For some reason, it somewhat surprises me to see dogs around a city as densely urbanized as Venice. I associate dogs with long walks and big parks to chase balls in. But, that’s just my experience, and the bond between humans and canines is clearly too strong to be broken by dense urban living.
It’s not just dogs of course. There are birds, most notably gulls and pigeons, and the odd rat scuttling up and down the Rialto Bridge steps in the pre-dawn light. The gulls are quite skittish and hard to get close to, which is surprising considering the predominant species is the size of a chicken. The are however not so skittish that they’re above trying to snatch food from people’s hands as I recently witnessed in St. Mark’s Square. The pigeons are, well, just pigeons. Rats with wings, like anywhere else in the world.
For me, the animals that seem most at home with Venice are the cats. Whether minding the till at Libreria Acqua Alta, issuing a warning arch of the back to a dog, or just chilling, they give the impression that they own the city. Perhaps they’re all descended from that majestic symbol of Venice, the winged lion.
