Pets in Italy

Cats to the Fore

I feel I have been neglecting cats a bit in this blog, and in my own household come to that. Since the arrival of Gassie the internet rescue setter, our own three tame cats have not spent any time in the house and the three wild ones are fed on the wall behind the house. Gassie can jump on the wall and so we have to keep him inside while they eat.

I have put a number of warm baskets in the woodshed next to the house which the cats can access via slits in the wall and Jimmy, the black and white kitten - well, cat now I suppose - and his mother Monica come into the vestibule part of the house and sleep in two baskets there.

Unfortunately Misha, the third tame cat and the one I refer to as my 'blood sister' after I rescued her and she mauled my hand badly, has disappeared. I haven't seen her for tewo weeks and can only think the worst. I know there are quite a few houses round here that leave food out for cats and so maybe she has gone to one of them, but somehow I doubt it. I feel guilty as I feel I have been neglecting them in favour of Gassie.

Anyway, in order to put this right on this site at least, I am going to post more appeals for needy cats. I haven't got any yet, but I will post them when I get them.

Can You Help Dolly - a Sad Puppy No-one Asks About?

Dolly was just a young puppy when she was taken to the canile in Naples this summer. She has a lovely sweet character and is very gentle. But Dolly has become ‘invisible’. No-one has come for her, no-one has asked about her and so she waits and waits. She is so sad, can you help her?

 She will soon be seven months old, she’s medium size (15 kg) and is soon to be vaccinated and microchipped. The volunteers want to bring her to Tuscany, first to be placed 'in stallo' (foster care) before finding a permanent home for her and her sister Licia.

 Please can you help by adopting them or speading the word? For more information call: 320/0463994

Books for Dogs at Bazaar near Panicale

If you are in or near Umbria, here is a date for your diary.

There is a Bazaar being held on 29th November (Sunday next) at Villa Le Mura near Panicale and Books for Dogs will be having a stall there.  The Bazaar is from 2.30.p.m.-5.00.p.m., the entrance charge will be €7. and sherry, mince pies, cakes and mulled wine will be on offer.  There will be all sorts of stalls and attractions, including Books for Dogs.

If you are coming from the Castiglione area go towards Macchie and on towards Panicale, but do not turn off, keep on this road and you will see a sign for Le Mura and Villa Le Mura is on the left.  If, however, you are nearer Umbertide, etc., the best bet is to get to Magione and go along the lake through Dirindello, Sant'Arcangelo and then take the left signed to Casalini and thence Panicale and Le Mura and the Villa will be on the right.

Books for Dogs are hoping to sell loads of books and also meet some new animal-loving folk to promote their activities to.  If you are able to attend they would love to see you - they have many new books which you may not have seen during their summer stint in the market!

Kennel News

Last weekend I did my 'turn' at the kennels although I arrived a bit later than intended as a new roundabout meant the road I normally take was closed. As I am not the world's best at directions it took me about half an hour to work out an alternative route but I got there in the end!

Today we had a meeting of the local branch of ENPA who organise the volunteers who run the kennels. It was great to see so many people turn up and there were the usual announcements about elections for president and so on. The current president, Claudia, is resigning as she is just snowed under with work. What started off as quite a small job (the Casentino kennels has not been going that long and currently houses about 25 dogs)has grown exponentially and the poor girl can't cope on her own, although she is ably assisted by the amazing Domenico, Betta and her husband Roberto.

I learned a bit about the power (or not) of ENPA. Even if they get called out to see a maltreated dog they have no power to seize it, that has to be done in conjunction with USL, a local vet and various other bodies. It is quite a palaver to actually prove a dog has been the victim of abuse and neglect and ofte they have to leave a dog they are pretty sure needs to be removed. They are talking with the town council to see if their powers can be increased at all.

