November 3, 2018

Dear Snowy,

I heard about your accident and that your cast has been taken off.  I hope your leg is as  good as new and we can run and play together sometime again.  I really enjoyed the day we were able to get together in California.  It was so much fun to wrestle and run with you.  You are really fast, well, almost as fast as me.

Now, I am far away, sister, very far away.  So far that I had to fly in a plane to get here.  That was an experience that I didn't really enjoy so much as it was almost like being in a cage.  I had no space to move and I just had to be still and quiet.  If there is one thing that I really don't like and that makes me nervous it is being confined.  Maree held me the whole way though, so I was not too nervous.  I must admit that I do like all of the cuddling - but don't tell anybody because I don't think boys are supposed to like that.

Lately my days in Italy, my new home, have been pretty boring.  There has been a lot of rain and fog.  The fog here is very weird.  Our house sits on a little hill with valleys on both sides and the fog starts in the valleys and rolls up the hill making the entire world grey and invisible.  It rolls very fast and quiet more like a panther than little cats feet.  It makes the world so silent too almost like you are wearing ear muffs or had cotton in your ears or something.  And, you can't see anything.  It is eerie, and when I go out into the fog at night, I am very cautious because I don't know what strange creatures might be lurking behind a tree or outside of the fence.  Did I tell you that I saw two porcupines the other night.  Boy, those spikes they carry look pretty awesome, but I would not want to get into a fight with them. 

It is hunting season here, and sometimes I see hunting dogs running down the road or down below in the field.  They have this funny baying sound.  They must be speaking in Italian because I can't understand what they are saying.  They all just ignore me.  I guess they have something more important on their minds.  I hear they are looking for wild boar which live in the woods down below the house.  I have not seen a wild boar yet, but sometimes at night I think I might hear their sounds.  I don't think I would like being a wild boar.  Living in the woods is not my idea of a good time and being chased by those dogs and men with guns is definitely not my preferred lifestyle.  In a way, I feel sorry for them.  They are just trying to live and raise their young.  But apparently they eat all of the farmers grapes and crops and then there will be nothing for anyone to eat and of course, there will be no wine. I have never tasted wine, but I know Maree and Jim like it a lot.   I hear wild boar are very fierce.  So if I ever see one, I just hope that I am much faster than it is. 

I am keeping in shape by running circles around in the yard, but it is just not the same as being chased around in the dog park.  My friend Louie was really fast, so I always had to run my best to keep up with him.  Now I have no competition, so I don't know if I am slowing down.  After all, I am one year old now, so maybe I am slowing down?  I am really not sure how a one year old is supposed to act.  I still feel like a puppy, but am I supposed to be acting grown up now?  Well, I have no one here to ask, so I will just go with however I am feeling at the moment.  Perhaps I will enjoy acting like a grown up one day, but for now, it is full speed ahead, chew everything, bark a lot, get as much attention as possible, and never let them catch you. 

I don't know how long hunting season lasts here, but I hope it is not too long because I don't like the sounds of gun shots even if they are far away.  It is certainly strange seeing men walking down the street with guns.  I always bark at them.  I hope they get the idea that I don't approve of them walking down my street, past my house, carrying loaded weapons.  Of well, at least since we put the barrier up across the street, they are not parking right in front of our house.

Since I am so bored during this period of rain and fog, I have taken up a new hobby.  I search for rocks and try to eat them.  They really don't taste very good though.  I prefer the taste of the patio furniture.  But grass and twigs are still my favorite, and with the rain and wind that we had, there are a lot of new twigs in the yard just waiting for me to eat them.

 Yesterday, the boredom was interrupted by some people from Holland coming to look at the house.  The realtor lady was very nice and went out in the yard to throw the ball for me.  I know she did this to shut me up because all I was doing was barking and barking at the people.  Well the couple looking at the house was very tall.  I think the man was going on  7 feet tall and his wife was tall too.  The man had a camera and was taking a lot of photos.  I don't like cameras.  I don't know why.  Perhaps it is because they get pointed at me.  Or maybe it is because I don't really understand what they are for.  Anyway, the man took lots of pictures of the house and he did not once take a picture of me.  I guess all of that barking was good for something if it kept me from having my picture taken.  I really am camera shy.

I hear we have two new brothers and sisters now.  I bet they are very cute.  Maybe one day I will get to meet them.  I hope you are enjoying them.  Say hi to Mom and Dad. 

All the best from Italy,

Your big brother, Dino