I love cats, but cannot have one in the apartment because a) our rental contract stipulates that pets are not allowed and b) I have become allergic to hair in animals. In the past our family has had both cats and dogs in large numbers, but the circumstances were very different in Africa, where our pets were able to walk in and out of the house freely.
Soon after moving to the new apartment I realised that there are at least three cats, who come and go to our nearest rooftop to enjoy the sun. They can be seen on a particular part of the roof almost every day. I don't know who owns them, but these cats are one of the largest specimens I have ever seen. Well fed with shiny coats, too. I have tried to observe them discreetly, because they are not very trusting of strangers. They are actually positively hostile, as cats often are (until you start feeding them, which I have promised not to do). But they do allow me to adore them from afar.
Living in a small apartment is no obstacle for Italians. According to a survey published last year, 55.3 % of Italian families have one or more pets. Cats are leading the popularity charts with 7.5 million of them having a loving Italian owner. Dogs come a close second with 7 million having been accepted as a member of the family. 1.8 million rabbits, hamsters and mice have also been included in the statistics collected by Assalco, an association for pet nutrition and health.
Dogs are especially visible on the streets and public places. They travel in buses and trains. They come to shops and owners may even allow their dogs to share the shopping trolley with their purchases, especially in IKEA. It is not uncommon to see a resident dog in a shop welcoming customers or preventing them to enter the establishment (in which case they may have misunderstood their role a bit). There may even be a sign on the shop window informing customers that they can take their dog into the shop but they must be aware that there already is a "friendly" canine inside.
Most restaurants have no problem for a dog to wait under the table while their owners are having a meal. I have even been in a classical music concert in Genoa, where a fairly large dog was sitting next to its owner throughout the concert. Granted, it was an afternoon matinee and not a symphony orchestra either, but I was astonished to see such a well behaving dog.
Dog ownership comes with regulations to know and obey. If you are moving to Italy from an EU country or anywhere else, remember to register your dog's residency in the local Anagrafe Canina (the vet will know). A friend of ours was recently fined for about 50 euro for having an unregistered "alien dog". This was discovered when three officials stopped him in the street and checked the dog's microchip with a small buzzing device. Not knowing about the rules was not accepted as an excuse. He had to pay the fine.
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