Dogs of Lake Atitlan Guatemala

My love of fish and fishing is second only to my love of dogs, especially our dog Rooster. After our last amazing Casa Vieja Lodge sailfish trip we traveled to Lake Atitlan, the volcanic lake in Guatemala and I fell in love -- with the villages’ dogs.

Unlike Rooster -- our spoiled family dog who enjoys sleeping on all the furniture, in our bed, and never misses a meal then begs at the table for food -- these dogs roamed, slept, played and scavenged for food on the streets and docks.

I was captivated by their discipline. They moved through the market stalls and never jumped up to steal food. They never considered entering the shops and art stalls. They walked near the water without going in and shared the streets with the cars, motorcycles and buses. I still wonder if some of these dogs have owners who just let them run the streets until time to go home or are they just strays who “belong” to everyone?

Some of these dogs seemed to be guard dogs, street dwellers or just part of the landscape. I wanted to approach them all, give them some loving, food and if Rooster would be willing to share “HIS” house, take them all home with me.

The dogs of Lake Atitlan may live extremely different lives than Rooster but they are all still full of curiosity, loyalty and want for companionship and a belly rub. They will never cross paws -- I mean paths – but all dogs have things in common: They all seek a place to belong, either on the street or on the couch.

I was so taken with these curled up, roaming, yawning, sitting, sleeping, resting, guarding dogs that I took pictures of them all. Oh, the stories they could tell if they only could communicate but better yet you can make up your own stories, go fishing at Casa Vieja and then go visit our furry friends at Lake Atitlan.