Nobody does it better

Hey!  Did you know I have a job?  I do! It took me a little while to learn, but I am a pretty smart pup.  My job is to defend my pack and our home.  When I was young I used to be a little afraid of things, lots of things.  If someone came to the door, I would run away and hide!  It's true!  Hahaha!  

But I don't do that anymore.   I inspect everyone who comes in here.  I make a bunch of noise if I think someone should not be here.  And I make sure anyone who is here is safe.  I sniff them very carefully and I watch them, too. Just to make sure there is no funny business.  Nope, not on my watch.  And my first rule is that whoever IS here has to pet me.  It's just a little test of mine.  I do not trust people who don't pet me.  

My pack doesn't know this, but I stay on the job ALL the time.  If they go out and I am here by myself I am extra vigilant.  But even when we are all together and comfy, cozy...I, Harry Spotter, am still on the job!  

I like to think of myself as Super Spy Spotter!  There I am, doing a routine surveillance of my surroundings.

Notice how I surrep….syrup....carefully move my head so I can see my pack and more of the room.

Finally, I do a full sweep of the whole room, and no one even knows that Super Spy Spotter is there, keeping them safe.  But that's okay, I love my job!

It's up to your knees out there...

It snows here!  It isn't as awful and some other places we've been, but it still gets cold and it snows!!  Good thing I have my nice warm coat!  I don't mind the snow here because it isn't really very, very deep.  And it goes away really fast, too.  So it's kind of fun.  

And Mom warms up my breakfast and suppertime a  little bit, so I get good, warm food in my tummy.  All my good beds are here, too, so I have lots of places to snuggle up and get warm after a chilly walk!  

Here's some pictures of how cold it gets sometimes.   And me, with my coat on.  Hey!  How did they get that picture?

The height of winter.  At night the temperature can drop to the 20s, by day they rise to the upper 30s, 40s, even 50s.  The snow comes and the snow goes, usually within days.  We are happy to have the seasons and Harry doesn't mind this snow too much.  Not like New Jersey, with sheets of treacherous ice to contend with!  

If he has rice or pasta in his food, I heat it up very gently in the microwave so he isn't eating cold food after having been out in the snow.  

I'm told that Spring is not far off.  I do hope that's true. 

Just can't wait to get on the road

Doodley, doodley, doot, doot…..I love my walks here!  My happy meter gets out of control when it's time to go outside.  I especially love "no monsters" day.   They don't have the same giant monsters here that we used to have, just little monsters, so they don't scare me so much.

Sometimes I like to go to the piazza because lots of nice people are there and sometimes I get to see my friend, Hugo.  And sometimes I like to go up the hill, so I can pass the good smelly stores.  

The other evening I was heading for the good smelly places when I had to go.  A pup has got to do what a pup has got to do!  And guess what?  I stopped traffic!  Hahaha. I did!  All the little monsters had to stop and wait until I was done.   I wasn't afraid.  Some girls walked by and thought it was funny.   I thought it was pretty funny, too!  

Mom say's I'm a "traffic stopper!"  I know I'm a good looking boy, but I must be REALLY handsome to be a "traffic stopper!"

Well, time to head back home now!

Since this is a medieval town, there are few actual "sidewalks," so people are always walking in the streets.  It is common for the cars to stop for people and they do even when someone is attempting to cross where there is not a designated crosswalk.  The "main" street in town is also one way because it is quite narrow. But how often do they stop for dogs doing their business?  Not that often.  This just happened to be in the middle of what one would call a "rush hour" here, yet no one seemed to mind and passersby got a kick out of it.  And Harry seems to have lost his fear of vehicles or perhaps he is just preoccupied with all the interesting aromas.

"Tis the season....

You all know I don't like to have my picture taken, right?  I run away from cameras....sometimes people, even my Mom, try to take pictures of me without me knowing it, but I'm a pretty smart pup and I usually know! 

So, here's a picture of  my niece.  She LIKES having her picture taken.  Her name is Thea and she lives somewhere that is kind of cold...

This is my way of saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  Have fun and be good!  Woof!

There's no place like home for the holidays

Wow!  Big things happening.  There were all kinds of people here and the door was open all day and these guys were coming in with lots of stuff.   And guess what?  I know this stuff!  It's our stuff!  I can SMELL it!  Mom found my bowls, so I don't have to chase my food all over the floor anymore, haha!   And I have my big, big comfy couch back!   I LOVE my couch!  I can lean my head on the sides or I can snuggle in a corner, or I can stretch out, oh boy!  Oh, boy!  

It was pretty fun!  I even went outside by myself a couple of times to check on everyone.  But then I went back inside to make sure my pack was there.  I was "supervising."  I don't know what that means, but it sounds important.

There are lots of boxes everywhere, but we have our furniture back!  So my comfy couch is leaning on a dresser now, and so the bedroom is one of my favorite places!  And we have another room we can use now, with chairs in it.  Mom and Dad seemed pretty happy to be in there and they played music and I have another bed in there, too, and I think we all fell asleep!  

That night that all the people were here, I slept really, really well in my comfy couch.   I even got up late the next day.  We all did.   

So, I guess this is home?  Sure smells like it now!

We have a bit of unpacking to do.(!!)  But each day we make a little headway.  

Harry was a good boy while everything was chaotic, but it is really nice to have some rugs on the floors and actual furniture. Our boy was very happy to see, smell and sleep on his big, cushy couch that has bolsters on three sides.  He slept like a puppy that first night. 

We may not be entirely comfortable for several more months, but we have a "path" into the living room now and can sit in our chairs and listen to the stereo.  The bedroom is done as far as furniture, we just need to find our belongings and put them away.  The dining room is the same, with cabinets that need to be filled.  I just found our dishes and silverware today, along with pots and pans.  

We have no expectations for "holiday" décor this year...that is just not going to happen.  But the worst is over, and for that we are very grateful.  Little by little, it is starting to feel like home. Right, Harry?

Just like me, they long to be close to you

Doot, doot....dooot....oh boy! So many things to smell!  The streets here are made of stones.  And there's lots of little stores with good smelly things.  There is a meat store, and I smell cheese nearby.  And there is a store with just fish! I keep trying to go in there, but my pack won't let me.   Why can't I go in the good smelly fish store?  

Yep, I really like my walks here.  I'm beginning to learn my way around and go where I like to go the best.  And the people like me!  Especially girls.   They stop and give me pets and tell me how handsome I am, but they say "Bello cane!"  I know what that means!  I am learning a new way to say things.  I know "Andiamo"  and "Fuori"...and "Bravo ragazzo!"  But my favorite is "Bello cane" cause that means I am a handsome pup!!

You've got a friend

Oh, boy!!!   I am in a VERY interesting place!  Now that I'm all rested, I feel lots better.  I'm eating again...that makes Mom happy.  The food here is really good, I have tomato and spinach biscuits!  They are yumbers!

And I really, really like taking walks around here.  There's so many things to smell!  And lots of people and other pups.   

And guess what?  I made a friend!  He sort of looks like me a little, but he's a tiny bit smaller than I am.  His name is Hugo, but don't say the "H"....it's like Ugo.  That's because we are in Italy.  I'm always happy now when I see Hugo!  And his person says I am "bello."  That means handsome.  Hugo and I are amici!  

Harry and Hugo saw each other and made eye contact...friends at first sight!  I said they were "come fratelli"...like brothers...they look somewhat alike.  I am so happy that Harry enjoys his walks, he gets so excited when it is time to go outside!  Another big "thank you" to Sally Smith at Airborne Animals for making his trip safe and timely!  Here is Harry on a walk to the city gate.