puppy eyes & puppy sighs
Not to inundate you with puppy posts (yes I am and I will continue to do so), but we’ve reached another milestone.
Yesterday, the puppies began to see the world: 
And this is how interested Stella is in all of this: 
I joke. She’s really a great mamma; she just obviously trusts her crazy human with the camera.
How’s Luna, you wonder?
Just fine, thanks, with a little help from Nana in the States. Thanks for the toys and treats Nana!
And while we’re on the puppy tip, go check out “Sighs of the Heart,” sent to me by Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita. Too cute!
Today I am thankful for:
Having the opportunity to be a part of the puppy process and a doggie mommy in general, not only with Luna and Stella, but with all the dogs that have been in my life:
Missy: a white poodle mix that my mom tells me I used to try to ride like a pony (and she still never bit me!); loved spaghetti and often had an orange snout because of it; she is the reason I am named “Michelle” instead of “Melissa” in case you’re wondering;
Peco: (PEE-koh), Missy’s son, black with a white strip down his chest and a Michael Jackson glove on one of his front paws (Peco was born in 1984 or so); sweetheart of a dog that had a penchant for running away and coming back smelling like a “pujack” as my grandmother said; would get shaved at the start of every summer and looked about 5 pounds thinner; aka “Rosco P. Coltrane” or Pecorino;
Maverick: named after Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun, this was the first dog that was really mine and truly my baby; a big galoot of a mutt, he was a German Shepard/Rottweiler mix and was really a gorgeous dog; he picked me out at the ASPCA, wouldn’t let me leave without him, and then slept on my lap in the car the whole half-hour home; aka Maverick-a-rony-ravy-doodle-noodle-bug, Rikki Tikki Tavi, or as my grandfather called him, Albert; I still dream about him;
Beau: my mom’s little yipper with an unfortunate underbite; greatly resembled Toto from The Wizard of Oz; was fond of ripping the mail that came through the slot in the door and tearing it to pieces; aka Beau Dog Beau;
Max: my brother and sister-in-law’s Chocolate Lab who was, without a doubt, the most gentle dog I’ve ever known in my life; loved swimming in the pool and a raggedy old rope-like thing; every time I see Ninotchka’s Charlie, my heart smiles for Maxwell Smart, as I called him;
Samson: my brother and sister-in-law’s hyperactive Yellow Lab with whom I spent much time chasing and disciplining and petting and cuddling during my three-month stay with them back in 2004; aka Sammy Doodle;
Arturo: a gentle, shaggy-haired golden mutt that I adopted here in the village; at this point, village knew I was different because I actually let him sleep in the house; his untimely demise led directly to P’s bringing Luna home to cheer me up.
Having animals in my life truly makes every day better–sometimes more stressful to be sure, but there’s always at least one moment each and every day that I am thankful for my pooches, and so very thankful that my family encouraged good relationships with animals from an early age.
I see so many children and adults here deathly afraid of even Luna and Stella because they were brought up to fear dogs; I find it so sad that they’ll never know that slobbery lick when they’re feeling down, that wagging tail greeting you like you’ve been gone for years, that wet nose nudged under your arm or hand pleading for petties.
I’m so thankful for my canine friends.
P.S. I love kitties too–hi Patches, Cleo, Bella, Matty, Opal, and Kudzu(cchini)
and remember I saved a kitten once!
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[tags]dogs, puppies, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
58 Beans of Wisdom to “puppy eyes & puppy sighs”
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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Awwwww, that is just too cute!!! It wont be long before they are tugging on each other’s ears and playing tug-o-war.
Wow, you really have had a history with doggies. I owned a dog (german shepard) for 16 years and when he passed away I was devastated! 🙁 I want to get a puppy for my girls so badly and I am a firm believer that doggies are better off inside. My german shepard was an outside dog. He HATED being inside. But, then I think about all the work involved and think twice about taking on that responsibility. Call me selfish, I guess. I just can’t take on that extra work. Cleaning up after the humans in my home is often times exhausting enough! I think about it often though, so maybe one day I will just cave in and get one.
I’m glad the puppies are doing well. Do you have a video function on that new camera of yours? If so, you should take a vid of the puppies. I would love to see that! 🙂
Giulia, I don’t think you’re being selfish at all–you’re being responsible. To me, having a pet is a lot like having children–if you have doubts that you’ll be committed to it, you shouldn’t do it. That said, as many with children know, that kind of commitment has a way of kicking in even when you thought you couldn’t do it…so if the love is there, you’ll probably be OK 😉
Yes, I can do videos, and I thought of it last night but then didn’t. Maybe one of these days when they’re doing something more fun than squirming and squealing (not that *that* isn’t fun to watch) 😉
…my eyes are still set on Biancaneve!
