Polli
There are many animals on this farm. And when I say many, I mean a whole lot of animals. From my estimation there are nearly four hundred of them here. Here, I'll let you do the math (many of these numbers are approximations, by the way):
100 Donkeys
+50 sheep
+100 rabbits
+50 ducks
+60 chickens
+13 goats
+7 cows
+5 dogs
+8 cats
+1 horse
=394 animals
I think I've made my point- there are a ton of animals here.
A lot of these animals are baby animals. Lots of baby donkeys (the milk comes from their moms), baby ducks, baby chickens, baby rabbits, baby sheep, baby goats, and baby cats.
Most of these babies are afraid of people, though I am proud to say I have managed to get the two kittens to actually like me. That's beside the point. There is one baby animal here that loves people. Seriously, LOVES people. Her name is Polli.
Polli is a little white goat with little stubs for horns. Nearly every time she sees me she bah's excitedly and literally runs up to me, wagging her tail. That's right, apparently goats wag their tails. She loves to let me pet her around her horns. Sometimes, when she's inside the pen, she'll run alongside it with me until I get to the gate where she'll meet me, wagging her tail and nibbling on the zipper on my jacket.
Polli also has a little friend who's name I don't know. It's actually her twin, a little black goat that is less fond of people. It is my goal to get this thing to like me. I'll let you know how that goes.
Antonia
For the longest time I thought Antonia was Antonio. That means I thought she was a boy. Which is understandable- she's a rather thickly build, dark brown calf with little stub horns not unlike Polli's.
The other cows are all in permanent little restraints that keep them from moving very much except to eat and drink (occasionally one of them likes to suck water from the hose, and I let him because he seems pretty dang bored with life). Antonia, though, is free to roam, and with this freedom she likes to stay right there, with the other cows.
Her mom is also there, one of the two massive cows that actually gets to run around in a pen (and by run I mean stand there and move every few hours), so that probably helps with getting Antonia to stick around.
Ever since I arrived Antionia has been terrified of me. Every time I approached the cows she would bolt. Lately she's been getting a bit better, letting me actually walk past her without jumping up as if I just pulled out a shotgun.
Once upon a time I was wandering around the farm later in the evening and came upon Antonia in the area in front of the cow stalls. Rather than running away she stood her ground and, when I turned my back, I heard her approaching me quickly. I turned back around and she stopped, her stance threatening, her head held low. I turned my back to her again and heard her coming up to me, then I turned around and she stopped. It was when I finally decided to reach out my hand to pet her that she ran away. This experience made me wonder if I should be as afraid of Antonia as she is of me. However, that was a couple weeks ago, she's been pretty mild since then.
The Kittens
There are two kittens here. There were three but due to the insensitive playfulness of the dogs there are now only two. Shouldn't take a genius to figure out what happened there.
When I first got here these kittens absolutely hated me. If I so much as looked their way they would bolt into the little wood pile situated behind my trailer. That wood pile is where they live, and every day I went out there to get them used to me, my goal being to get them to allow me to hold them before I left Italy.
Long story short, one of them actually likes me now. The other one is a little less fond of me, I can pet it if I'm lucky but usually she (he?) runs away if I get too close.
And, as is usually the case, these kittens bring me a huge amount of happiness whenever I am around them, and so I felt a need to mention them in my little blog post.
Screacho
Screacho is one of the cats here. He's pretty good friends with Gina, the kitten's mom, and so he acts as a sort of really cool uncle to the kittens.
The first thing I was told about Screacho is that he's insane. This word describes him rather well. He will stalk and chase anything that moves and is smaller than a tennis ball. Sometimes he even stalks the kittens. Today I saw him cleaning one of the kittens and, when it wasn't looking, he suddenly grabbed it and started playing with it.
Only adding to his insanity are his eyes. I'm not sure what it is, perhaps a cataract, but one of his eyes has a big blurry spot in it that makes the whole eye look a bit off. The other eye is fine, but when you look at a cat with one good eye and one freaky eye well, I can understand why he's named Screacho and why one of the first Italian words I learned was "Pazzo."
When I first got here Screacho, like most the animals here, did not like me all that much. Now he seems to have grown rather fond of me. I even had a dream that I got to take him home with me.
The Dogs
There are five dogs here, all of them un-neutered males. Let me write about them each individually:
Toto
Toto is a small, wiry haired black dog that looks very similar to the ever so famous dog that shares his name. Everyone loves Toto. He's the only dog allowed inside. He sleeps right next to Mary and Dario's bedroom door and even gets canned dog food while the rest of the dogs have to eat dry food.
Simply said, Toto is freaking spoiled. Whenever I see him inside he stares up at me expectantly, wagging his tail, waiting for me to pet him. If I take too long to do this he'll roll down onto his back and wait for me to scratch his belly. But, no matter how spoiled he is, I really do like him. He's especially useful when I feel a bit out of place and need something to divert my attention and make me look less awkward. This usually happens when everyone is getting into an argument at dinner and I have no idea what's going on or if anyone is actually angry.
Birilo
I've told Birilo many times that he's my favorite dog. That's because he is. He's a white dog that looks a lot like a lab, but he has a bunch of spots beneath his fur, leading me to believe he's a dalmatian mix of some sort.
He's extremely sweet and is one of the few dogs who will drop whatever he is doing to come up to me if I call him. He and Toto are best buddies, they go almost everywhere together. Except inside, where Birilo isn't allowed. When this happens Birilo just lays outside on the welcome mat waiting for Toto to come back.
Also, he has a very strange obsession with the unspeakable areas of cats. Whenever there's a cat near his nose is right there in, well, that place. I'm not sure why but I applaud the cats for their patience with him.
Rach
Rach looks like a big, fluffy version of a German shepherd. He's as lovable as can be, especially when he sees that another dog is getting attention. If there aren't any other dogs around he often ignores me when I call. But the moment Birilo or Toto approach me to allow me to pet them then Rach runs up and forces himself between us, insistent that I pet him more than anyone else.
Rach was also one of the main perpetrators in the death of the aforementioned kitten. I've managed to forgive him for this because I've convinced myself that he didn't know what he was doing. He's just a big playful dog who doesn't understand his own power.
Zato
Zato is a mutt (like the rest of the dogs) with very long fur that is black, white, and brown- he looks a little like an Australian shepherd. He has all sorts of knots and tangles in his fur. These annoy me and I often try to pull them out. For anyone who has had someone try to pull out a tangle then you'll understand when I say that Zato doesn't really like when I do this. So I've had to accept that he will always have knots and tangles, and as long as he's okay with it, I guess I am too.
Zato absolutely loves Cristian. Whenever Cristian goes out to do work, Zato is there, waiting for his chance to help with anything. If the donkeys are being moved then Zato runs around, nipping them on the butts, occasionally looking to Cristian to make sure he's doing it right.
He's also the most laid back of the dogs. When cars approach the outside gate the other dogs run like crazy to go welcome whoever it is. Zato, though, will often stay back and watch in his quiet but noble manner.
Jerry
I don't know Jerry all that well because he's almost always tied up. I can understand why- the few times I have to venture within the bounds of his territory he jumps up on me. This usually happens when I have to water him, once every day. Sometimes he listens when I say "No, Jerry!" Other times he doesn't and I end up with big brown paw marks on my pants and/or jacket.
Jerry is a rather large dog that looks like a mixture between a Great Dane and a German shepherd, meaning he has the colors (brindle) and size of a Great Dane but the shape of a German shepherd.
Really, though, he's a rather nice dog that just wants attention, so I can't blame him too much for jumping on me.
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