The City and the Dogs

One morning last summer, while walking Giulio ---my dog, a short-haired black dachshund or sausage dog who was still a puppy then---, something curious happened to me. We were in Pablo Neruda square, a green space located between Diagonal and Aragón street that, before the pandemic, hundreds of tourists crossed every day on their way to the Sagrada Família. I remember it was terribly hot and I stopped at the fountain in the middle of the square so that Giulio, who was already panting, could drink some water.

The image of that mini-dachshund on the fountain, with his front paws, to reach the stream of water was frankly funny and caught the attention of a group of tourists who, at that moment, were passing by us. Suddenly, Giulio and I found ourselves surrounded by a cloud of cameras, cell phones, and tablets like Pantoja. Everyone wanted a photograph of a Barcelonian pressing the tap button so that the dachshund could drink water. Click! Click! Click! When they had finished and without a word, they continued on their way. For a moment, I put myself in the shoes of the giraffe women of the Padaung tribe or those smiling, barefoot African children with whom many tourists find it so natural to photograph themselves when they visit their villages. Tourists who, on the other hand, would scream bloody murder if, suddenly, a foreigner or half a dozen approached their children to photograph themselves with them because they find them exotic.

The image of that mini-dachshund on the fountain, with his front paws, to reach the stream of water was frankly funny and caught the attention of a group of tourists

In general, it is hard for us to put ourselves in someone else's shoes or make the effort to look at reality through their eyes. It has happened to me for many years with people who have dogs in the city. Until I had Giulio, I hadn't considered whether Barcelona is a citydog friendly. That is, if the more than 150,000 dogs (148,480 registered dogs in 2016 according to the Companion Animal Identification Archive) estimated to live in it are sufficiently taken into account. I speak of dogs because, unlike cats and other domestic animals, they are very present in public spaces.

Having a dog makes me look at the city from another perspective. I mainly wonder if there are enough green spaces for them to run and play, but also if it makes sense that in many shops you still have to park them at the entrance, as if they were a bicycle. There are studies that tell us that more and more people live with a dog and like to take them on vacation, to the beach or to a restaurant. I suppose that's why more and more establishments in cities like Barcelona are promoting themselves as dog friendly.

Until I had Giulio, I hadn't considered whether Barcelona is a dog friendly city. That is, if the more than 150,000 dogs estimated to live in it are sufficiently taken into account.

However, it seems there is still a lot of work to be done. Since I'm new to the subject, I wrote to the people at Espai Gos BCN, a citizen platform for coexistence in public spaces that fights for fair regulations for people with dogs in Barcelona. They told me that "it is true that steps are being taken to normalize the presence of dogs in public transport or establishments, as in other European cities, but while this fact is being normalized, the daily needs of dogs are not being taken into account."

In this sense, they believe that "we remain stuck in a conception of the dog as a companion animal, subject to our demands and without taking into account its real needs as a species. All of this results in overexcited, stressed, fearful dogs that don't know how to be dogs." Certainly, this explains many things... I also ask them how we could remedy it and they tell me that "it is of vital importance to be able to unleash the dog during its walk for the normal physical development of the animal, as well as for its cognitive, maturational and emotional balance and, of course, for its correct socialization with other members of its species, for which the capacity for decision and freedom of movement are essential." Their hashtag #JoTambéSocBarcelona is spot on.

It has seemed to me that now that we are closing the year it was a good time to address this issue. Mainly, for two reasons. The first, because it is time to set goals for next year and this could be one for Barcelona. The second, because perhaps some of you who read me are thinking of bringing a dog home or have just done so as a Christmas gift. So, think it over carefully, put yourselves in the shoes of people with dogs and, if you can, in the shoes of the dog itself and think if you are prepared to assume this great responsibility.