I’ve only had one dog, but she was a sweetie 🙂 When she died in an accident it broke my heart, and I don’t know how you managed with so many canine friends in your life!
Though I hope to have another pet some day…
This just made my Monday morning. 🙂
Trying not to get all squeeeeee-ish with the puppy pictures, because I adore them so much. I would keep them all if I could, lol.
Aw, soooo cute!
There is nothing better than sharing one’s life with a dog – or dogs! Or squirrels, or moles, or hamsters… 🙂
I am joining the Awwww contingent. I used to look at the listings on the rescue sites for Italy and I had to stop because they made me too depressed. Such stories of betrayal and cruelty.
I probably will have a small dog when I move from the farm someday. Cats are lovely, but they won’t walk on a leash. They do walk with me, but each one has his/her own limit, where the cat will stop and cry until I get back there. Only one, now gone, would go the distance wherever I was headed.
It’s a cultural divide. We don’t think of dogs as other. Many Italians do. Dogs denied a close relationship with a human become other, just as expected. It’s a bit different up here, where there are lots of friendly and loved dogs — but the others, too. From my experience, that follows somewhat a social divide. Not always, but generally.
Do not send a puppy.
Aw, they are adorable Sognatrice!!!!
Roamer, she’s definitely one of the biggest of the bunch–and yes, I’m pretty sure she’s a she now 😉 Sorry about your doggie 🙁
Wendy, happy to oblige!
Alyndabear, they’re squeeeee-ing enough for you, believe me 😉
AV & A, 100% agreed…I have a new pet announcement coming up soon 😉
Judith, you’re saying exactly what I was saying to P the other night about dogs becoming the other; same as people really…little/no socialization mixed with some abuse is always bad. I thought you needed to come down to Calabria anyway for some cooking info…a puppy would keep you company on the way home!
Robin, thanks–and since I did absolutely nothing to make them that cute, I’ll let them know you said it 😉
Thank you so much for your comment! I love your blog and am always humbled when writers like yourself pop on by my little shack and say something nice:)
I love your “30 Days of Thanks” idea…and all those puppies!!! Preciousness.
My first dog was a black poodle mix named Missy, too.
Hey- you just commented on my blog as I was commenting here… I love it when that happens!
PUPPIES!
Any chance of posting video? I would love to see those tiny tails wagging.
Oh My God…….they are soooooo cute!!!!Wish I could have seen themin person. Did you mention their size/weight? I lost a few days in transit.
I’ve never had a dog, but I have a particular fondness for the little ugly scruffy ones that smile at you. Especially if they have underbites.
Wow! They are getting so big now, and sooo cute! I love your tribute to canines today.
Miss Scarlett, well thank you, but we’re all just bloggers here, writing some stuff, cooking some stuff, taking some photos, and making wonderful connections as we go 🙂
Jennifer, I love when that happens too. Another Missy? Aw 😉
Sueb0b, hmmm, two video requests…maybe….
Alexmom, no mention of size or weight yet. Stella wouldn’t let me touch them for the first 10 days or so, and now, hmm, we don’t have a scale. They’re bigger, though, if that helps 😉
The OG, you would’ve *loved* Beau. He probably wouldn’t growled at you, but you would’ve just loved him 😉
Ambra, yes they’re growing! Glad you enjoyed yet another puppy post 😉
What a sweet, and timely, post. My brother just got a brand new puppy this weekend, and I spent the whole weekend hanging out with them. She’s a german sheppart/spitz mix, and is the sweetest thing. I’ll probably have a post and pictures up about her sometime this week.
I was one of those kids who was afraid of dogs (mostly because I was bitten by one when I was 7), but just in the last 4 years or so have learned that I’m no longer afraid, and have completely fallen in love with several of my friends’ dogs. I want one for myself, but can’t have one in my current home, so I’ll live vicariously through my friends (and now my brother).
Oh those pups are too, too cute! We are a very “doggie” family and I could not imagine our lives without our canine family.
Hmmm, where have I seen that range of colors before? Where oh where? Could it be an espresso bar?
white – latte
caramelly colored – froth and foam
mixed – macchiato and cappuccino
dark – espresso, of course
In fact, I am hopelessly in love with the dark one with the white paw, such that if we lived there, even though my true love Does Not Want a dog (even though he likes dogs), he would not be able to prevent me from bringing him/her home and naming him/her Macchiato/a.
