Learning to Love Dogs in Kigali

Rwandans are embracing dogs as pets in spite of the country’s dark canine history.

Nelson is a former stray dog that was rehabilitated through an organization that provides foster homes and care for street dogs in Kigali until they are adopted. Nelson now lives in Kigali with an expatriate family from the Netherlands. Every morning, 30-year-old dog walker and trainer Ngabo Faradji takes Nelson and several other dogs for long strolls through Kigali.
Photograph by Yana Paskova

Olivier Grinner considers himself a neat freak. The biggest adjustment to living with Lily was getting used to the hair. It’s everywhere: on the couch, on the pillows, on his clothes—Lily messes everything up, he says. “But, it’s just the two of us in this house, and I had to learn how to be patient with her.”

Lily is Grinner’s dog, a local mix with a sandy and white coat, bright brown eyes, and antenna-like ears that pick up signals from miles away. At just seven months old, Lily is the newest member of Grinner’s family; in fact, he often refers to her as his daughter, but “only to those who understand,” he says. To hear Grinner refer to Lily as

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