Nina

Nina is the Boccaccini family dog.  She is a five month old Jack Russell, and she is just the cutest thing.  Like every other dog in the world she runs up to greet you after you have been away.  She gnaws on anything she can her teeth on.  If you are having a bad day, then she is the one to brighten it.

Nina roams around the house, and she has free range of the yard.  The yard is fenced in, so she is able to go wherever without any concerns of escaping.  She will lounge by the pool with you.  If she is really wanting that toy in the pool, then she will just jump in and get it.  Nina's boyfriend lives in Ravenna, where the family lives during the school year.  His name is Lupi, and he is a Jack Russell as well.  Michela shared with me that there is a plan for Nina and Lupi to have puppies in the next year or so.  She even said I had dibs on one of the puppies when she has them.

Well today Nina had everyone running after her.  When Nina is roaming the yard, she usually smells the ground, chases butterflies and sometimes her tail.  Today Nina sniffed out a nest of baby birds.  I found her chasing the birds, and eventually she got one.  The family and I were running after her telling her to drop the bird in Italian and English.  I think Nina was so confused she didn't know what to do.  We eventually got her, and she spit out the baby bird.  The baby bird hopped away.  We are all keeping a close eye on Nina to make sure she doesn't do that again, so we will just have to keep our fingers crossed that she won't.  Nina's encounter with the baby bird reminded me of my family dogs back home--Bailey and Riley.  They don't usually go after the baby birds, but they do go after the bunnies.  I guess dogs all dogs have their preferences.

Needless to say, I am so happy to have a puppy to play with here in Italy.  Nina is constantly following me around, so she can learn English.  She loves getting her belly rubbed, and she is a great soccer player.  You can play with her for hours before she decides to run and hide in a cool place.  I absolutely love dogs, and who knows maybe next year I will be bringing one home with me from Italy.  Oh that's right... I might not have mentioned this yet, but it looks like I will be headed back here to Italy next summer :)