I would say one of the most remarkable things about this country is the way animals and humans seem to live in a very harmonious way! We first noticed this when we were in the Old Capital of Cetinje. In walking the streets there were often what seemed to be stray dogs wandering around, but they didn't have that 'vagabond' look. They roamed alone, or in little groups, but they seemed quite happy. A Chihuahua, a Labrador, a retriever of some kind were not in bad condition. As time went by, we learned that most of these have no owner in particular, but the community feed them and keep an eye on them. One happy big mutt took on the job of "sheriff" as he barked at cars leaving the town and chased them on their way and then lazily went back to lying on the ground!
In Virpazar there were more strays. This little guy was happily walking up the hill we were driving down, he was probably going to get his dinner from somewhere dependable..
In one of the restaurants we had our evening meal in, a little black and brown dog ran in from outside and happily jumped up on our bench and snuggled in between us! The restaurant owner apologised, and said it's not their dog, but they bring him in at night as the other dogs are too big for him to be outside at night :)...
These dogs and cats are all strays. The big hearted restaurant owner gets a little exasperated that he is inundated with so many 'visitors', but he is kind hearted and feeds them - so they feel right at home!
These little cuties led us to an amazing restaurant and host selling "Domestic Food" and met some wonderful people who we spent the day with!
Then on our next leg of the journey we were in Kotor, the City of Cats ... some would just sidle up and want to be near us..
There really are too many of our furry friends to mention, I will just mention one more. When we were in the mountains in a cabin, we took a little walk around the neighbourhood. One house we passed had a high up balcony with a big black lab that was barking excitedly at us... he then came down, rushed through the open gateway and bounded up to us.. my first thought was "On no! this dog has escaped - he's running wild!"... but he insisted on welcoming us! He was so excited and he seemed to motion us to follow him, he wanted to show us around! It felt a bit like being in the land of Narnia, where the animals can talk!
Later we found out he belonged to the brother of the owner of our cabin. It truly was delightful how the animals lived in a symbiotic way with the humans.
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