Italian Dogs....

During the house hunting/buying process my enthusiasm has grown and diminished as we have had alternating pleasant and not so pleasant surprises, unforeseen obstacles, etc.  But I have been determined not to give up.  Because, in addition to my conviction that I would not walk away from this project at the first sign of a challenge, there was always a much greater motivation.  For me, that has been animals.

Anyone who knows me, even for a brief period of time, will know that animal welfare is a cause near and dear to my heart.  I've been a vegetarian for over 15 years and am an aspiring vegan.  So when the opportunity to convert my passion to action and to combine my love of Europe and animals presented itself, I jumped at the chance.  Here's how it started...

Back in 2009 I got connected through Facebook to a lady named Mia Mattsson-Mercer, who founded and leads a non-profit called Animals Without Limits (AWL) (www.animalswithoutlimits.com)  Mia was living, at the time, with her husband and two children in Lago Patria, near Naples in Campania.  Despite all the warnings about being careful regarding crazy people you meet on the internet, I felt like I needed to meet Mia. So I wrote and asked her if I could come to Lago Patria during my trip to Italy that Christmas.  When she didn't hesitate and gave me an enthusiastic "yes", I knew this would be the start of something good.

One rainy day in December I got my stuff together and took the train from Rome to Naples....and then a little local train to Lago Patria.  Coming from Los Angeles, with my high heeled boots and way overpacked bags (complete dog treats and goodies for the kids), I was completely unprepared for changing trains in cobblestoned streets.  But I made it.  I stepped off the train and Mia, Olivia and Max were waiting there for me in their trusty SUV, which served many purposes including "missions" to shelters around the region.  I fell in love right then with this family (at the time it was Mom, Dad, two kids and I believe 21 dogs?).  And I was hooked on the idea of helping AWL!

During the time I spent in Lago Patria that year I witnesses for the first time the condition of street dogs in Southern Italy and, perhaps worse, the conditions in the shelters there.  Some times as many as 1000 dogs are housed in horrible conditions.  Many are old and sick with no prospects of getting out.  Mia is one of the bravest ladies I know as she doesn't turn away from this suffering.  She jumps in and does what she can to make a difference.  She started an Italian AWL hospice, Casa dell'Amore, that, for a number of years, served as a place where the oldies could come out of the shelters or off the streets and live out their retirements with warm beds, green grass and a lot of love.  As Mia always says "That's Amore!".

Since that time, I have stayed close to Mia and AWL as a supporter and advocate.  And now that I have left my full-time job, I want to dedicate time to helping bring the resources needed to make  AWL's visions a reality.  Mia has thrown out the idea of building a sanctuary/hospice/clinic in Southern Tuscany.  I say "let's make it happen". Having that mission on the horizon keeps me going.  It's something bigger and more important than just me. 

So....here's to Italian dogs.  To AWL.  And to living the dream in more ways than one!