Some good news is that we may be going into local schools to teach the kids about the kennels and how to care for dogs. I also suggested we team up with local old people's homes to do some kind of pet visiting programme like they do in the UK and the States. I think my suggestion was met with a bit of good natured bewilderment (actually a lot of my ideas are met with bewilderment - could be "the way I tell'em!") But I am determined that as a lone straniera I am going to speak up when I think of something even if they do think I am slightly loopy!

The Eyes Have It

As an eight-week-old puppy, our Labrador ZsaZsa (now six) didn't really engage with us in the way I had been used to before. Born and raised outside she had spent the required amount of time socializing with her littermates, but hadn't had much interaction with humans. So she played like a maniac but didn't make much eye contact. It took quite some time for her to start relating to us and reading our body language.

I know it isn't true doggy behaviour to 'stand and stare' except in confrontational situations, but dogs raised with humans do this. They do maintain eye contact for non threatening reasons, they tune in and watch you.

Maia our mongrel, who is almost three, had had lots of human contact as a young puppy. At the same eight-week stage she had been played with and fussed over by her owner's young children and so was a people watcher par excellence. This has continued. She can read me like a book and I often catch her anxiously watching my face to judge my mood.

Which leads me on to Gassie, the internet rescue dog. We've had him for almost four months now and he has just started to copy the watching and eye contact behaviour of the other two. He has tuned into us. Of course, this has happened late for him, as we think he at least four years old. But it's nice to look him in the eyes and get something back.

He is curious and quick on the uptake. He definitely sits and puzzles things out. We've just got a new wood pellet stove and today he was sitting right next to me observing my every move as I performed the daily vacuuming ritual. It was almost like I'd said: 'OK Gassie, you have to do this tomorrow, so you'd better watch carefully.'

The same determined and concentrated attention was applied a few minutes later as I was bending over the bath washing my hair. Feeling something behind me I looked from under the water spray to see a large gentle face a few inches away. Gassie was sitting as close to me as he could, learning what hair washing involved. He has added that to his list of possible chores he might be called to perform at short notice.

Our engaging dog has now engaged with us - and it's lovely.

Can You Help Annie? Left to Die in the Rubbish.

This is Annie, found in a rubbish bag a few weeks ago in the south of Italy. Pregnant, dirty and completely covered in her own excrement she was brought in by a volunteer who found her while at work. The little dog was trying desperately to escape from the sealed rubbish bag which had been dumped by the side of the road and finally managed to get her head free when she was spotted by the volunteer.

The experience of nearly suffocating caused her to give birth prematurely and all the puppies died over the following 24 hours. Following a course of antibiotics she has now been sterilized. The hair on her ears is now regrowing and the crust on her eyes has all but gone.

At the moment Annie is well. She is affectionate and very obedient, which leads the volunteers to believe she may well be a Setter cross. She is about 1 or 2 years old and weighs 12 kilos.

Annie is is need of a loving home and an owner who will help her forget the abysmal treatment she has received. She gets on with cats and dogs. There will be pre and post adoption checks.

For information on adopting Annie please email a.russo67@alice.it
Tel: Anna 3471155883 or Margherita 3332521929

If you would like to help Annie by adopting her at a distance and sending a small amount each month (eg €7 for flea spray) then please get in touch.

UPDATE : Annie may have a new home! I'll post as soon as I hear any more news!

Pet Lovers International Unite!

A recent influx of appeals for dogs and cats has got me thinking. We need some way of getting an international network going, so that some of these poor creatures stand a chance of being rehomed outside Italy. I know it is done for Greece and parts of Spain. I was even in touch (in a roundabout way) with a rescue centre in France who offered to take a dog if someone could drive him to their shelter.

Of course this needs thought and time and organization. While on my most recent trip back to UK I got talking by chance to a lady who is part of a British dog lovers forum that helps with international rescues, so I hope I will be able to get something organized with them. 

In the meantime if anyone has any thoughts on this or ideas, I'd be glad to hear them. I'm not aware that any international expats group exists yet to help rehome cats and dogs but I could be wrong.