Today I am going to make it easy on myself and talk about dogs in Poland.  We saw many well-behaved and beautifully cared for family pets.  The breeds most commonly seen were Yorkies and Miniature Schnauzers, but we saw others as well.  At one point I saw a Golden Retriever - the breed we have at home - so I had to take a picture of it!  (As many of you know, I like animals and after I retired, I spent 5 years as a pet sitter.)

Typically the dogs were walking alongside their owners (off leash, but with the owner holding a leash in case it was needed) and the dogs were not getting into any trouble - no sign they went up to and sniffed people, no barking or being an annoyance.  We saw a dog or two that were working dogs being used by police or the military and we saw some farm dogs that were some type of shepherds at the manor house where we stayed.  I cannot comment on every dog in the country or every dog owner, but I came away with a very favorable impression!  Most of the dogs looked nicely groomed and well cared for and there were no signs of "potty breaks" left behind that I could tell and that makes walking in the cities much more pleasant!

When we were in the Zokopane area, we saw these really large white dogs that I thought were Great Pyrennes.  After I came home, I decided to look and see if there were some breeds that were specifically Polish and I found the Polish Tatra Sheepdog which looks similar to a Great Pyrennes so I am almost certain that must have been the breed we saw.  (I thought I knew my dog breeds pretty well, but that was a totally new one to me!) 

Here were two harnessed to a sled and you could have your picture taken in the sled.  No one seemed to be doing that while we were there so the dogs were taking a nap most of the time.

I can't imagine you not loving the look of the first two dogs, but if those first two dogs did not win over your heart, how about this puppy?  He was for sale.  What a cutie!