An Italian Dog’s Life

I had a rather relaxing Sunday today! It is getting warmer again and the last of the snow is melting. I decided to take advantage of the milder temperatures and took a canine friend of mine out for a walk and play in the snow! She is Canadian like I am, a black Labrador, and she had a great time bounding around and sniffing other dog’s bottoms!

One thing to note about Italians is that they are passionate about their dogs. Walking through town, it seems as though everybody has one and they are always eager to talk about them. I don’t see many larger dogs, mostly the little ones wearing hooded jackets and tiny matching booties. The smaller dogs are so funny because they are always so feisty and rambunctious, I often hear them yelping at one another in the street throughout the day. There is even one that lives near my apartment whose bark sounds like an old man trying to shout! The first couple of times I heard it I wondered what all the commotion was about, until I finally managed to observe the quivering white mutt standing on his balcony antagonising canine passers by.

Dogs are allowed to go into shops and restaurants here, so it is not uncommon to be shopping and look down to observe one sniffing your leg. There is also an upscale clothing store in Piazza della Vittoria that has a dog permanently roaming around inside. He does not seem too bothered by the people all around him and prefers to sleep on the welcome mat just inside the door, so that he can observe all of the customers coming and going.

It is a wonderful life indeed for those canines lucky enough to end up in Italy. Pampered doesn’t even begin to describe them and at times I feel that many local owners tend to go overboard babying their pets. There is even a special dog store in Lodi that sells bejewelled collars, scented poop bags and mini tiaras. Still, maybe the Italians are onto something, after all a dog is a man/woman’s best friend!