"is the village turning into a shi*ty place?"

I promise this blog won't be dominated by scatological stories, but this was an actual frontpage headline from the English version of our village newspaper (except there was no asterisk). First I should explain briefly why there is an English translation of our Spanish village newspaper. It turns out Big Jim and I were not the only foreigners to fall in love with this little corner of the world. When we first came here to look for houses, about three and a half years ago, there was an expat community in the area of about 300 people. The last figure I saw, a year ago, was 900+, which is a dramatic increase, particularly for a village with a population of 2500. I'll write more on this topic in the near future, but for now imagine the impact of this influx of foreigners (the vast majority not speaking the local language)in your town. Back to the headline, since I've been here, and probably since the first expat with a dog or cat arrived, there has been an undeclared cold war between the locals and the expats regarding the responsibilities that come with pet ownership. The Spanish in our village find it shocking that we live with our animals (ie, the dogs and cats are kept in the house); many of us find it shocking that the Spanish dogs and cats roam freely throughout the village and campo. When I first arrived, I thought that the dogs were all strays; I soon realized that most do have owners, but during the day the dogs are left outside and at night they are locked in the family bodega, a separate part of the house, which was originally a wine cellar or stable and now acts as an extra storage room. Because there are so many dogs wandering around unsupervised, many of the streets are caca mindfields. Now the Spanish are meticulous about their homes and their immediate surroundings. The women routinely mop the sidewalks and streets. But they have a different approach to caca. We always just carry poop bags when we walk the dogs. Our neighbors find this very strange. If there is caca on our street, they'll just put a piece of cardboard on top of it, so no one steps in it. A few weeks ago, I was returning with the dogs from our morning walk, and three of our neighbors confronted me. They pointed to the poop bag, which I was going to put in the basura (trash can), and said, "You know, you don't need to pick that up unless the dogs go on our street. If they go on the street down there or anywhere else, just leave it." I thought, well that's all well and good, but if I do that, I'm going to have the women from the next street chasing me down, mop in hand. I say this because there is doublestandard here in regard to caca. If a wandering dog leaves caca on the street,well, it's not his fault and no one is to blame. But if a dog is accompanied by its owners and they don't pick it up, they are shamed and berated. This I can speak to from experience. Soon after we moved into the village, I was walking the pups when a woman who runs a little corner shop came dashing out of the store. She swore that I had let the Precious Boo poop in front of the store the day before. This was impossible because we had been away with the dogs on the day in question. I told her, no she was mistaken, it must have been another dog (I must add, there are usually two or three local pups outside the store, begging for handouts when people leave---these Spanish dogs really are professionals in the begging department). Anyway, she insisted she was correct, and then reached inside, pulled out a bucket full of water, and threw it on me and the dogs. I was stunned, and I must admit, that was one of the very few times when I felt I was being treated differently because I was a foreigner. She lost two potential customers that day; her shop is the closest market to our house, but neither Big Jim nor I will ever step foot in it. The newspaper story caused quite a stir, particularly because many foreigners felt as if the article implied their presence was to blame for the increasing piles of caca. Truthfully, I'm sure there has been caca on the village streets and disagreements as to where it came from for as long as there have been dogs here. Because our area attracts a good number of tourists, though, there is now more priority given to the appearance of the village. The mayor has threatened to start fining people who don't pick up after their dogs. And Malaga currently has an ad campaign encouraging its residents to scoop the poop. They go as far as showing how to properly place the plastic bag over one's hand. So maybe one day our village will be a caca-free zone. In the meanwhile, I will just continue to mystify my neighbors for continuing to pick up the poo. I believe it's better to err on the side of being respectful to everyone who lives in and visits our little village. There are certain aspects of our different cultures that we will never completely understand. But I believe it is our responsibility to make efforts to at least be gracious and courteous to the people who have allowed us to share their lovely home in the sun. Just watch where you're stepping. hasta manana, mylifeinspain