Our house/pet sit in Florence, Italy turned out to be a VERY unusual house/pet sit. A couple of months prior to our arrival the owner decided to move from the centre of Florence to the country and change her dates for travel. She kept us advised of her plans and as we were unable to fulfill all her dates said she would arrange cover for the end of the sit.
We arrived to find she had moved to a stunning property about 15 minutes outside the main town of Florence over looking the most gorgeous Tuscan landscape. Sounds lovely! However, when we arrived we were informed that her partner has got back problems and as such is waiting to go in for a back operation. She would not be going away with them at all!
The owner was specific that she still wanted us here as her partner would be working during the day and would probably go away for a few days at some point and if get the date for her operation will be going in to have it done. Apparently in Italy they do not give exact dates but a "loose" date around which you may get a call to go in.
To make matters even more interesting the partner had her own dog (a feisty little French bulldog) which didn't get on too well with the owners older dog (also a French bulldog!). This was an extra dog to what we had been expecting when we, initially, took on the assignment.
We were informed that we would have to keep them separated from each other to avoid any bloodshed, especially around feeding time! They also have issues with one of the new neighbours with regards to the dogs barking. To be fair to the dogs, they did not make a lot of noise and only bark when they hear something out of the ordinary. Still we now have to get them inside the house quickly if they make a noise so as not to upset him further......fun and games!
Fortunately, her partner was a really nice lady, although she did not speak a word of English and as our Italian is limited to say the least. The only way we had communicated was using the computers, Google i-translate and speaking French. Told you this was a weird one!!!
Florence is a beautiful city with much to see and do, Including seeing David (Michelangelo's master piece). Tuscany was on our doorstep with lots of places to visit including Pisa, Sienna and Chianti to name but a few. We agreed that all we could do was make the most of our time here.
The partner had to cancel her back operation as her father was rushed into hospital with a nasty aggressive cancer. This came on very quickly and he had to undergo intensive surgery. She obviously went to see him, staying over for a couple of days at a time (he lived on the coast about 2 hours away) Hence, we had the pleasure of looking after her extra aforementioned feisty dog when she was away.
I also ended up having to giving her an injection as she was in excruciating pain from her back. We do find ourselves doing some different things!!!
Still everything worked out ok, I fell in love with one of her dogs in particular (James). He too was a rescue dog (approx 8 years old;, the owner had only a four months prior to our arrival. Scared of everything and even his own shadow! When we arrived he was spending much of his time in his bed in the utility. It took us a day or so to get him to relax around us, I spent a lot of time with him encouraging him and giving him lots of love. It was amazing to see his confidence started to grow and he started to really enjoy his walks with us, a bounce in his step and a wagging tail. It was lovely to see, he was such a gentle beautiful boy.
We enjoyed our walks with the dogs through the Tuscan countryside. The area surrounding the house was just beautiful with paths to meander along.....just had to keep an eye out for the wide boar who lived there (the dogs loved all the sniffs in the upturned earth where the boars had been foraging for food
We also really enjoyed sitting on the verandah in the evening with a glass of vino overlooking the Tuscan landscape - now that part was fantastico!!!
NB Some house/pet sits throw the unknown in your path and that where it pays to be adaptable. This was definitely one that falls into this category! Still with no real alternative but to make the most of the situation. We decided to make the most of things and we enjoyed our time in this beautiful area of Italy. Although a little stressful at times given the complication with the aggressive nature of the two bulldogs and trying to make sure that they were separated. It was also rather strange to be house/pet sitting when one of the owners was still at home.!
