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    The Villa Dog
    The Villa Dog
    The Villa Dog
    Ebook45 pages33 minutes

    The Villa Dog

    By Ruth Zavitsanos

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Nestled away amongst the olive groves of the Tuscan hillside stands a welcoming villa where a dedicated dog finds his way into the hearts of vacationing families. Sole has one purpose, to make visitors happy. He is kind and sensitive. Sole takes his job as THE VILLA DOG seriously. His bravery and loyalty are often rewarded. He keeps the children out of harm's way, and eventually the others become aware of his special ability to bring happiness. But it's not always easy being The Villa Dog. A young girl, Issy, makes it tough. She's so sad. Can Sole find out why? Or, will he fail his purpose for staying at the villa and disappoint his master? Being the Villa Dog can be hard work, but he's on a mission, and he'll stop at nothing to see Issy smile.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRuth Zavitsanos
    Release dateJan 29, 2017
    ISBN9781370040698
    The Villa Dog
    Author

    Ruth Zavitsanos

    Ruth G. Zavitsanos began writing at the age of 12. Growing up outside of New York City, she attended many Broadway plays and musicals that served to stimulate her imagination. While attaining her Journalism degree at Marshall University she received numerous writing awards. She has been published in Writer’s Digest magazine and had an in-depth article in Delaware Beach Life magazine. Ruth is a affiliated with a variety of writers groups. She is also a featured HuffPost Blogger. Sisters Inn has received five star reviews and is a popular book club read. She is currently working on writing novellas following the success of, Sight Unseen In the City, her first in her New York Through the Times Series. A Life Unfolds In the City is the second in the author’s NYTT Series. Her children’s chapter books, The Villa Dog (an Epic Award and a Main Line Today staff pick), The Old Fortress Dog and The Kona Dog (all third grade book club reads), have been embraced by children, parents and the educational community. Ruth’s fourth children’s chapter book, The Valley Forge Dog, a historical fiction, was recently released and is receiving five star reviews. Ruth enjoys bicycle riding, cooking, reading, music, photography, snorkeling, walks with her canine kids, and travel. Sharing her joy of writing with young students and encouraging them to put their imaginative stories on paper gives Ruth great satisfaction. She and her family reside outside of Philadelphia, PA in Chester County. She can be contacted at ruthzavitsanos@yahoo.com. Feel free to visit her website at www.ciaosummer.com.

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      Book preview

      The Villa Dog - Ruth Zavitsanos

      The Villa Dog Copyright © 2009 by Ruth G. Zavitsanos

      Published by CiaoSummer Press

      Cover Art and Illustrations by Cathy Peluso

      Editor: Deborah Herald

      Layout by www.formatting4U.com

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

      Printed in The United States of America

      Dedication

      I would like to dedicate this book to Valerie and Alexa.

      I'd also like to give special thanks to my mother, Lillian Giachino.

      Chapter One

      Welcome to my villa here in Lucca, Italy. I don’t own the holiday home, but I am the Villa Dog. It’s my job to greet all of the visitors when they arrive and say goodbye to them when they leave. Because today is Saturday, new arrivals will soon begin their stay. The last group of visitors left when the sun rose. They came from a place called Germany and were quite fond of me with my German Shepherd snout and ears taken from my father. Three cars arrived and that meant lots of people, perhaps families. My tail wagged at the thought of families with little ones to play with me.

      When the car engines went silent, my ears perked up. Big people got out of the cars first, then the smaller ones. I like the little people. They throw balls for me and bring me treats. They’re always so happy to see me. They ran toward me now with big smiles on their small faces.

      "Kids, slow down. We don’t know if that dog is

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