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A Volpino is a member of the Spitz race
of dogs. The Spitz group of dogs spread throughout Europe
in ancient times and developed into separate breeds. While Volpino's
are related to other modern Spitz dogs they do not descend from
them, but rather from an common ancient ancestor. It is more than
possible that the Volpino may be one of the progenitors of Modern
Spitz dogs.
There are artifacts that indicate that
the Volpino is an ancient breed over 1000 years old. They were a
favorite pet of both royalty and commoners in Europe. Michelangelo
had a Volpino as a favorite pet that often accompanied him.
In times gone by, they were used as
'alarm' dogs to warn of approaching strangers, kept by cart
vendors to attend the cart and keep thieves away and on farms to
awaken the larger guard dogs when strangers or predators approached.
Our Volpinos:
Dezi is a beautiful Volpino and it's not a stretch to claim he has
one of the most beautiful faces and forms of any spitz breed out
there. With a little attention he gets over his shyness and may
try to engage your attention by rolling over in hopes of a belly rub
or neck scratch. Bella, however is not at all shy, trying to bound
into the arms of any familiar face and hoping for some horse play.
Both love tug of war with a rope or stick, which Dezi always
wins, or running in the field trying to pull on each others tails.
After researching on the internet for a
breed to replace our beloved pomeranian 'Buddy' who passed away
in 2003, we ran across Roberto Francini's web site on his Volpino
breeding business. After almost a year we contacted Roberto, went
to Europe to see his operation (which impressed me deeply - his open
and humane way of treating his dogs is one I intend to duplicate).
Here we struck a bargain to bring the dogs to Canada in the near
future. After much fretting and anxiety, our dogs were born and we
started to prepare to receive to new puppies.
We traveled to Italy, near Sienna on
May 7, 2006, to pick up our 2 Volpinos, Dezi (male) and Bella
(female). I was very pleased to see how beautiful both dogs were.
Dezi and Bella are beautiful Volpinos. |
