Oh Dio, oh dio, the old lady muttered while she slowly climbed the hill zigzagging from left to right. Drunk?
No, it was caused by a dog. You see, our neighbours have a guest these days, a young dog owned by someone in the family.
It is a nice dog and has got all the zest, spirit and obstinate behavior one would expect from an Italian youngster. Whenever it goes out for a walk it makes very clear it has a way of its own, literally.
Why the dog was at their place was a bit of a mystery to me, the argument was all surrounded with Umbrian country mystique.
Yesterday racing up the hill I saw the dog doing more of its evil dragging business, I pulled over and rolled down my window and asked the lady how it was going. ‘She’ll be off next week fortunatamente’! But why was she with you in the first place? She looked around quickly as if she wanted to make sure no one saw her and then leaned over whispering ‘The dog is on heat, and at the owners place there are a lot of excited males around’ she giggled like a schoolgirl.
She casually continued saying ‘It always is a bit of a shame having to kill a nest of young dogs so they don’t want the dog to get pregnant’
That is the way it is done normally in this rural area, around here castrating is seen as being a pity for the dog and of course it is expensive!
Two of my own dogs
Yeah, Italians are weird about protecting their dogs’ right to have sex, but not having any qualms about killing puppies. I don’t get it… Yet another mysterious cultural difference, I suppose! 🙂