Italy: Dogs!

Everywhere I travel, I take photos of dogs. After being in Italy for two weeks, I've snapped a lot of dog pictures. Dogs hanging out with hipsters drinking wine:

Spoiled dogs begging treats at eateries:

Hounds sitting nicely for a lick of gelato:

Dogs in coats that match their owners':

Sweet pups sitting patiently:

Big, big, beeeeeg dogs:

And little, tiny dogs. This is "Virgilio," a two-month-old Yorkie:

Dogs trotting on the cobblestone streets without a leash (but almost always with a collar--they belong to somebody nearby):

Dogs of all types:

I've found dogs rendered in oil, and in marble, and in pottery:

Of course, my favorites are the pugs. When I see one, I blurt out "Carlino!" in a semi-squeal and rush to say hello. Through pantomime and showing my own pugs' photos on my iPhone, I convince their owners that I am a Trusted Person. Of course, sometimes the pugs don't believe that, like this little cutie patootie who barked at me when I tried to say Hi:

 

But most pugs all wiggles and smiles, like this one:

And this one. This is "Bolt," a darling pug I met at a flea market in the little town of Umbertide. His owner and I are now FaceBook friends:

Making a new friend is one of the nicest reasons of all to take photos of dogs!