Wednesday, May 18, 2011

(C)Ave Canem Project (Pompeii Adopt a Dog Program)

On a recent trip to Italy we decided to go to Pompeii. We had never been, and it is really truly an impressive sight.  Pompeii is a dog friendly place, and there were several people there with their dogs on leash. It seems as if the Jack Russell Terrier is the popular dog in Italy these days (everyone had one). But I also noticed several stray dogs hanging out at the ruins as well. They seemed to spend their day sunning themselves and befriending tourists. They were all very friendly, well fed, and some had collars. We wondered about all of these random dogs. Who did they belong to? Why were they all here? Who took care of them?

As we made our way back towards the large forum, there was a large commotion, and out of nowhere over a dozen dogs came running towards us. I then noticed in the distance a sign that said (C)Ave Canem Project and it all made sense. The (C)Ave Canem Project is named after the famous mosaic found in the House of the Tragic Poet, and means "Beware of the Dog". The project provides care and vaccinates and spays/neuters the Pompeii dogs. They hope that visitors to Pompeii will take home a piece of the ancient site with them, a loving dog, and provide them with a safe and caring home. I absolutely adore this program! The title photo, at the top of the page, is one I took of a Pompeii dog available for adoption. All the dogs have ancient Roman names, and if you adopt one at the beginning of your Pompeii visit, he may make a pretty good tour guide too!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Following the Dog

I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.  ~Mark Twain

I have been fortunate to spend most of my travels with my boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend (now husband). I am happy to report that we have survived all these travels, not because they were overly adventurous, but because we haven't killed each other yet on any of these trips! In all seriousness, while we have had our moments, the four of us travel well together. When I think about some of the best memories I have, most of them have taken place together with them, some place far from home.

When possible, like when we travel close to home, we like to bring our four-legged children with us too. While you may think I am anthropomorphizing him, I like to think my dog loves our trips, and enjoys exploring a new place as much as I do. As much as I would love to bring my dog everywhere with me, so he could run wild in the Costa Rican jungle, and play in the Patagonian snow, it is just not possible. That whole quarantine thing. It's crappy.

But what I have found is everywhere we go...dogs just find us (okay-sometimes we find them too). And, so begins many stories, of our travels, with dogs-just not always ours. I picked the title of the blog based on our most recent trip to Capri. We were lost, there was a dog, and so we followed him (I'll tell the whole story later). It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, and as it turns out following the dog was a good move.

In loving memory of Buddy, you were a good boy, a loyal friend, and brought so much happiness to everyone who met you.