The Dogs of Rome

By now you probably know I can't go anywhere without taking photos of the local dogs.

Rome was a great place for snapping the local pooches. I found dogs on leashes out for a walk. Dogs  walking around wearing a collar but no owner in sight. Pooches sitting next to their humans at cafe sidewalks.

But not once did I see an overweight dog or a small furball in a purse. Thank goodness. Romans must have some respect.

While in The Eternal City, I saw big dogs:

Medium-sized dogs...

 

...and little dogs (love the body language on this guy, and on his wayward Chihuahua):

Actually, I saw lots of little dogs. I guess it's an easy size to have in a big city:

I saw big-and-little dog combos:

I saw service dogs in uniform:

Dogs guarding shops and businesses (this was a parking-garage dog):

I even saw a yellow Lab momma carrying her own water bottle (that's a kind of service, isn't it?):

Romans really like their pooches. Perhaps my favorite moment was this interaction between a homeless guy and his dog. He was groovin' to some music, and then he knelt down and very tenderly put his earphones on his big black mutt, so he could enjoy the tunes, too:

Pure love.