pet animal: March 2010

My Kind of Town - Lodi

Woof!

I had a fabulous weekend. My humans and I were out exploring the little town which we recently moved to. It’s called Lodi. Come, let me show you around.

We have a big field right at the back of our house and sometimes we go there for my regular walkies.

It happened to be a gorgeous day with the sun shining and a clear blue sky.

Me and Dad took a break from the walk to admire the scenery.

As we went further, we came across this place which houses at least nine dogs – probably more. Some of them are adopted. Man, you should see the amount of space they have to themselves. It is HUGE!

They all rushed out to greet me with their tails wagging.

The one on the right reminds me of my canine blogging friend, Nigel. (Except this ‘Nigel’ has lots more hair).

Anyway, we continued our journey then came across this semi-underground road...

...there was a lot of colourful graffiti on the walls. I used to get spooked by the scary faces – but not anymore!

As we continued our walk, we met some nice doggy friends...

...I stopped for a while to say hello and we exchanged the latest gossip.

This is me in front of the River Adda which runs through the heart of Lodi. Unfortunately, the current is a bit too strong for me to go swimming in it.

Next we ventured into Lodi town for a coffee break.

A picture of Missus and me at one of the local coffee shops...

...and another beautiful shot. (Although yours truly was obviously distracted for this one!).

Here’s Dad and me in front of Lodi’s duomo (cathedral). Its full name is Basilica della Vergine Assunta.

Finally, here’s Dad and me in the middle of the Piazza della Victoria.

What a great day out in my new town. I can’t wait to go exploring some more!

In my last blog, I told you all about the first day of my weekend visit to Paco, Milo and Maya’s place. Well, we spent the night sleeping cosily and then woke up on Sunday morning to a wonderful sight...

...it had been snowing and the garden was beckoning for us to go out and play. Check out our frolics below:

Here we all are trying to decide what our first game should be...

...Unfortunately Paco and Milo were easily distracted by a car outside.

By the time Milo came up, I was on the way back down the hill.

Anyway, we soon got our act together and went off adventuring in the snow.

While the four of us were out, I couldn’t help noticing how much Maya was paying attention to me. Don’t believe me? Well, check out the photos below:

At first I didn’t notice anything...

...then I spotted her staring at me.

After a while, her eyes were following my every move.

Even from the top of the hill....

Maya checking out my butt (again!).

Once she got sick of following me with her eyes, she started to follow me for real. She’s my ‘little shadow’!

She even followed me into this little hideout.

Finally, Maya managed to summon up the courage to ask me the question on her mind...

...she whispered it gently in my ear.

...Of course I said “YES!”

We started with a friendly kiss...

...and then we were off!

Maya quickly got on top.

I tried to ‘snap’ back...

...but then Maya launched herself at me. “Eeee-YAH!”

Man, she was fast!

I gave her my ‘fiercest face’. “AHHHHHHH!”

But Maya just responded by biting my ear!

Finally, I knew I had no chance of winning once Maya put on her ‘Matrix’ hover:

After all the ‘gung fu’ shenanigans, we headed back into the house for a well-earned rest.

Maya and me in bed – exhausted! (I apologise for the quality of this photo).

Not only were we tired, we were also hungry. However, Simona soon saw to it that we were all well fed.

Maya and me eating our food...

...and here’s Paco and me having a meal together.

Finally, we all gathered around Dad for a ‘farewell story’.

All too soon it was getting late and we had to set-off for home. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed my stay with Maya and the boys (and their humans). I can’t wait to meet up with them all again.

A Weekend in Asti - Part One

As you know, we’ve been seeing quite a lot of Paco, Milo and Maya over the past few weeks. Well last weekend, we went back to their place in Asti to visit them again. Take a look at some photos taken during the wonderful time we had there…

When we first arrived, at their place, Paco, Milo and Maya were not at home. So Dad and I thought of playing some games while waiting for them to arrive.

There I go, off to get the stone which Dad threw. Unfortunately, although I’m a Golden Retriever, I don’t really know what “retrieve” means. I usually just find the object and then wander off somewhere else. (Much to Dad’s annoyance!)

Next we had a game of tug-of-war. I’m far too strong for Dad...

...so he usually just cheats by hiding the rope!

Our fun and games came to an end when we saw our friends approaching.

Here they all are!

Milo and Maya were quick to greet Dad.

There was also another golden retriever joining us. Her name is Zeva and she’s Maya’s sister.

This is pretty Zeva.

She spent most of the afternoon chewing on a bone...

...although I managed to sneak it away from her at one point!
After the usual sniffing around, the humans got us all together for some photoshots...

Here we all are pestering Simona for some treats.

Marco thought I was such a good boy for waiting patiently at the back. (Little does he know what a devil I can be when it comes to food!)

Here are the doggies (apart from yours truly) waiting for Missus to hand out some treats…

…unfortunately, she ate them herself!

Next, Simona wanted to give away a toy which I bought for Paco, Milo and Maya. She couldn’t decide who to give it to, so she just let them sort it to themselves…