How many times have you felt danger or insecurity in the place where you live?
What’s irony is that the more secure it is, the less you tend to be aware of it.

My friends who don’t know Chile usually ask the following questions:
“Is Chile a safe country?” And I always say “Although this region (Latin America and the Caribbean) is known for its high homicide rate, Chile is relatively very sefa.”

But ladies and gentlemen, it seems I am having second thought in this regard.

Education, health, job availability, etc. are some factors of well-being, and the security issue is no exception.

Although many people talk about the security, it is hard to define. For example, some indicators at a international level are as follows:
– Crime rates (homicide, kidnap, terrorist, etc. )
– Robbery rate
– Feeling of insecure

According to the ranking based on those indicators, Chile is one of the most secure countries in the region for the last couple of years (without considering the dictatorship era).

However, those indicators are at a large scale. In other words, something can happen to you even in one of the safest countries like Japan, and nothing might happen in the most dangerous country, therefore it is important to keep your guard up wherever you are.

In the same line, I think there is another indicator with which it may lower the security ranking of Chile.

This danger is not caused by humans, but by “humans’ best friends”…..Dogs!
In fact, there are many street dogs in Chilean urban or suburb areas, and they could be very dangerous. But it’s not like they randomly attack everyone, but they tend to chase something specific,…..tires!! They (in general with a group of 2-3 dogs) chase, bark and even bite!

Here are some theories which explain why they do that:
Theory 1: they want to protect and hunt
The dogs have instinct to protect their territory and hunt, so that if something with high velocity comes toward their areas, they try to protect and hunt it.

Theory 2: They are so bored that they want to play
On the street, there is not much to do, so they get bored. If something interesting is coming, they get excited and feel like chasing them and even bite them out of excitement.

Theory 3: Desire to compete
They want to know who is faster. If they can catch and bite, they win.

(Theory 1 was based on the net surfing, 2 and 3 are what I invented). Anyway, we don’t know the truth behind this action and it seems there is no investigation.

Of course there is a difference in the risk depending on which tire you carry.
1. Car: very low risk
If you drive a car, there is almost no risk of danger, given that you are protected and the speed is basically faster than them.

2. Motorbike: low risk
If it’s motorbike, it might higher the risk without protection. But you are still faster than them.

3. Bicycle: High risk
Warning to all the bikers! Some street dogs are very rapid and all of sudden they chase and bite you.

In fact, I bike to my work, and to this date, I was bitten 4 times on my way, so that I don’t feel secure with street dogs at all.

In conclusion, there is no such a country where there is no risk of danger, and we cannot fully trust the security ranking either, since suddenly any kind of danger might get close to you, where human crimes or dog chasing you to bite.