I turned and you were gone...

Oh, boy!  I really like it when the whole pack goes for walks together.  We all went out the other day because it was really nice outside again.   Doot, doot….this way.....over to the good smelly butcher and the good smelly food store.   C'mon guys, up the hill!  Up to my favorite spot where it gets flat again, and there are some big trees.  Behind a fence is a funny dog who always comes to see me, but then she acts scared and runs away.   She's silly.  

Hey, wait!  Where did Mom go?  Where is she?  Nope.  No, no, I do not like this.  Gotta go find Mom.  I don't want someone coming along and putting me in a car and taking me to a giant flying monster again!  Nope.  Follow me, Dad, we have to go back and find her!!  

Back to the good smelly stores....nope.  Not here.  This way, follow me, hurry....can't you walk any faster?  I'm going to call her.  "Mom!"  "Mom!!"  Maybe she's waiting at the door.  Mmmmm, nope.  "MOM!"  "Mo...uh...oh, there you are!  What are you doing back home?  You scared me!  Didn't you hear me calling you?"

Did I hear you calling?  You bet I did and so did everyone else!!!  The whole town could hear you! Holy cow!

We happened to pass a small store that sells, among other things, small over the shoulder bags.  The last time I saw one I liked, someone else snatched it up before I had a chance.  So, I wasted no time and marched right into the store to purchase the bag.  Harry and his Dad had already continued up the hill, so I decided to go back home.

When Harry turned to look for me and didn't see me he did an abrupt about face and headed back home, too.  I'm told he was very adamant about coming back and continued to pick up speed as he walked along, dragging my husband. (haha) When he got to our street, he started yelling.  I could hear him loud and clear, it was the same bark he gave the day he arrived here, unmistakable!  

Izz okay, Harry....I won't leave you.

Places to go, people to see

Whenever I hear "Andiamo!" I get excited because I know that means I get to go outside!  It's so much fun to go outside here.  I get to smell and see things I never got to smell or see before.  And I make friends everywhere!  I still see Hugo a lot, but I met a little girl puppy the other day, she was fun.  And I met an old guy, a spaniel.  He was nice, too.  

Sometimes we go on big walks all the way up the hill, or sometimes around the walkway that takes us back to our house.  Sometimes I don't feel like a big walk, so I just go up to the good smelly places and come right back home.  

And here's the exciting part - I get to go into stores now!  Yep!  I even know where the ice cream store is.  My pack was laughing because I know exactly where it is and I go right in!  It's not the same as frozen doggie ice cream like I had before, it's WAY better!  And my friend Hugo likes it, too!

There is another store I get to go to.  It's where my kibble comes from!  I get to go inside and smell the food bags and I get lots of pets from the man in the store, and anyone else who is there, too!  Oh, boy!  I never had so much fun!

Harry is becoming quite the cosmopolitan pup.  He loves walking these streets and meeting people.  The people here clearly love dogs, too.  While waiting outside to buy kibble, the owner, Donato, opened the door and said, "Come in!"  Harry had never been inside a store before other than a Petco.  Donato has two dogs of his own, Labrador mixes.  When he asked for Harry's name (which is rarely heard in Italy)  I said, "Like the Prince in England."  Donato replied, "Ah, he is the Prince of dogs!"  Well, he lives like one!!

The gelato store is on the promenade.  By the third time we went there, Harry knew the way and the store.  In fact, he marched right in this past weekend!!!  "C'mon guys, time for ice cream!"  

There's a party goin' on right here...

Wow!!!  There is some kind of big party here.  The whole town is a party!!  Everybody is outside.  Everybody!  And lots of people are dressed up in funny clothes and there is lots and lots of noise.  There's funny stuff on the ground, too.  It's not snow.  It's kind of like snow, but it isn't cold.  I don't know, people are funny.  

This party took days and days.  Someone was banging a drum right in my sensitive ears.  It was sort of fun, even for me, but I'm glad it's over, because even though I am a big boy now and not so scared of everything, I like things better when they are nice and quiet.  

I saw a parade!  It was a very strange thing.  This is a very interesting place!

It was Carnevale in our little hill town in Abruzzo.  The "parade" went right by us, and I was amazed that Harry was more curious than anything else.  He even got some pats from the participants!  After awhile the noise got to be too much for him and he starting pulling me towards home.

Sunshine, lollipops and...

Ice cream!  Ice cream!  Ice cream!!  There's ice cream here!!!  Oh, boy, I'm SO happy!  

On No-Monsters-Day we take a big walk now because it is getting nicer and nicer outside.  Where I lived before, No-Monsters-Day was the one day when those big, scary, noisy trucks didn't come by.  I hardly ever see them here, anyway, but No-Monsters-Day is still the quietest day of the week and that is just the way I like it! 

On my walk I met a "king."  He was smaller than I am, so I don't know why he is a king.  But he was nice and we rubbed noses and wagged our happy meters.  I met a soldier dog, once, his name was Shadow, but I never met a king before! 

Then when we were heading home we stopped at a store.  They had lots of places outside for hoomans and dogs.  Then I got the best surprise ever!  A cup of vanilla ice cream just for me!!!   It's the first time I had ice cream here.  It was wonderful!!  It was so tasty.  I had water, too.  I think I really, really like this place!

ConAmore is now open on Sundays.  Harry was delighted to have what is really vanilla yogurt (ice cream isn't good for dogs).  He was so delighted I thought his eyes were going to bust out of his head!!  And, we didn't realize it until we got home, but the nice people at ConAmore didn't charge us for his yogurt.

Since we will be "frequent flyers" I will have to insist that we cover his expense the next time we go.

Harry also had a pleasant encounter with a King Charles spaniel and a large shepherd, too!

I see your face before me...

So, hey!  The weather is getting nicer and nicer!!  Sometimes I get to out the back door to the balcony and look all around.  It smells good out there and we have flowers now!  I like the fresh air!

And our walks are getting longer just because it is nice out.  We have lots of different places to go but today we went down to where the town begins.  Out there is a big park with a sidewalk and benches and trees.  So many good smelly things!

But guess what?  I was walking along and we were just past the good smelly butcher and I saw myself!  I did!  It sure looks like me!  I'm on baby clothes!  Why am I on baby clothes?  I know babies like me.  Everybody likes me...hahaha.  I just wonder how that happened??

It DOES look like me, right?

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.