Laura Lavayén 
Dogs, Owners of the City 

There may be a town called Santa Catalina, but the one in this book is creation of the author. What is real and happens all over the world is the problem of dogs living on the street. They, like human beings, suffer and their life is a bit similar to the homeless people. This is not a beautiful picture and many turn to look the other way as if not looking would avoid feelings of remorse for not trying to help them. The truth is that many problems could be prevented if we all worked together to help those beings that, for various reasons, end up living without a roof over their heads. We all try to live a life without hardship, however there are many reasons that lead us to failure and we use all necessary means to not fall too low. But dogs, after being domesticated and living for many years with human beings, have learned to depend on them for survival and deserve to live with respect.

About the author

Laura Lavayén, an American-Argentinean writer born in the touristic city of Bariloche, Argentina, lived in Buenos Aires before coming to Philadelphia in 1965, but never broke ties with the family in her native country. Her literary career began asa little girl writing stories that her mother thought she was copying from magazinesor books. In her twenties, Lavayén won a prize in a literary contest in Argentinawith a short novel. In the United States, she published a debut three novels duringthe 70’s and 80’s. Now retired, she has written three non-fi ction books and twoof fi ction, all published in English and Spanish: The Shadow of the Baron, Hello Buenos Aires… Chao Buenos Aires, Hello USA!, Illegals, and Dogs, Owners ofthe City. Lavayén splits her time between the United States, most of the year, and Argentina, in the winter.