Same-same but different

There are two very similar dogs living in Anna Chiara’s family home in Maglie, Italy. Both black and white like vanilla chocolate icecream, both strong personalities, each in its own way. One is a real Corgi, the other one a fake Jack Russel Terrier. “The boys” as Anna Chiara loves to call her furry kids, are the souls of the house, making sure that family life never gets boring

Tell me about your two dogs Santino and Cosmo!
Santino arrived first, a purebred Welsh Corgi Cardigan. He was the “leftover” of his litter, they said he was too small. But he has definitely caught up in almost 7 years with us! Whatever was missing at first, he gained it back and now weighs around 25 kilos. I’d say he has gone way beyond for what is normal for his breed. Cosmo, the other one, is now 4 and he’s lucky to be alive, really. We picked him up from a busy street a couple of winters ago. He was out strolling with his brothers, didn’t belong to anyone but himself. But he definitely underestimated the traffic … When we saw that he almost got run over by the cars passing by, we immediately caught him and took him home. Never regretted it.

The two of them look like twins, almost…
But they couldn’t be more different! Both my “boys” are extraordinary and I love them also because they’re completing each other. Santino is confident, thoughtful but also as sensitive and touchy as a human being. Cosmo, the little one, is a lighter, happier soul, enthusiastic about everything, very affectionate and lively. If they were humans Santino would be a melancholic intellectual like Giacomo Leopardi. Cosimo could have the lightness and friendly superficiality of an actor in a B movie of the 70ies, Terence Hill maybe.

What’s everyday life in the Candido home like with the two dogs?
Well our dogs have human characteristics… This is where it gets complicated sometimes. Santino is recrimonatory, easily snapped. He seems to ask himself continuously why he can’t be with us 24/7 and do what we do, all the time. Cosmo’s enthusiasm can be exhausting, yet it’s funny and exciting.

What activities do you like to share most?
Activities? Not so much. We love to share our daily life in the house: sofa, fireplace, housework. The dogs participate in everything. They even come to the bathroom with us.

When they don’t look after their three girls or their boys Cosmo and Santino, Anna Chiara and her husband Marco Candido are running the clothing department store Candido 1859 in Maglie (www.candido1859.com) in fifth generation.

Photos: Ilenia Tesoro