Puppy Pals

Making doggie friends across the sea

OK…we knew we were really going to miss our little dog Jax while we traveled to Europe. Julie hit on the idea of meeting Jax’s European cousins while we traveled about. We still missed Jax but we did meet some great new puppy pals everywhere we went.

We found that people were much more open if we admired their four-legged friends. It was a great icebreaker with their owners. From the finely dressed Parisian matrons to the street vendors on the Cinque Terra…pet owners everywhere would stop and smile when we asked if we could take a picture of their pup. Don’t let Jax know but we found some puppies who were nearly as cute as him.

Julie and Mark

Jax the Wonder Dog

This is our dog Jax, aka “the Wonder Dog” because of the amazing number of tricks he can do. He was a rescue dog who grew up with our kids. Our daughter Katelyn was either the best dog trainer on the planet OR she rediscovered tricks that Jax already knew. Either way, he causes wonderment wherever he goes.

Guess what country these little dogs are from

The pups are saying hello to you in their own languages. Try to guess what country they’re from. Scroll down for the answer.

Julie

“Kef, kef.”

New Doggie Friends

I know it sounds silly, but I had so much fun taking pictures of cute dogs. It was a great way to meet people. We met this cutie in Bacharach. His “mom” didn’t speak English and I don’t speak German but we both spoke “dog.”

“Wau, wau.”

“Bau, bau!”

Look at that little face!

“Waf, waf!”

“No pooping? . . . too late!”

We found this little sign in Rothenburg. It seems European dogs are more expressive than American dogs. We couldn’t quite figure out if this poor dog was angry because he wasn’t supposed to poop there or if he was constipated.

“Ouah, ouah.”

“Waouh, waouh.”

Such Sweet Faces

Just love these sweet faces! We met this girl and her family at the Keukenhof Gardens. This picture, which turned out to be my favorite of the whole trip, reminds us of the day Mark and I made friends with a lovely Dutch family.

Julie

Canine Connections

I explained how much I missed my little dog and that seeing their lovable dogs somehow made me feel better and voila—the connection was made between dog lovers.