Tale of a holy dog with Mass appeal
LAST week in a town in Sicily I learned about a stray dog who became an Italian national hero.
The town of Scicli was home to Italo, a crossbred golden Labrador who arrived in 2009. Some say he wandered into the town after the death of his master and took to hanging out at the town hall. Locals soon noticed he regularly attended Mass, and never missed a funeral or a wedding. He would wait for children to finish school and walk them home. He even accompanied tourists around the town.
His heroic status was confirmed after a waitress finished her shift and was accosted by a drunk. Italo chased him off and always waited to walk her home thereafter. After this, he was made an honorary citizen.
Italo, the Mass-going dog, died in 2011 and was buried in consecrated ground in the church graveyard.