The Street Dogs in Peru Are the Friendliest Pups You'll Ever Meet

While visiting Machu Picchu was an obvious highlight on my last trip to Peru, what I was perhaps more excited about were the endless street dogs littering the cities. Everywhere you looked, there were dogs of all shapes and sizes lounging around and mingling with the people. I obviously love dogs so I found this exciting, but I was shocked to find out that not only were all these dogs incredibly well-behaved, but they were also well cared for. Just because they live on the streets doesn't mean they're abandoned. There were bowls of food and water left out on doorsteps and storefronts, and people often would stop and lavish the dogs with attention before continuing on their way. While at Machu Picchu, there was a dog playing in the street, and a man actually stopped traffic to guide the dog out — though, admittedly, traffic had already slowed for the dog anyway.

I wasn't quite confident enough to pet any of the dogs, but I did call them all good babies while taking their photos. Scroll through to meet just a small selection of the ones I saw!