For the past few weeks in Buenos Aires, I have been keeping a close eye on a particular segment of the Argentine population. This group choose a fast-paced and rigorous lifestyle. A typical day in the life of this crowd would include rising early, going from house to house in a particular barrio and then proceeding to walk a good portion of the city for the best part of the day. If you haven't already guessed, I refer to Los Paseadores de Perros of Buenos Aires: the dog-walkers of the city. Like nothing in any other city in the world, dog-walkers crowd the streets during the daytime and are a common sight for portenos. Perhaps to readers this may sound ridiculous, and almost unworthy of a whole post, let alone a paragraph. However, I can't quite seem to get my head around it. Being a dog fanatic is hard in any city - it's terribly hard to concentrate, or converse with others when there are so many dogs around. I have been chastised on several occasions for what to others seems like a case of attention deficiency disorder but what is actually a slight obsession with four-legged canines.
Here in Buenos Aires, my obsession is fed on a daily basis. According to studies there are over a million dogs in the city and that is supposedly just counting the amount of dogs kept as domestic companions - strays freely roam the streets, mingling with crowds of portenos and extranjeros. Another important fact I have learnt: just because a typical day in Argentina is longer, and later than days in many parts of Europe and the United States, does not mean that residents of the country have less work to do. Portenos retire to bed late and rise early. Thus, families here with dogs have more of a predicament and must decide how to prevent their dogs from being cooped up for hours on end. Like a saviour, along comes the local dog-walker who will pick up one's dog as he or she leaves for work, and then return the furry friend in the late afternoon or early evening when the house is occupied again.
The legal limit for Argentine dog-walkers is between 7 and 8 dogs. However, this rule is more often than not overlooked and rarely enforced. Just yesterday we bore witness to a young man walking between 12 and 15 large dogs: a delightful mixture of labradors, hounds, alsations and Heinz 57's. He, like many other paseadores, was sporting a thick banded belt tightly tied around his middle to which were attached endless metal loops for each dog lead. This hefty accessory is the Argentine dog-walkers' secret which serves a double purpose: not only will the trusty paseador be able to securely keep hold of 12 or 15 dogs at a time, he will also control much of the pack's movement, and not be led astray by boisterous labradors or mutts with wandering noses.
Whilst dog-walkers here in Buenos Aires earn three times more than the average Argentine person, like any freelance profession, income can be unstable and not always something to rely on. However, it is a delight to see so many busy peseadores now at the height of summertime in the city. Perhaps one of these days I will stop to interview the paseador that we see on our route to language school every afternoon. Well, that is if you can call asking for each dog's name an interview. Putting names to noses, is perhaps more appropriate.
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