The little white paw kills me, just kills me.
They are adorable. Thanks for sharing. It’s fun having puppies in the house. A couple of our dogs when I was growing up had litters, and it was lovely.
Puppies are tiring, but so delicious. It seems as if you’re really enjoying it.
They are getting cuter by the day!
Aaaawww! There can never be too many puppy pics to suit me! 🙂
oh, those pups are just so adorable!!! I used to do home care for the elderly, and two of my clients were from Italy; BOTH were petrified of dogs! Wonder why that is…
I couldn’t agree more! Here’s to being thankful to our canine friends. The puppies are soooo adorable. You must want to cuddle with them all the time. How do you get any work done? 😉
I LOVE the puppy posts! And if I were so lucky as to live in Italy, I’d most definitely take one of those adorable little creatures off your hands. :o)
Those are some darn cute puppies!! I have 2 cats and one chihuahua, named Mochachino. He is so cute. I took him for a walk this morning and just thought he was TOP DOG! He only weighs about 4 lbs but he walked that sidewalk like it was a Catwalk!
oh my goodness the puppies are so INCREDIBLY adorable…if i were there i would have a huge distraction and wouldn’t be able to do anything else but coo over the bundles of puppy love.
i enjoyed reading your homage to each dog that’s touched your life. i come from a family that treats their pets like siblings/daughters/aunts/uncles…..what have you 🙂
since i never got to see Saci as a puppy I can catch a glimpse of what she may have looked like through your little ones
have you received interest in people wanting to adopt any of them in your town?
Oh my heavens, those puppies are absolutely adorable! And mamma is so funny sitting over there with her back to her babies!
I would be like home all day just sitting around playing with and taking pictures of puppies.
They are sooooo cute.
Sending a hug for each and every one of them.
Frances
I’ve never been lucky enough to have a doggie (I live in an apartment so it’s vietato!), but plently of my relatives have had some and I absolutely adore them.
I am the cat queen, however.. hehe
Adorable! Animals add so much to a household, don’t they?
Btw, I’m a fellow poodle aficionado. I grew up on a deadend street with 7 poodles on it, in fact, so I’ve known my share. Ours was the best, of course. 😉
LOVE the pics! And their development is parallel to the bichon frise pups in Germany that I told you about. Enjoy!
What cute puppies. 🙂
I love my doggies and my cat.
You can never inundate me with too many puppie posts. Any chance of sending me one of those little guys? Oh how I wish it were that simple.
Luna is as lovely as ever.
My dogs brought so much joy to my life. You could have the worst day and there they are waiting for you, as you said, as if they haven’t seen you in years. Makes whatever is wrong a lot better. It warms your heart. I miss cold noses. Talk about unconditional love. I think many miss out on the truly wonderful companionship a pet brings, especially a dog. It is really special bond.
Oh my they are so very cute!!
Over 58 if of my 63 years, I’ve had quite a few dogs – Lady, Duffy, Cindy, Jingles, Harvey, Willie, Sheba, Cactus, Fred, Caesar and the last dog we had, this is terrible, but I can’t think of his name now! Maybe because he was sooo bad, sooo hard to train, my brain is sooo fried and won’t let me remember it! But of all those mutts, Duffy – my second dog -had him for six years -he died in 1963 -and I still cry thinking about him, just loved that mutt sooooooo much! He was the bestest dog ever – only dog who came close to being as great as he was would have been my son’s dog – a German Shepherd and Akita mix – who died very suddenly almost a year ago now. We had a big funeral for him in my son’s back yard and my son’s ex-live-in-girlfriend even came up from Gettysburg for the funeral -which was also a very sad occasion for all of us. Rough being part of a family that loves animals ya know! Now we only have to rotten cats – Gracie who is 16 and Nina who is about 8 months old now and badder than bad!
Can’t argue with the other posters – they are beautiful. I can’t believe how much they have grown in such a small amount of time. Stella looks like she is glad to be getting a break.
*Karina, ooh, being an auntie to doggies is fun too…you can spoil them rotten and then go home 😉
*Gill, woohoo for doggie families!
*Sara, that little white-pawed cutie is a girl, so Macchiata it is 😉 How sweet of the puppies to keep with the theme of the blog, no?
