Camino Canines

[Tony Theil]

Thank you Sue for telling me about Bernie.  I never knew her/his name.  I was
in the plaza of Fromisto, December 99, when I was removing my pack.  Other
than an artist sitting on a bench doing sketches, no one was around.  This
German Shepherd (now known as Bernie) came running across the plaza in my
direction.  Bernie jumped on me, her/his paws on my shoulders and was licking
my face.  What's strange is I didn't have any fear and was actually
anticipating some kind of friendly reception from the dog.  The artist
explained that the dog followed a group of pilgrims from Castrojerez and was
waiting for the owners.
On both of my Camino experiences I've had dogs follow me, but not for any
great distance.  My favorite dog is the Pyrenees Sheep dog at O'Cebriero.  I
wanted to ride it to Santiago.  All the loose dogs I've met were people
friendly.  Only the chained dogs seemed brutal, maybe because they were
chained.
I think Paulo Coelho and Shirley MacLaine have given Camino dogs a bad rap by
demonizing them in their books.
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