Pets in Italy

Does the Moon Affect Your Pets?

I am convinced the answer to this is yes! I have noticed a definite change of behaviour in my pets when there is a full moon. They are more skittish, more prone to unusual or annoying behaviour such as, in the case of yellow Lab ZsazSa, asking to be let out at three o'clock in the morning for no apparent reason. Lovely! (Yawn!)

 Italians are great believers in the power of the moon. You can buy gardening calendars here showing what to plant at which phase of the moon. My neighbours used to discuss whether the wine could be decanted into bottles as the moon was in the wrong phase. Once their lettuce planting was delayed because of a storm, but now the moon was wrong - what to do?

They agonised over putting up a wooden fence. They needed it, but the moon was calante (I think)and anyone knows if you put wooden stakes in the ground at the wrong time, they rot.

This belief in the moon's influence extends to hair cutting, nail cutting and the birth of babies and animals.

The moon is our nearest planet and we all know that it affects every aspect of our lives, one of the most obvious being the tides. The argument is that if it can affect huge bodies of water then, as we are made up of mostly water, it must have an equally powerful effect on animals and humans too. Studies have been done analysing the effect of the moon on the number of crimes committed or hospital admittances. And the origin of 'lunatic' is clearly etymologically linked to la luna.

Given all that, it's hardly surprising my little darlings act up when the moon is full. I'm wondering now as I write this if little cat Jimmy's accident last month (he broke his jaw) was during a full moon.

I have just looked it up. It was on May 26 - a full moon! Told you!

Home Urgently Needed for Dog in Calabria

This lovely dog is Dino. He was found by a British couple who live in a village near Paola about an hour from Cosenza, Calabria. They write : "We were feeding him outside the village for a few days. He started recognizing the sound of our car, and one night, he chased our car up the hill into the village, through the tiny streets and up to our front door, where he has firmly remained! That's the kind of village it is - much easier to get into if you go in with somebody who lives here. He's no fool! 

He was initially scared of everything, even the cats! But he has settled down quickly and now lets me cuddle him. But if I move too quickly, he cowers. So we can only guess how he was treated before he was dumped. I wish I could keep him! He is such a sweet boy."

As they live in an apartment they wanted to find him a good home, but since that first email they wrote to me things have taken a turn for the worse: "Unfortunately Dino barked at somebody a couple of days ago. He wasn't aggressive and it wouldn't be a big deal in a normal dog-loving world, but in a village in Southern Italy it was enough for the whole town to write him off as dangerous. Somebody must have phoned the local pound because they showed up with a police officer this morning and took him away. They claimed he bit somebody which made me furious as I know it is not true. It was so heart-breaking to see him go.

The pound is in Fuscaldo (near Paola) and they said if we can find a home for him, we can go and pick him up. I've no idea what it is like, or how he will be treated or how long they keep dogs before they are put down. I will still be asking around but it is hard to get a positive response from anyone. Let me know if you hear anything. I will happily meet up with anyone willing to take him and go to the pound to pick him out.

So sad. Of course, in the few days we were looking after him, I got completely attached."

Can you help poor Dino before he becomes another forgotten dog? Come all you expats in Calabria, has anyone got room for a lovely dog?

Please email: FiCole@aol.com

Freedom and Fear

What a morning at the canile! One of the 'scaredy' dogs, Baldo, a lovely hunting dog, had escaped. The whole placed is well fenced, so when I say 'escaped' I mean he was out of his kennel but in the small fenced woods, where he had been running about enjoying his comparative freedom for three days! And they are really quite small woods, but it's amazing how many lovely hiding places there are!

We tried to coax him with food, ignoring him, calling him, but although he came right up to us, followed the other dogs we took out and ran to the gate whenever anyone approached, we couldn't get him. It was boiling hot too (not in the woods, obviously), so I have just come home  red in the face, thirsty and hungry. And Baldo is still out! He has food and water so will be fine, but it would be better if he was inside.

I was alone with him trying to coax him in for a little while and you could see he was struggling with the joy of being 'out' and the desire to return to his safe and familiar kennel. I guess we all feel like that sometimes. Baldo is making the most of his temporary freedom and who can blame him. But he'll go back in the end - speriamo!

Ginger - an Inspirational Story

It's all to easy to get depressed when faced with some of the sad stories of abandoned dogs I get sent to me for the site. But here's one that while not exactly a happy ending (yet) is moving in the right direction.

