Family Matters

What do you do if your friend surprises you with a Golden Retriever puppy? You better don’t think twice and keep it. Especially if you’ve got an only child and can use some company in the house. If that puppy grows up to be bigger than your daughter you’re lucky you got a Golden: gentle and kind and never too needy. Most of the time anyway. This is exactly what happened to Luce (10) and her parents Silvia and Luigi from Lecce, Italy, who cannot remember how family life was without little – big! – LUNA

How did you meet Luna?
It was a gift from my wife’s gynecologist and friend. Her sister is a vet – our vet 😉

What’s so amazing about Luna?
I think she is literally the sweetest and most tender being we have ever known.

What kind of relationship did you establish with her?
She is basically like a sister to Luce. Sometimes I think she unterstands us all way better than we understand each other. As Luce’s dad I am the leader of the pack, after me it’s either my wife Silvia or my daughter Luce she’d listen to.

If she were a person who would she be?
Maybe a young Franciscan Monk?

Why do you love her?
Because she is family!

Did Luna teach you anything no one else could?
How to be patient.

Anything that annoys you about her sometimes?
Literally nothing.

What are your favourite shared activities?
I love watching her when she runs free. She gets so happy, it’s contagious.

Any advice for someone who thinks about getting a dog and cannot quite make up his mind?
Don’t know if this helps but an American friend of mine who heard about my wife being pregnant said that having a child is a bit like having a dog – only a little easier. So we’re working on it I guess.