We went for a glorious week in Puerto Rico, and it's our second time there, and so this time I was semi-prepared for the feral dogs. But they are everywhere. We saw lame mangey Momma dogs leading two adorable puppies along the side of the highway, we saw hungry skinny young and old dogs everywhere.

One afternoon, Albert and I walked to the surfer beach, passing several "beach dogs" along the way. Then I practically tripped over one that I thought was dead. He was like a skelton, pancaked into the sand, short tan and black fur making him tricky to see. We stood staring, trying to detect breathing. A woman came over to us, said, "Isn't it sad? Is he dead?" I said, "I dunno. Dog, are you dead?"

And he opened one eye, looked at us, and staggered up.

I stepped back, because he was obviously a feral dog, and I thought he could be dangerous. But the woman told us he'd been living at the beach for weeks, feeding off the tourists, and that he was actually friendly, though terribly thin, and he certainly was both. With his boney body caving in under him evey few steps, he followed us back to our cottage, and of course we had to give him water. He never lost sight of us after that. During his first spaghetti dinner with us, he impressed us with his intelligent gentlemanly behavior [4], and after he'd absorbed a days worth of water, he started showing us his playful nature. I promised him we'd help keep him alive, and after we'd thoroughly asked around it seemed the only sure way was to bring him back home with us. Street dogs from Puerto Rico don't survive if they aren't smart and adaptable. We've named him Charlie, and it is amazing how well he communicates with other animals. His friendliness was clearly a Darwinianly selected survival trait.

And very smart, and very athletic too. He amazes us with the way he is fitting into our Maine family and pack as though he has always belonged to us. Even my dog-shy Tigerlily cuddled right up to Charlie, seems to love him on first sight, and we think Charlie will be a good teacher for Tigerlily. Each day he shows us something new, for example that he loves to dance on his back legs almost as much as our bichon, and that though he looks increasingly like a large Basenji, he is great retriever! He gets a ball and brings it to me! Here's a video of him on the beach I think it was a day after we'd rehydrated him, and while we were just realizing that maybe he wanted to be our dog, and that we wouldn't be able to say no. 

Airfare plus crate plus vet costs to get him out of the country all total about $500, but he is turning out to be spectacularly worth the effort. He is a very loving sentient soul.