I Cani in Italia

 Buongiorno!

Come’ sta?  We’ve had a relaxing week. Spring is in full swing. We wake up to the sounds of lovely songbirds, then saunter down the street for a cornetto and caffe and just watch the people go by.  The weather is beautiful - temperatures are now consistently in the high ‘teens, it’s sunny most days and, unlike RiverBend, there is very little wind.  When we get rain, it’s generally at night - and boy, can it rain!

On our walks, we try to notice something new about Salerno and its people.  This week, it was an easy choice.  

Do you remember the old Dr. Seuss book, “Go, Dog, Go”? Well, we’re here to tell you that Italians absolutely LOVE their dogs.  Just like the book, there are:

BIG dogs…

… and little dogs…

There are happy dogs…

…And sad dogs

There are dogs that go everywhere…

…lining up outside the Pasticeria, anxious to get inside for “dolce della dominica” (Sunday sweets)

   

Or helping to do the shopping at the Supermercato…

 I hope you note the sign on the front of the shopping cart that says “Carretta per Cane” (cart for dogs)!

Then there are the dogs that are art…

This fellow carved this mom and her puppies out of volcanic sand from Vesuvius.  Took him most of the day!

Of course, there are the dogs that just want to be with you…

And finally, if you don’t have a dog yourself, you can rent one!!!

The yellow bib says you can hire out a dog “…per una ora, per un giorno, per la vita” (for one hour, for one day, for life).

(Actually, we think these dogs were here as a promotion for service dogs.  There were about 20 of them proudly walking along with their trainers, wearing their fluorescent jackets.  It was quite a sight!)

Of course, we know that Canadians love their dogs too.  But we did want to show these eye-catchers and in the locations where we saw them.  We hope you enjoyed this little pet show!

Ciao for now!

Susanna e Vincenzo