Not a manual. A life.
This is not about commands. It is about holidays you change, suitcases and leashes, a thought that never leaves you, and a hundred-pound dog who sleeps in front of the door until you come home. It is about what living together is really like.
"Don't you dare leave me."
Read Darko's story Chapter 1, free
The book
A red ribbon to tell him apart among a dozen puppies. A fence cut through on the very first day. A broken bone at three months and two months of recovery behind the counter of a café. Two balls, because he never gives the first one back. A bidet instead of a water bowl. A seven-hour flight to Dubai, and a corner turned at the airport without saying goodbye.
Darko is a hundred-pound Alsatian German Shepherd, oversized, with a strong character and one rule: first he comes to you, then you may go to him. Patrizia is his mom. In these pages she tells nine years together: the dogs who came before, the house in the Castelli Romani near Rome, her children, a grief that does not go away, the move to Dubai, and a dog growing old "just a little slower".
It is not a manual. It is a true story. At the end of every chapter, three questions for you and your dog; at the back, a notebook to write your own.
88 pages, with Darko's photos, the "And you?" questions and My Dog's Notebook.
5.99 €
Buy the ebook — 5.99 €Secure payment by card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The file arrives right away, with a receipt by email.
The series
Ten short diaries, one per theme: holidays, a dog with character, growing old, before you get a dog. They are being reworked and are not on sale right now.
Darko
Name: Darko, from "dark", for his coat. Made a little more Italian.
Age: nine. Weight: about a hundred pounds, two inches taller than average.
Born: in the Castelli Romani, in a litter of twelve. Recognizable by the red ribbon.
Lives: between Rome and Dubai. Where she is, he is.
Drinks: only running water, from the bidet. The bowl has no charm.
Plays: with two balls, because he never gives the first one back.
Hates: the vacuum cleaner, thunderstorms, fireworks, other dogs.
Loves: the garden hose, the broom, children (he takes them into custody), the word "amore".
Rule: for the first five minutes, ignore him. First he comes to you, then you may go to him.
Pack leader: Chicco. To be protected: mom.
Maybe for Darko home is not an address. Maybe home is simply the place where he knows he has not been left behind.— Invisible Bonds, chapter 11
Tell us about your dog
At the end of every chapter there are three questions. They are the same ones you find here. Answer the ones you like, in your own words: the best stories get published on this site, with your dog's name (and yours, if you want).
You don't need to write well. You need to write true.
If you are wondering whether your dog loves you, the answer is in the way he waits for you.— Patrizia
Readers
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