Chancho the Dog

Chancho the dog entered our life at 6am last Saturday. We were walking along a country road in Los Planes, Costa Rica, and he started following us.

We were trying to have a nice long hike in the jungle, sure to be filled with tapir sightings,  monkey interactions and quiet moments in the rainforest. Much to our displeasure, the dog stuck to our tail all day. More accurately, he ran 50 feet ahead of us, punctuating his pursuit with frenzied forays into the forest. We heard lots of bird squawking, crashing, and shrieking in the forest...but we didn't see much wildlife.

8 hours and 10 miles later, Chancho was still following us. As we were walking home we encountered a boy who claimed to be Chancho's owner (our saviour). Rather than taking Chancho home though, the boy tried to hit him with a big stick. Chancho fled into the forest and we kept walking with pity in our hearts. However, as soon as the boy disappeared from sight Chancho reappeared from the bush and continued to follow us.

After 5 more miles walking (including over a suspension bridge) we arrived back in Drake Bay, our home for the week.  Chancho was still there. That night, he curled up under our chair when we went out the bar, then slept outside our tent. The next day we went kayaking and he waited on the beach for us! By the time we were to leave Drake Bay, Chancho had become our dog.

SO, we brought him back with us to Monteverde. He now hangs out with us during the day and hangs outside our compound at night. We're investigating the options for taking him home to VT...

I now present, Chancho the dog:

Chancho...firmly entrenched in our hears...and our rental car.

Chancho after his first bath...he needed it.

how could we say no to that face?

goofin on the beach. We were worried that our kayak trip would be the end of our relationship with Chancho, but he waited for in the shade on the beach until we came back. .

Chancho in the early stages...Shannon looking not so pleased with his presence on our hike. In an interesting twist, he found us a pack of Capuchin monkeys towards the end of the hike.

yup, alec made that hat out of a palm leaf.

Chancho the ocean explorer

note the dog in mid-leap at alec's heels