Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Attenti al cane

At all the houses around the villa, there were these huge fluffy white dogs. We decided it must be some special Tuscan breed of dog. They were guard dogs, and they were super aggressive and barky... Not very friendly, but still cute and fluffy enough that I considered attempting to pet one or two. Jeff very wisely stopped me before I put my hand through the gate.

I took some pictures of our favorite fluff-ball:

polarbear

bewareofdog


We nick-named him The Polar Bear and he would bark like crazy at us every time we jogged by his gate. Unless he was taking a nap, then he wouldn't notice. He was getting older and it sounded like he was a little asthmatic. His bark was deep and gravely and he'd have to stop and catch his breath in between barks.

Does anybody know what kind of dog this is? One of the Italian guys I talked to thought they were originally sheep herding dogs. They look like sheep. They'd blend right in with a herd of sheep, but all the wooly fur them makes them seem a little out of place under the hot Tuscan sun.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Poop,

Did a little research the other day. They're called Maremma sheepdogs, and based on what people have to say about their disposition, it's a good thing you didn't try to pet him. They're so loyal to their owners and owners' families and property, they apparently won't let strangers like maids pick up the owners' kids' toys and stuff like that.

There's a story about one who guarded sheep most of her life, then the rancher sold the sheep and planted soybeans, and she automatically transferred her guard duty to the soybeans, No one but the owner could walk into the field.

It's a shame because I just want to hug them all. Google the name.

Anonymous said...

How about a picture of the bikinis?

RB said...

Neither of us would permit any photos to be taken of the euro-suits. I think it was for the best.