Hard to Love - Hardly.

Let’s be totally honest, Bali Street Dogs really don’t do themselves any favors.  If individual complaints were tallied and laid upon each other, a towering edifice of human vitriol would reach heights of record proportions.  From mangy to aggressive to annoying to everything unappealing, the Bali Street Dog has carried it all and worn it well.  They like to bark, a lot.  They aren't that friendly to humans, much.  They like to play hard with each other, often.  They chase cars and scooters and they shit everywhere.  They are not like other dogs, most certainly. They are feral, indeed.  They are very territorial, yes.

There are not that many Bali Street Dogs left on Bali, really.  Not in or on the Bali hot spots of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Sanur.  Even in utopian Ubud they are being squeezed more and more as money overrules mangy.  The Anjing Ras, foreign dog is replacing the undesirable and ugly Anjing Bali in these locales, like a new trend they are the must have to own and the must seen to be with.  Rotties, Goldies, Bullies and Silkies are the new norm, replacing the Bali’s.   It is only a matter of time before the Anjing Ras will be free to parade but not to roam, that’s progress.

So, given the overwhelming evidence piled up against the Bali Street Dog, why would anyone in a sane state of mind want to spend a nanosecond in the company of such a pest?  That’s not really a question that can be answered in a generalized fashion, because Bali Street and Dog are all fairly chaotic and crazy in and of themselves, aren't they?

I have chosen and been most fortunate indeed to have spent time with Bali Street Dogs and have been given the privilege of learning about and from them.  They are supremely intelligent; to have survived this long is an indication of their smarts.  They are so very loyal once you have earned their trust, a trust that must be worked at and for.  They can be trained to respect and to respond to leadership.  They cannot and should not be imprisoned or chained.  They live to roam and they protect their home.  

They are no better or worse than any other dog; they are quite simply - The Bali Street Dog.

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