Monday 16 June: I cani di Trastevere

My neighborhood is filled with dogs. Not stray, but pets. All day long you see folks walking their canine buddies through the cobbled maze of Trastevere. The law requires them to have a leash, but apparently not that the leash actually be attached. Usually, dogs just walk alongside their humans, and generally follow them into stores, restaurants, and caffès (but not churches). In the US, you’d get thrown out in a hurry, but here nobody seems to mind. I certainly don’t! Often, when I’m at Good having a caffè doppio and checking my email, someone’s puppy will come up and sniff around. They’re usually clean and well groomed, and their humans don’t mind stopping for a minute to let you pet and play with them. I was at one of my favorite pizzerias once, Cave Canem (beware the dog in Latin!), and a family had a huge German shepherd with them. He sat under their outside table, very well behaved, until a woman at another table dropped a piece of food. The dog turned and sniffed and whined, but didn’t get up until the man asked the woman who dropped it if it was okay for the dog to eat it. She said yes, the man spoke to the dog, and the poor pooch jumped up so eagerly that he turned the table over, pizzas, salads, wine glasses, and all! I nearly choked laughing (I know, schadenfreude!).

There are a few large dogs, but most are smaller breeds. Dachshunds are especially popular. One guy in the neighborhood drives around on his scooter and his dachshund follows him on foot. The first time I saw him sprinting over the cobblestones like a long, low bolt of dark red lightning, ears streaming behind him, I couldn’t even tell what it was. Despite the crazy traffic here, I’ve never seen a dog come close to being hit (I hope the dachshund doesn’t try it in Piazza Venezia!). The only problem with dogs here is nobody makes any effort to clean up after them. They relieve themselves anywhere they please, with the exception of churches and ancient Roman monuments. Another reason to keep your eye on the cobbles!