I've been following the progress of a little dog called Ginger. She was found tied to a bin, near Naples, left by some heartless person. She was blind, starving, with her ribs sticking out, with swollen lymph nodes and a swollen stomach. There was a chain collar practically strangling her.   Here is a picture of how she was found.

I phoned up to find out more about her and found out that she had been poisoned, which had caused her to lose her sight. She was being cared for in Campania by an association called  Movimento Animalista di Aversa and they had taken her straight to the vet. She seemed to be doing OK but they were worrried about the lymph nodes. They also said that she was not as old as she appeared and was probably only about two.

They sent me a close up photo and you can see how terrible she looks and how red her poor eyes are. These volunteers are so marvellous, they arranged for her to see a veterinary eye specialist and he said that the blindness may be reversible.  They  did some more tests and found out that she had an aggressive form of lymphatic cancer and her prognosis was very poor. They were going to try chemotherapy, although in her weakened state, it was a risk, but the only hope she had. I have to say, that although I had printed out her photo and was trying to do a bit of healing on her, things looked pretty bleak.

Well, that was a month ago and baby, look at her now! Apparently the chemo went very well and she is now in remission. She looks a completely different dog, doesn't she? She is not out of the woods yet, the cancer could return, but if you compare the earlier photos to this one you can see just how well she is doing. Once they are convinced she is stable then she will be up for adoption. I'm not sure if she is still blind, I will find out and let you know. But it just shows you should never give up.

Brava Ginger! An inspiration to us all!

* Update - she is still blind, but as they say: "that is the least of her problems."

Wendy's Animal Talk

Well, I did my interview last night with Wendy Nan Rees for her radio show Wendy's Animal Talk. I called California at 10pm Italian time and we spoke for an hour. I was a bit apprehensive before I went on air but Wendy was such a great host that I had an absolute blast and really enjoyed myself! I talked about some of my experiences with animals since moving to Italy in 1994 and we had a real laugh!

The great thing too is that Wendy wants me to be European correspondent for the show.(It started off as Italian correspondent but then I kind of got promoted!) Watch this space.

I have an MP3 version on the site so you can listen to the show HERE.

Pets in Italy on the Radio

Just to let you know I am being interviewed today (8 June) by pet guru Wendy Nan Rees on her show Wendy's Animal Talk, which she hosts from her home in California. Wendy is formerly of Animal Planet's Pettsburg, USA. I'll be talking about dog rescue and my pets in Italy. You can call in with questions too.

Here's the link. It's from 10pm Italian time for an hour, 1pm Pacific time, then the show will be available online.

Leave Fledglings Alone

A couple of days ago while on my morning walk with the dogs through the woods I heard a lot of panicked cawing from a large tree. As I have a handicapped crow, I knew immediately (as you do!) that it was an alarm call from a hooded crow and I scanned the tree to try and see the bird. I spotted it high up, getting very agitated. I guessed there must be something there so looked around and spotted a fledgling crow, in good condition but quite young, hopping about in the undergrowth. I called the dogs off and left it there. But my mind was racing. Was this a potential friend for my crow? Was it in danger? Should I rescue it?

I got home, Googled the subject and found an interesting article from the RSPB (Royal Soceity for the Protection of Birds)in the UK. It said that at this time of year there are lots of fledglings around on the ground - it's statistically unsurprising that there are unsuccessful flight attempts, given the number of birds around - and they are often there for up to a week, hidden from view, perfectly OK and being fed and kept an eye on by their parents, before they gather strength to fly away. Those that don't are food for predators, maintaining nature's cycle. In other words, unless the bird is clearly injured or the parents are dead, leave well alone.

I found this reassuring, if a little harsh. But I resisted my natural urge to help and I haven't seen the little chap since, so am hoping it has taken to the skies rather than been dinner for a larger animal.

Dog Painting

Thought you would like to see how I spend my free time (some of it anyway!). Here are my three lovely dogs, from the left - Gassie, Maia and ZsaZsa.

I enjoy painting and for some reason I usually paint great big birds (LOL) I have no idea why. But I have never tried a picture of my own animals before! I really enjoyed capturing these three on canvas.

Update! I've had such a positive reaction to this painting that decided to offer pet portraits as a paid-for service on this site so please click here to go to the pet portrait page.