Chiavenna –

When we are home in Chiavenna, just about every day we walk to the small village of Crana which is about 40 minutes by trail above our home.  On a sunny afternoon in 2002, Donna was just starting out when she got the surprise of her life.  Something jumped on the back of her leg from behind.  Being just a little bit paranoid, at first she thought it was a snake.  She screamed and twirled and barely kept her footing.  Of course it was not a snake, it was our first contact with Poldo, though we did not know of his name or fame at the time.

It’s always fun to meet dogs along our walks but sometimes it is a bit disconcerting if they follow us for too long.  We want to be sure that they know their way home.  Donna wasn’t too concerned because this is a loop walk, if a bit of a long one.  This little pup followed her every step of the way and made good friends with me when they returned to our garden.  Then he disappeared home.  The next day, Donna stopped and waited at the spot where she first met him and sure enough, there he came, bounding out from a nearby garden.  They walked again together, he stayed a bit longer in the garden, took a nap in the sun and disappeared home.  OK, next day same thing only he stayed a bit longer.  On the fourth day, he just came over without doing the walk first.  I didn’t realize it but by this point, he had already become our son.

There were a few things to sort out but Donna had already named him Buster.  This was never to be. He was already POLDO. How he got his strange name is a great story in its own right and that comes next.