Of Dogs and Doggy Things.

I was so tired yesterday I went back to the hotel in the middle of the afternoon and slept for 4 hours! As I am feeling 'Dog-tired' I thought I would continue in a doggy theme with the blog today!
When I was last in St Petersburg there were a lot of dogs wandering around the streets. There is the same problem in Moscow, only on a greater scale. During the economic disaster in the mid-90s people couldn't afford to keep pets and simply abandonned them to their own devices, hence large populations of stray dogs now. Mostly they don't bother anyone but they can be quite wild. Anyway, I was just thinking the city must have had a clean up of homeless dogs as there were none to be seen anywhere. The only one I had seen was in the army barracks just round the corner from the hotel and, while it looks pretty mangy, it seems to be their guard dog!
There is a scientific Institute on Mayakovsky Street with a garden in front where I used to see a pack of these strays every day as I went to the language school but there had been none there this time. I guess the weather is only now starting to improve and suddenly the dogs have reappeared. I have no idea where they went for the winter but they are back in the garden today en masse! It must be a pretty small gene pool as they all look the same! Part Alsatian, part Rotweiller!
I am also noticing that people are starting to own dogs again. Infact it seems to be a fashion accessory! Mostly they are small breeds and there is the tendency among the owners to dress them up in the most outrageous clothes! There is a shop I pass everyday that sells doggy clothes and accessories and it is quite disturbing! One day on Arts Square as I was photographing the statue of Puskin I felt something rub against my leg. I looked down and saw a Yorkshire terrier dressed in a blue T-shirt and jeans! I really thought I had had too much vodka and did a double take! There are doggy skirts and bonnets too. Honest! I have not been on the vodka!
I still haven't seen myself on TV and I am not entirely sure which channel it will be on but there seems to a regular 'ask the people' slot on 100tv every evening at 8pm. Perhaps tonight...