Page 22 - Italian-American Herald - April 2023

22 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | APRIL2023 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD PER I BAMBINI
So many different dogs, and every dog has its day
By Maverick Cannavo
As Darla and I continue to grow, we learn more and more about ourselves and the world around us. When we meet other dogs, we wonder why they look and sometimes act different. Just last month we watched
the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, and we couldn’t believe all the types and sizes of the dogs! Best of all, mamma told us they were all adopted into fur-ever homes. Mamma explained that there are 339 breeds of dogs in the world which are divided into 10 groups based on the dog’s purpose or function or on its appearance or size. Darla and I look very different, but we do have a lot in common with each other and all the other dogs.
We all have un naso (oon nazo) a nose which is often wet and cold. If it is dry and
warm it might mean we are sick. Humans have noses too, but ours are at least 100,000 times more sensitive than humans. In fact, that is our superpower. That is why we often help humans in search and rescue, and we can even sense when our human is sick.
While humans have le mascelle (lay ma-shell-a) jaws we dogs have le museruole (lay moo-sir-ruol0a) muzzles. Adult dogs
have 42 denti (den-tee) teeth when most people have 32. Just like humans, we lose our puppy teeth and grow a second set. We both have le fronte (lay fron-tay) foreheads and gli orecchi (yee or-eh-key) ears, but we have different types of ears. Ours might be upright or hang down and some have a fold.
Humans have due braccia e gambe (do-a bra-cha a gam-bay) two arms and two legs but we have four legs. While they have piedi (pee-ed-e) feet and i mani (e man-e) hands we have quattro zampe (qua-tro zam-pay) four paws. But we can also stand and dance on our back legs and might even walk on just two legs! Darla is such a lady that she often sits with her front paws crossed.
Of course, we have gli occhi (yee o-key) eyes and le sopracciglie (lay so-pra-chee-
yay) eyebrows. Mamma sometimes calls me Charlie Chaplin because mine are so dark and thick.
Dogs have uno stomaco (oon-o sto-ma-koh) stomach which we love to fill up with food and treats. One of the things we love to hear people say is, “Do you want a tummy rub?” Naturalmente, (na-toor-al-men-tay) the answer is Sì! That is one of many things that will make us scodinzolare la nostra coda (scon-deen-zo- lar-a la no-stra co-da) wag our tail!
Here are some other interesting facts
about dogs: The chihuahua is considered
one of the smallest dogs in the world with an average height of 5 to 8 inches and weighing no more than 6 pounds. The English Mastiff is officially the world’s biggest dog breed, weighing as much as 200 pounds. And the oldest dog in the world is Bobi, who was crowned the oldest dog ever on Feb. 1, 2023, per Guinness World Records. At 30 years and 266 days old, he broke an almost century-old record. IAH
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