We’ve had Merlina the hooded crow for over two years now and she seems quite happy in her voliera (aviary) which I made by enclosing part of an existing pergola with vines and adding an old gate I found under some overgrown bushes. Like the story of Tantalus, the grapes on the vine are just […]
Volpino Italiano This name means little fox and gives you a good idea of what the dog looks like. It is often referred to as an Italian Spitz. History The breed’s origins are not known, but it is believed to be a descendant of the European Spitz which dates back to the Bronze Age. It was a favourite of the
If you’ve seen any of the Harry Potter films then you’ll know that Harry’s giant chum Hagrid has a dog called Fang. In the books Fang is a boarhound, but in the films he is a Neapolitan mastiff. (Actually four mastiffs. Three were used for the first three films and then one, Hugo, retired after the Prisoner of
The official breed name in Italian for these majestic dogs is the pastore maremmano abbruzzese or pastore abbruzzese and they originate from the mountains of Abruzzo in central Italy. Abruzzo, which hit the headlines in 2009 because of its terrible earthquake, is located below Umbria and Marche between the calf and the ankle of Italy’s ‘boot’. History The dogs were
I think that Italians generally have a different attitude to neutering pets to the UK. I have heard neutering described as 'cruel',' unnatural' and 'not fair,' by many people. I remember telling a group of Italian teachers that my cat was at the vet's being spayed and they were quite baffled. 'Why?' said one. 'What
Back in 2001 my heart was breaking. My lovely 15-year-old Doberman/GSD cross Kelly was having difficulty walking, her back legs kept collapsing and in the end she just stayed inside and I 'wheelbarrowed' her everywhere. We investigated doggy nappies, hoists and all sorts. The problem was that apart from the back leg issue she was
I usually spray all the dogs with a well known flea and tick spray every few weeks or so and did so again on Friday. For once I decided to read the instructions and discovered to my astonishment that you need two spays per kilo, a lot more than I had been giving them. I
Ferragosto ( celebrated on the 15 August) gets a pretty bad press from animal lovers in Italy. It’s the time of year when pets tend to get thrown out to fend for themselves rather than put into boarding kennels or catteries. But there is some good news. It’s estimated that about 650,000 animals spent the
As part of the Casentino's fundraising efforts, volunteers have an ENPA stand at many of the markets and fairs held in Casentino during this time of year. We have a list telling us who is to attend which fair and yesterday it was my turn to be one of the helpers at the Stia fair.
I thought I would let you know how Gaspare is doing as it's been almost a month since we got him. He is a lovely, lovely dog and has made himself completely at home. A loonie gentle giant with great long legs and a tendency to squeeze himself into very small spaces. This holds true