Man’s Best Friend, Ellen Degeneres’ Scandal, or Security Alarm

Americans have an ever evolving relationship with the animals around them. While a deep attachment has been part of the human experience with working animals for hundreds of years, I know plenty of people for whom this has become something more akin to a human family member.

I met this very patient chihuahua on my flight from Seattle to Houston, and yes, not only are her nails painted, she's wearing a skirt.

In Nicaragua, however, life requires a bit more practicality. Sometimes dogs are pets, but they are nearly without exception the security force as well, and sometimes that’s all they are to their owner. Whether large enough to actually do harm, or simply an alarm to events in the night, dogs are in most every home I’ve been in here.

They also are a ubiquitous presence in the roads and alongside highways. Strays are everywhere because neutering and spaying seems to be a foreign concept. It was only here that I realized that dogs get saggy after breastfeeding their children like every other animal.

Sometimes they’re lucky and have a good home, sometimes they're not. But it’s all really pretty simple, just like the people, they have to fend for themselves.