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My Dog Is Not Your ‘Perrita’

When I was a kid growing up in the U.S. (where it’s normal to neuter pets) I learned that the way to discern a boy dog from a girl dog was by the presence of that crucial symbol of maleness called the “weewee”. If a dog has a weewee it’s a boy. If it doesn’t have a weewee then it’s a girl. And if it’s too furry to be able to see if there’s a weewee then you have to ask the owner “does your dog have a weewee?”.

In Mexico apparently the presence or absence of a weewee is not part of discerning the boyness or girlness of a dog. The deciding factor in Mexico seems to be the presence or absence of “huevos”, testicles, balls, nuts. If a dog has testicles it’s a boy, if it does not it’s a girl. It’s so simple that even the kids figure it out.

My male, neutered dog and I run together almost daily. And almost each time some kid in the street will yell out “hola perrita” expectantly, as we go by. “Perrita” means female dog. It’s the equivalent of bitch in English (and can be used in the derogatory sense as well). And each time one of these little twirps calls my dog “perrita” I get a little mad.

First I get mad because, DUH, I’m running and I am not going to stop so some little kid can pet my dog. I may be a “perrita” myself for my attitude, but that’s tough. I think it’s a sign of how completely social Mexicans are that a little kid here would naturally expect me to to stop running so that my dog could get petted. But OMG if I stopped for every dog-petting occaision I would never get any exercise.

The second reason, the important reason, that I get mad is because my dog is MALE. I’ve been a responsible pet owner and I’ve had Adriana-The-Wonder-Vet cut off Sam’s testicles so he can’t make anymore unwanted street dogs! But here in Mexico it’s so uncommon for a male dog to be neutered that people don’t expect it! And it’s not just the kids that make the mistake but adults too. In fact I’ve had adults tell me that it’s not healthy for me to have neutered my dog and they actually pity him his missing balls!

This drives me crazy. This is a country full of unwanted, starving street dogs. If I drive to the poor areas of Cancun it’s hard not to hit limping starving mangy street dogs, they are on every corner! And still people think that it’s wrong to neuter your dog?!

Here’s an example of the poor street dogs you see in Cancun:

street dog Cancun Mexico

If more people in Mexico would neuter their dogs maybe there would be fewer dogs suffering like this poor guy.

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8 Responses to “My Dog Is Not Your ‘Perrita’”

  1. Elizabeth
    December 21st, 2007 11:29
    1

    It’s so heartbreaking I can’t stand it!

    I also go through the same perra perro thing as you. Except I think the one ball confuses them.

    I also get kids that will taunt Diesel right in front of me because they think it’s funny. Not cool.

  2. RiverGirl
    January 3rd, 2008 14:49
    2

    Poor Diesel! He’s such a cool dog, I can’t imagine why anyone would pick on him.

    The thing that bothers me about the ball thing is just that it’s so unusual here for dogs to be neutered, I wish it was normal.

  3. David
    May 20th, 2008 13:34
    3

    neuter their dogs? i think mexico has more to worry about then neutering their dogs.

  4. RiverGirl
    May 20th, 2008 14:20
    4

    Mexico has lots of things to worry about. But the widespread mistreatment of animals and the the huge problem with strays here undermines the self-respect and self-esteem of the whole country. How can people be truly happy, or even fully constructive, if they see animals in misery around them? They can’t. And there are lots of animals in misery here because people with pets do not spay and neuter them.

  5. Shane
    July 9th, 2008 11:59
    5

    It has been said that you can measure a society’s advancement by how well it looks after it’s most vulnerable members (kids,elderly, disabled and yes animals). Mexico is a beautiful place with a rich history and culture, but I think the animal neglect situation is a result of the country’s lack of social advancement and regressive societal norms.

  6. RiverGirl
    July 9th, 2008 14:20
    6

    Shane – I agree. I think people in Mexico don’t have what they need and so it’s hard for them to take that extra step and be generous to animals. It’s very sad.

  7. erica
    January 21st, 2010 21:12
    7

    Sorry that you had that experience, I wish that all mexicans would be a bit like Cesar Milan but that is asking for too much. I am planning to travel there and hope I don’t encounter these poor guys cause I wouldn’t know what I would do, I rescue dogs all the time in the states, so it would be hard to seat back and do nothing.

  8. Kalee
    January 28th, 2010 23:11
    8

    This picture made me cry! Poor dog!

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