The Dog Who Wouldn't Eat Spaghetti-- Dogs in Space

3/18/2010

I love Italian dogs. Gemma hung out with us at the villa in Sicily. We stayed there when my daughter Kirsten got married. Gemma tended to be absent during the day, but come dinner time, Gemma showed up for a handout. She seemed to have no real human attachment, though someone owned her. Of course, we all tried to feed her. But Gemma was picky. She loved the bits of cheese and meat we gave her, but plain spaghetti wouldn't do. Yes, Gemma looked skinny. She'd recently given birth we figured, but she had standards. I can't blame her, plain spaghetti isn't much good. I'm going to continue tomorrow with more picky dog stories. If you have any for me, please send them on in the comment section or via email.

On Tues., March 16th I was in San Francisco. We got coffee at Graffeo in North Beach, then lunch at one of the Italian cafes on Columbus. It's pretty cool. There appears to be a resurgence in Italian ownership (Italians from Italy that is) of the North Beach cafes. It was a bright sunny day in San Francisco on Tuesday, and we saw a lot of people walking their dogs in North Beach. All the dogs were leashed. No one seemed to be brandishing their pit bulls. On the sidewalks were no landmines of dog poop. Maybe folks are becoming more responsible with their animals.

San Francisco tends to be one of those cities where the population feels entitled to run free. Luckily, that attitude does not seem to apply to dog ownership. Perhaps a recent spate of Bay Area dognapping incidents is the reason. (Who would want to steal another person's dog?) Anyway, that's it for today. Comment if you will. Send those pictures and stories. Vote in the cartoon dog poll.