Italy was surreal. We were taken to a villa outside of Rome and spent some time gazing at the vineyards. We then got whisked away to L’Aquila to view the earthquake damage caused earlier this year. It was a humanitarian visit and as the appointed canine ambassador from First Dog Bo, I spent time at a veterinarian hospital and counseled its patients. There was one dog in particular whose story resonated with me and the others.
“… so there I was and I had to make a quick decision,” Bart the Golden Retriever said. His two front legs were bandaged and a third was in traction. “Do I run back inside the school to see if there were any more children or do I wait for a rescue team? There was no question about it. I had to save the kids.”
“It’s a good thing too,” he continued. “There were three frightened first graders in a broom closet. I sniffed them out and they followed me to safety. It wasn’t easy, with everything that was going on but what was I going to do? I’m a dog.”
He smiled up at me faintly and all the girls cooed at his courage. Zoey and Deja wept softly. These are the unsung heroes but it goes to show that a canine considers himself just as much a part of humanity as our upright masters do. Maybe more so.
“You’ve done a brave thing and for that, we are thankful,” I said, placing a plaque on his nightstand. “Please accept this on behalf of American canines for your valiant efforts.”
We continued to make the rounds. Mea and Stella liked the Italian accent and tried to mimic it and Karma was even inspired and thought of becoming a nurse. Once we finished, we all jumped into a chauffeured car and went back to the villa.
Lexi said that she wanted to go north and try to ski the Alps. Everyone teased her because we all know how adverse to cold weather Italian Greyhounds are.
“But I could wear booties,” she protested. This caused us to laugh more and her to get more mad.
“I have a surprise for everyone,” I interrupted the laughter. “We are going to make wine tonight. That means we are going to squish grapes with our paws. I learned how to do it when I was watching a rerun of ‘I Love Lucy.’ Is everyone ready to make some wine?”
Karma whimpered and then giggled. The car went silent and we all stared at her.
“I made some whine already,” she laughed. “Get it? ‘Whine?’ ‘Whine?’ It’s wine with an ‘h.’ Hmm, tough crowd.”
