Maggie in Venice

ABOVE: "Who was that masked man?"

It's Carnival week in Venice, and today, Maggie checked out what was happening in the Piazza San Marco. She attracted a lot of attention (some people may have thought she was wearing a costume), and she enjoyed making friends with onlookers and costumed participants.

Feeding the piccione is now forbidden in Venice, but St. Mark's Square still has enough of the birds to make Carnivalgoers leery of unwanted deposits on their expensive costumes. Fortunately, the pigeons kept clear of Maggie, and she stayed away from them.

People dressed up as birds were no more interesting to Maggie than the real thing.

Maggie prefers people to pigeons, and she was happy to get acquainted with a little girl who extended the hand of friendship.

Maggie would have been delighted to make friends with this VIP's two dogs if they hadn't been busy yapping at her.

When these costumed Carnival participants saw Cheryl trying to take a picture with Maggie in the foreground, the man in the red headdress beckoned in slow motion for the leash.

Another kind couple made the same slo-mo beckoning gesture, and the woman didn't mind having a hairy dog seated on the hem of her dress.

Maggie's day was made when a third couple silently volunteered to hold her leash while Cheryl captured the moment for posterity. (The man also knelt down for the close-up at the beginning of this post.)