stand erect, when he sleeps and are huge and pointed. We were sad to say goodbye: he did not follow us to the airport.
What has been happening on the island is that the original dogs brought by the Portuguese - Labradors and Podengos of both sizes, have been mating freely with later imports. So whilst the typical Cape Verde dog was a small Labrador, who could run as fast as a Podengo and liked hunting, it now comes in many shapes and colors. We also saw two Podengo Medios in the condo, but they were not as friendly as Douglas or Capitao.
We have often seen dogs at third world airports, who have run there, sometimes over long distances. This happens when tourists or expats befriend them and then fly off, home. Sometimes dogs wait for days or weeks in an airport car park, in the hope that their friend will return.
The airport was built by Mussolini in 1939. But the first operator to use it was the Portuguese airline TAP, which used American Douglas DC3 Dakotas to connect the Portuguese colony to Lisbon. So we called him Douglas and decided to take him to our house for the night, which is just a few miles from the airport. Douglas has a long fawn body with auburn tints and a very long snout. He is the size of a Podengo Medio and has some Podengo traits of speed, agility and friendliness. But his ears are long and hang down. So does his tail.
He whimpered in our jeep, which we put down to not having been in a car before. We bought some very expensive Friskies to feed him and applied flea and tick treatment for his ticks. He did not seem either very hungry or thirsty but he settled down happily enough to sleep in our front yard, in the corner out of the wind. We deduced that he was used to sleeping outside in the warm climate (24C/75F).
The next morning , he was up early and barking at the jeep. We think that he was asking to be taken back to the airport. But before we could, he befriended a small dog, which lives nearby and then he disappeared. Despite searching for him in our condo and at the airport we have not seen him since. Perhaps he does have an owner, an airport worker, maybe living in the same condo. We hope that he found his own way home. If we have persuaded his owner not to leave him alone in the airport car park, all day, we may have saved his life.
The next dog, we met, had been abandoned by his owner, who had flown off to Paris. We knew his name Capitao - Portuguese for Captain. We were not sure whether or not he was being fed so we gave him some Friskies and put out water. He did not want to stay the night, but came to visit half a dozen times a day. He is also the size of a Podengo Medio, but has short black hairs on his back and in his tail. We suspect that he has some parentage from a Belgian Shepherd. An American, originally from another island, by way of New Bedford Mass, has been breeding them locally. The locals like them as guard dogs, for their properties, horses or chickens. But he also has some Podengo in him, particularly his white feet and his ears which stand erect, when he sleeps and are huge and pointed. We were sad to say goodbye: he did not follow us to the airport.
What has been happening on the island is that the original dogs brought by the Portuguese - Labradors and Podengos of both sizes, have been mating freely with later imports. So whilst the typical Cape Verde dog was a small Labrador, who could run as fast as a Podengo and liked hunting, it now comes in many shapes and colors. We also saw two Podengo Medios in the condo, but they were not as friendly as Douglas or Capitao.
