Dogs and Cats

One of the odd things we noticed on our climb to the top of the Acropolis was an unusual number of "seemingly dead" dogs laying around.  They weren't actually dead, but they were laying very very still in the middle of the walk ways on the hill.  Not sitting up, not walking around at all.  Simply laying down as if exhausted. No real interest in what was passing by them. No owners.  They were simply wild dogs.  We counted at least 20 in an hour.  I had not heard about dogs in Athens, but apparently I was unaware of a long standing problem, as documented in this article (more on Athens' strays).  Athens and other Greek cities have thousands of wild dogs and cats.  After a successful lawsuit against a mayor for maltreatment of animals in the city pound, many cities have closed down their pounds and the problem literally multiplies.   Delaney The Dog Lover was charmed by them, but I was rather disturbed by their evident ill health.  Kind of sad.

  This cat in the Plaka was watching a bird and thinking about dinner.  

We saw him on this same rock each evening that we passed by.