I would be remiss if I didn't give a special mention to the lovely feral and street dogs that we have encountered on our trip. We have met numerous furry friends in every city. The vast majority of Vietnamese dogs are small in size. They by in large are friendly and smart, though this could be a function of survival. Dumb dogs would not survive with all of the vehicular traffic and friendly dogs are more likely to be fed and cared for by shop owners and other members of the public.
At Mỹ Sơn we were escorted from site to site by a family of female dogs who really made an impression. All but one were very playful and sweet. The largest, a black and tan dog, I named "Boss Dog" because she clearly led the others. She was the only one who didn't want to be touched and would warn you off if you reached out, however she wanted to accompany us and walk among us. The guide told us that Boss Dog chased away all of the male dogs who came sniffing around her pack. When youngest nephew tried to pet her, she let loose a series of barks at him and immediately the other dogs came racing over to lick and placate her. She was their top dog and the others seemed to respect and adore her. She also had a wonderful habit of striking poses while reclining on walls and steps, almost as though she knew that we wanted to photograph her.
In the pack were two very playful, young dogs, one tan with socks and the other with a brindle coat. I heard the guide call the brindle "Tiger". Tiger and Socks played constantly, often with their chunky black sister, though at one point they were too rough and she cried and ran to the humans to escape and request sympathy cuddles. SB named her "Poppy", after a friend's fat, black dog that is also extremely submissive. Vietnamese Poppy kept rolling onto her back for me to scratch her belly. She was very sweet and cuddly.
If I could, I would take all of the dogs, even Boss Dog, home with me. They were so much fun to observe and interact with. It broke my heart a little bit to leave them.
Poppy and Tiger
Tiger
Socks
Poppy and Tiger
Chubby Poppy
Boss Dog posing
Socks and Tiger
Poppy
Boss dog, Poppy, and Tiger
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