ROME, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A popular legend says that Italy's capital was founded in the year 753 BC by twin brothers who were abandoned by their mother and raised in part by a female wolf. Now, 2,773 years later, the city's close connection with canines is as strong as ever.
Even during the five-week-long national coronavirus lockdown, Rome, like most of the country, has carved out a special place for dogs.
The very first lockdown terms, in force since March 10, allowed dog owners to take their pets for a walk as long as they stayed close to home. That equated the activity with "vital" errands like food shopping and medical visits. Shops selling pet supplies are among the few still operating.
"For Romans, for Italians in general, dogs are part of the family," Carla Rocchi, president of Italy's National Entity for the Protection of Animals, told Xinhua.
"The right for a dog owner to take his or her dog for a walk has been built into the quarantine rules, and of everything I've heard and read, not a single person has complained about this provision," Rocchi said.
"This kind of reverence is built into the culture," she added.
Rocchi said current scientific tests show that the circulation of dogs has virtually no impact on the spread of the coronavirus, and dogs and most other pets cannot carry the virus or pass it on to humans.
She also said the quarantine policies go beyond the well-being of the dogs, extending to the mental health of the owners and their families.
"I am certain that households that have a pet at home are bearing the stress of this crisis better than most of those that do not," Rocchi said.
Gianluca Felicetti, president of the Anti-Vivisection League, an animal rights group, said it would be "strange" if the quarantine rules did not include a provision that allowed owners to take their pooches out.
"Italy has a law that's been in place since 2004 making the abuse of animals illegal," Felicetti said in an interview. "Clearly, forcing a dog to stay inside for weeks at a time would be considered a kind of animal abuse."
Elisa Bonifazi, co-owner of a pet shop in Rome, said Italians would have complained loudly if the rules didn't allow dogs to be let out during the lockdown.
"Telling Italians to keep their dogs inside 100 percent of the time would be like telling them they should keep their children in the closest," Bonifazi said.
Felicetti estimated there are at least 6 million dogs in Italy, with around the same number of cats. But the provisions in the quarantine rules are only for dogs, which are dependent on their owners.
Generally speaking, cats can come and go on their own. Italian newspapers have reported that some owners of other pets have discovered the hard way that their animal friends do not enjoy the same rights as dogs.
There have been reports that pet owners have been fined for trying to skirt quarantine rules by walking less typical pets that include tortoises, rabbits, pigs, and sheep. Enditem
