We went to visit Carolina, a Ferplast employee with her father Giuseppe, and a great animal lover. She especially loves her lively Yorkshire Terrier, Vasco.
What does having a dog entail at home?
We never imagined that having Vasco would change our lives this much when we adopted him 7 years ago. I get very emotional when I talk about our Yorkshire Terrier as he became part of our family very quickly. It may seem strange to say this, but he has made our family even closer, as we all love him, as if he were an extra member of the family, the smallest one and thus the one we need to look after most.
Is it a lot of work?
He’s a very good little dog, but he also has a strong personality, and he knows what he wants.
Luckily there are three of us in our family, so we all manage to take him out for his walk: in the morning my father, my mother at lunchtime and me in the evening. And when we are home, we all spoil him.
What kind of dog is he?
He’s very playful. His breed was used to infiltrate burrows and catch rats in England in the XIXth century. His instinct is still to dig, so sometimes when we can’t find him we know he’s hidden under a mountain of cushions or in a corner under the sofa.
When you are at home, what do you do with Vasco?
Vasco has a basket of toys, with his ball and rubber or latex animals which squeak or make other noises. The noisy toys are useful as they encourage his curiosity. He loves chewing them. When we are at home with him, we try to keep him active, and these toys are very useful. And then there’s always time for cuddles.
And when you go on holiday?
He comes with us, obviously. We trained him as a puppy to be comfortable with people, to be quiet in a hotel room or under a table during mealtimes, without disturbing the other guests.
Collar or harness?
I prefer using a harness with him, as he has a tendency to run towards other dogs when we are in the streets or in the park, so it seems better for him so that we can stop him without hurting him. Vasco is quite something! It may be because he’s still young, but he can hold his ground against dogs which are far bigger than him. Luckily with the harness and lead we can avoid him being bitten by a dog annoyed by the “little rat” barking at it!
Let us leave Vasco go for his walk. He can’t wait to go out: he’s champing at the bit to have his green waterproof coat put on – it’s raining today. He certainly isn’t pulling back. Quite the contrary: he’s already waiting at the door, ready for a new adventure.
