My Fall

I know I am a little late to welcome the fall.  I am also lagging on posting here, but for good reason.  Wine and Food and Dogs.  I am really busy tasting wine, making food and working in rescue, and I have neglected my blog.  We just passed the grape harvest and the making of the new wines.  Right now we are picking olives for olive oil.  Here are some photos of what has been going on.

Picking grapes for the 2011 Roèt

I found her with no fur while taking a walk.  Now she is a jewel.  

2nd kitten of the summer Bon Jovi

Fall means TRUFFLES!

My South-West version of Mylène's Lentil Burgers:

LENTIL BURGERS

Ettore and I tried La Margutta a veg restaurant in Rome:  Great Food!

My Grilled Seitan at la Margutta

Sadly, this is one of two dogs we rescued this summer.  He is getting better but he is looking for his forever home.  TITO!

Picking Olives

I can't believe this comes from out land!

Ettore combing the trees

I am pretty happy with myself! This will be made into oil in a day or so.

Curing some of our olives

AWFUL tasting we attended

Bavetta the 13 year old grumpy lady we adopted.  We are twin souls

Willie Nelson, yo.

    I can't believe I haven't posted about our sweet friend, Willie Nelson.  We adopted him a few months ago, I believe in March.  Ettore went down to Caserta to adopt him because he was short listed to be euthanized if he stayed in the "shelter."  the lady who rescued him found him wandering about on the freeway, covered in scabs, crusts and with no hair.  He was so weak, poor guy.  His angel took him, but she already had an apartment full of dogs and cats and so she kept him in the courtyard of her building.
She couldn't take him the the "canile" because he would have been euthanized only for the fact that he is sick with Leishmania, a disease that affects the kidneys, skin and organs, and that left untreated, can be deadly.  It also causes severe Anemia.  Since he was ill, the commune di Caserta did not think he was worth the €3 a day it would take to keep him alive, so, this woman tried to find a place for him.

Willie as he was rescued.  He was just a hairless bag of bones

       We found him on Facebook, and realized he was just too shabby and pathetic to turn away.  He was so weak and tired.  Ettore and Valentina picked him up and bropught him home, and when I got him out of the car, it was LOVE at first sight.  He is a real simple little guy.  When we got him he was weak and just slept all day, he couldn't even jump on the sofa.  He didn't have his fur and one of his legs was so atrophied, he walked with a limp.  He is also cross-eyed.  So in essence, not an example of a dog who is winning any beauty prizes.  I don't care.  He was the red headed stranger.  

When he first came, he would sneak out of the warm  house and go way down to the barn to sleep in a pathetic little ball, shivering.  He had a complete distrust of humans.  Understandable, in my opinion.

Willie convelecing

     He will be on lifelong medicine to control the Leishamnia, but we got him well with about 6 different types of pills, including B Complex and Omega 3s for the skin.  Now he gallops when we go on walks, he cuddles with us, he retires at night to sleep on a bed of pillows.  He loves snacks, and is is a pure joy.  We think is is actually quite young since his demeaner is so puppy-like.
With Willie Nelson, our family is a now complete.  The pack family is now in harmony, and I look forward to sharing many many years of my life with Willie.

Willie with his new friend, Flora

Introducing Uva!

Uva is our new oldie but goodie. After Tiki Dance and Bumba died, we knew that we could not deny love to another old dog who has suffered so much. She comes to us from a dog pound in southern Lazio, in Frosinone. She is about 10-11 years old and spent 8 of those years in a concrete cell, and was let out maybe 20 minutes a month. She seems both pointer and wolf. She has a very timid personality, and she is very affectionate. She smelled like rotten feces and piss. She probably had 8 years of it encrusted into her fur. I doubt she ever had a bath before. We gave her a DEEP cleaning. She has rotten teeth and a bad case of gum disease, but we will fix that too. She doesn't get that cats are her friends, though she is not violent with them. And she doesn't come upstairs or sleep in a soft dog bed. She likes the bath mat I put down for her on the floor near the sofa. I doubt she has ever had a comfort in her life. Her name was ULTIMA which means last, because she was always the invisible dog that nobody ever came for or looked at so she was the last one. Uva means grape. She is part of our wine loving family now. Along with Chardonnay  and Bellone, our two boys I found abandoned as puppies.




UPDATE:  Uva now sleeps in a soft dog bed.  It took her a good 4-5 days to understand it was all hers all the time.  I can't wait for the summer to go to the mountains for two weeks with her and the boys.  I love Uva!

Uva with her first dog bed.  She has taken possession of it and it is now her favorite place in the world.  Simple pleasures are what makes old dogs a real joy.  Thank you Uva for bringing JOY back into out home.  

Adopting an old dog can be heart breaking because you do not have as much time, but they deserve it. If you can open your heart adopt an old dog. You may be their last chance. 

Urgent Adoption after 14 year in a Shelter...Alberto deserves a family!!

 UPDATE:  ALBERT HAS FOUND A HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 He is Alberto, a small and invisible dog who has spent his entire life in a small box. Alberto unfortunately did not have anything in life as he was locked up in the kennel when  still young and with great desire to live, but his exuberance , his vivacity, year after year have faded due to a prison term that has been for too long.  He has known only a life with gravel and loneliness, no cuddling, no walks, no grass .... Now, at age 14 Alberto year is pretty wary of people, but is he wrong? Who would not be against a hand that he long ago considered friends forever, for life, and instead was just locked up forever in a prison? Perhaps Albert has lost hope of finally finding a bit of love, but not us, we would like for him a true adoption of the heart that can make him understand that not all hands are bad, some can give a lot of pampering, we would like for him to find a real home with a nice soft and warm bed and a bit of serenity .... now he is very old and time is running out !!!!!! He should get along with both male and female dogs.  14 years is a long time but Alberto deserves his ransom !!!!!!  Daniela 348 1013553  Rossella rosresto@libero.it  339 1233445

  in English Ettore 349 719 7590

Lui è Alberto, un cagnolino piccolo e invisibile che ha praticamente passato la sua vita chiuso in un box.Alberto purtroppo dalla vita non ha avuto proprio niente visto che è stato rinchiuso in canile ancora giovane e con tanta voglia di vivere, ma la sua esuberanza, la sua vivacità, anno dopo anno sono sfiorite a causa di una prigionia durata troppo a lungo, che gli ha permesso di conoscere solo ghiaia e solitudine, niente coccole, niente passeggiate, niente erba....Ora, all'età di 14 anni Alberto è piuttosto diffidente nei confronti delle persone, ma come dargli torto? Chi non lo sarebbe nei confronti di una mano che lui, tanto tempo fa considerava amica per sempre, amica per la vita, e invece proprio per sempre lo ha rinchiuso in una prigione? Forse Alberto ha perso la speranza di trovare finalmente un pò di Amore, ma noi no, noi vorremmo per lui una vera adozione del cuore che gli possa far capire che non tutte le mani sono cattive, alcune sanno dare tante coccole; vorremmo per lui una vera casa con una bella cuccia morbida e calda e un pò di serenità.... ormai è molto anziano e il tempo stringe davvero tanto!!!!!!Va tranquillamente d'accordo sia con maschi che femmine.14 anni sono tanti ma Alberto merita il suo riscatto!!!!!!  Parma, info e adozioni Daniela 348 1013553  Rossella rosresto@libero.it  339 1233445