It’s not easy to be a dog in Venice. Plots of grass or even of unpaved earth are rare, as are trees. There are few open public spaces of much size, and even the city’s one substantial park–on the island of Sant’ Elena–has a basketball and a tennis court, two small playgrounds, a scaled-down soccer field, but no dog run.

Moreover, Venetian law requires that dogs be muzzled and kept on a leash, and though the muzzle law is rarely enforced, especially on smaller dogs, it’s best not to push one’s luck too far. But, on the other hand, the challenges of being and of having a dog in this small city of stone only serves to make them all the more adored by the vast majority of Venetians.