That friend that will hike with you, who is always hungry and asking for your food, that if you dare to give her or him the least amount of attention, the smallest of compliments or talk to with the tiniest bit of love in your voice, will definitely follow you wherever you go, at least for the time you are in the touristic destination they live on. This is the Colombian rural dog, the Firulais. These furry friends are part of the ambience and scenery of every small town in Colombia. You will find them in the town square begging for food at restaurants, laid under the shadow of the churches or chasing and scaring pigeons through the cobbled streets.
These four-legged, furred and social canines arrived in Latin America before the colonization but most of the local breeds were eliminated as being seen as inferior like the indigenous people. With the arrival of the Europeans to the continent, these animals started to be breed and many breeds have appeared through the continent. Some centuries later, the name Firulais was popularized in Mexico and then through Latin America, becoming a noun that can replace the word "dog" and usually associated with stray dogs, but used with any dog. Today it is estimated that there are more than 2 million stray dogs in four of the major cities in Colombia. This does not count the dogs in rural areas which are the hyper sociable creatures that will hike with you just to be around people.
Although some of these dogs belong to farms that are located in the outskirts of the towns and just pass the time at the town square, most of them are stray dogs that depend on the food that is provided by tourists or restaurants. They usually sleep on the streets and are vulnerable to harm from people, like in Villa de Leyva, a beautiful colonial town in Boyaca filled with dogs, where dogs were poisoned. This has raised many movements to protect these animals. Moreover, the pandemic has made the tourism stall leaving dogs who depend on it helpless.
Here in Colombia, you will always find The Firulais. It might be small, big, shaggy, smelly, fat, thin, lonely or not, but it will always be friendly, affectionate and loyal, at least for the time of your visit here in Colombia.