My cousin Olivia visited Quito Ecuador several years ago and was puzzled at the lack of dogs in this particular city in South America. Upon inquiring at the local university, she was told that most dogs cannot sleep properly in Quito and die at early ages, or at least do not breed properly due to loss of sleep. It seems that the dogs have trouble lying down to sleep, due to Quito being on the Equator, and the dogs cannot decide turn left or right when commencing a 'lying down" procedure. Thus they stagger around all night long, get hit by cars or llamas,etc and generally do not reproduce very well in this geographic environs. Best you leave your puppy at home if you plan to visit Quito! We trust that you have had your inquiry answered adequately! - A Northern Hemisphere DOG LOVER.

I live in the Northern Hemisphere and my dog turns both ways. Sometimes she'll turn clockwise, lie down, decide she's uncomfortable, turn counterclockwise, then land with a big sigh.

No, it's not true. This is a centuries-old myth related to the Coriolis Force. Latitude has nothing to do with dog behavior. Quito is in an extremely superstitious country. Add to that the fact that it sits at an altitude of 9,300 feet above sea level. Any oxygen-breathing being coming from more inhabitable elevations will have noticeable biological difficulties (there is no lack of dogs in Quito, I knew a veterinarian there). Dogs have asymmetries just as humans do (like being left-handed, having one sighting eye and one trailing eye, etc.) and therefore a preference of direction. This preference would exist at all latitudes.

I beg to differ; it is NOT a myth! I myself have seen in the barrios of Quito, dogs staggering around, falling over in comas, whilst frothing at the mouth. I admit at the time, that I also was staggering around (perhaps frothing at the mouth- I dont remember), from drinking an excess of Pinoqachole, a strong local and popular beverage made from fermented cactus leaves and refined Alpaca dung. It's moderately hallucenogenic, hence my inability to report on the dogs in much detail. But I DO remember not being able to decide to turn Clockwise or CClockwise as I slowly sank to the ground in the gutter. I frequently and enthusiastically guzzle cheap red wine and peacefully sleep it off in the gutters of various towns in the northern hemisphere, and I can tell you: I fall down in a COUNTERCLOCKWISE manner, usually cheered on by the neighbourhood dogs who do likewise, and thus keep me warm as I sleep it off. BTW, I have found the further north I am, the more my stagger is governed by the Coriolis effect- above 60 degrees N, my spinning as I fall down sometimes causes me to upchuck the wine. Thus my partiality to the more sultry tropical climes. But NOT absolute equatorial places such as Quito! - Buffy the 17 yr old cheerleader- remember me? We chat on MSN nightly after your wife has gone to bed..