*Meg, our puppies are still in the early phases, so they’re really only tiring out Stella…the hard part is yet to come. Yikes!
*Kathleen, hey! Nice to see you!
*Deb, good thing, because there’s probably more coming 😉
*Janet, wow, cultural differences die hard…although my Italian-American grandmother loved dogs 🙂
*PP, it helps that the puppies aren’t in the same room where I work!
*Smtwngrl, if only we had more people like you around here!
*Andrea, those small ones always have the biggest attitudes, don’t they? The whole Napoleon thing 😉
*Eryn, I didn’t see Luna or Stella as puppies, so this is a really special treat–they were both already about 8 months when they came here. We have one person interested, and it’s a good home…I’m actually hoping they’ll take two 😉
*Angela, I thought Stella sitting there turned the other way was hilarious too; couldn’t resist taking a photo.
*Frances, thanks for the hugs!
*Audra, aw, kitties are cute too 🙂
*Tui, OK, that’s oodles of poodles! Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.
*Jen, good to know we’re on schedule!
*Deb, I’m sure I’d love your doggies and cat too 🙂
*Cheeky, I couldn’t agree more. There’s just something special about the relationship between humans and dogs, particularly I think. They are true, loyal companions, and I can’t imagine life without them.
*Shan, I’m wondering if that cat of yours would like some company….
*Jeni, it *is* hard getting so attached to animals, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing your history with dogs (and now cats)…funny how your subconscious blocked out the name of the real stinker 😉
*Gil, Stella is *so* happy to sit with me for a while instead of in the box with the puppies. They literally sucking her dry methinks 😉
Oh my gosh they are SO cute!! I love puppies, they are just too much fun 🙂 Except for the poo they even smell good haha
Christina, I haven’t gotten to the smelly part yet; thanks for the warning!
Oh, PUPPIES!! You’re right, having animals around makes everything better.
And Maverick’s story broke my heart a little… I remember you mentioned him when my rotti died last month.
Nora, yes, that was that same Maverick, always my baby. I even had some photos taken with him for my high school senior pictures!
Glad you came over to see the puppies 🙂
awww..I was wondering when you were going to post about them opening their eyes..how sweet 🙂
Maryann, I was so excited when I saw eyes, I took photos right away 🙂
Ok..you have puppy pics…you have won me. I have signed up immediately to receive your posts in google reader.
As you probably gathered after reading Mad Goat Lady, I am a dedicated animal lover.
I am off now to add you to my blogroll so all my friends will know where to find you 🙂
Mad Goat Lady, thanks so much! And I’m glad you enjoyed the photos…I’m sure there will be more 🙂
I love puppies. Seeing these little critters, I can almost smell their puppy breath. Thanks for leading me back here. BTW, Shadow loves puppies, too, and children.
Wenda, I can see Shadow’s love of everything in those gorgeous eyes; glad you stopped over–come anytime 😉
Love the puppies and loved reading about all the dogs that have touched your heart. Animals are amazing creatures. Some of the best relationships I’ve had are with dogs rather than people.
I also forget to comment on your “5 best days” post. When you wrote of eating with your mom in the cafe and discovering that you were an adult for the first time… it made me cry. Exhilarating and scary isn’t it!?
Keep writing and I’ll keep reading when the Bambino allows!
Ciao, Coleen
Coleen, as you can probably tell, I’ve had some of my best relationships with animals too–that unconditional love thing works so well for them 😉
Glad you enjoyed the 5 best nights post; the memory you described really wasn’t one that I had ever thought about in that way before, which just goes to show you how wonderful these little meme/writing exercises can be.
Baci to the bambino!
They are such darlings! There can’t be any such thing as too many pictures of puppies — post away!
Anno, duly noted 😉
The babies look so great!
Loved all the reminiscing about the dogs too…
I’ve been lucky enough to have some good pets in my life too.
Thanks for reminding me.
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
They are so so so so so so cute. Gosh i miss those days of sleepless nights. Creeping down to sneak a peak at them! I was a terrible dog mummy! Elle
great post! loved the photo of uninterested momma and the babies, and luna with her toys :o) so sweet! i love my dogs (past and present) with all i got!
-california
*Elle, I’m trying to sleep as much as possible now while Stella is still in charge 😉
*California, there’s just something about pooches, isn’t there? Glad you liked the photos 🙂
*Scarlett, oops I missed you! So happy that you too were blessed with doggies. I’m sure they were happy with their doggie mama (or auntie or friend) too 🙂