Puppy love

This is my second report back from Ecuador, where I am spending nine months trying to better understand the realities on the ground of countries that do well in the Happy Planet Index. Are people here as happy as they say they are in surveys and, if so, what can we learn in the West about achieving good lives that don’t cost the Earth?

Poodles seem to be the dog of choice in Quito.  My wife says you can judge a lot about a culture by what pets they keep, which in my opinion does not cast Quiteños in a favourable light.  But perhaps, they are just better able to cope with the rarefied air at 2900m?

Anyway, the other day we experienced a magical moment in the park of Santa Clara in Quito. It had been a cold morning, but by late afternoon the clouds were letting in some sunlight and when the sun shines in Quito, 40km away from the Equator, you feel it. Lazing in the sun, we were descended upon by three girls (none of whom knew each other) and their poodle puppies. The girls were probably no older than their dogs were in dog years – the youngest being about 5 or 6 years old. They gathered round us, told us about how their puppies slept and/or peed in  their beds, whilst the oldest girl tossed the youngest puppy about and gave it a crash course in acting, making it bow, dance and play dead.

Could you imagine something like that happening in England, what with all the fear of ‘stranger danger’? And this whilst we are being bombarded by stories of crime in the city. Things might be tough for adults in Quito, but for children, perhaps it’s just one big playground.  Most surprising was the youngest girl, who was in the park entirely by herself.  Her mother worked in an office building nearby, and the girl was spending the whole day with her puppy playing in the park.

Eventually, we got a bit tired of sitting with the girls and watching them do quite unusual things to the dogs, so we got up and left them.  But it was not just the sharp rays of the sun which left us with a feeling of warmth that afternoon.