If you are a dog lover, like I am, the series Dogs on Netflix is definitely worth your time. The episodes range from the story of an organization that saves dogs from the war in Syria and brings them to their owners who have fled to Europe to service dogs for kids and to grooming competitions and dog culture in Japan.
One of my favorites is on the organization—Syria Dogs
Ayham flees Syria’s wars at the age of 20 with the help of the German government. They send him to school and pay rent preparing him to be a web developer. Other than leaving his family, he is saddest about leaving his dog, Zeus, a 2-year-old husky. He leaves Zeus with his best friend Amer who then becomes stuck because he feels obligated to take care of Zeus and he can’t escape Syria with him. Amer decides to evade the army and hide away with Zeus. Ahyam, Amer and Zeus Skype a lot throughout the two years they are apart.
The cinematography is amazing with videos of Zeus on the beach and with children in the bombed out buildings in Syria.
Finally, after two years, Ayham finds an organization on the internet called Syria Dogs. Syria Dogs is founded to reunite dogs in Syria with their owners who are forced to flee to Europe because many of the dogs are being euthanized.
The plan is that Naji, Ayham’s former roommate will go with Zeus by car to the border between Syria and Lebanon. At the border they are stopped and I’m going to end my recounting of the story here and you are just going to have to watch this amazing show to see what happens. It’s free on Netflix.
Another one of my favorites, on a lighter note, is about two Japanese groomers who enter a grooming contest in Pasadena, California, the second largest grooming contest in the world. It’s a lot of fun to watch what they can do with the grooming and the flashbacks to Japanese culture. At one point they show a birthday party of Kings Charles Spaniels with the women dressing up like their dogs and even with a birthday cake for the dog whose birthday it is. One woman interviewed outside of the party said that in Japan childcare is so hard that many women are choosing dogs over children and husbands. Once again, you have to watch to see what happens in the end of the contest.
Finally, there was an episode about service dogs for kids. It focuses on one child in particular who has epilepsy and once she has the dog she has a lot more freedom. But the dog is not a family pet, it is a service dog something her little sister finds hard to accept. But, the whole process is very interesting and endearing.
There are several other episodes worth watching.
Please let me know below what you like and don’t like about the series Dogs.