By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(August 9, 2013) Dog owners visiting the Ferrari Museum in Maranello don’t have to worry about leaving their pooch at home. The four-legged friends won’t be able to run unescorted through the museum, but they will have a special place to stay while their owners are admiring the sheetmetal on display.

The folks at the museum have built three Ferrari-themed kennels, and located them in the shaded area of the museum garden that is next to the cafeteria. Each is a different size in order to better match the dimensions of the dogs that accompany their owners, and brings a whole new spelling to the work “bark”-etta.

Cat owners might object, but most pet felines are asleep on a favorite piece of furniture during the museum’s hours of operation. Nor would they be satisfied with a representation of a Ferrari when so many of the real things are mere feet away in air conditioned comfort.

They may be animals, but cats still prefer the feel of real Italian leather to the rough-and-tumble outdoors. However, while their marking rituals usually doesn’t extend to urinating on tires, it’s hard to imagine the museum changing its pet policy, or cats caring enough to want to visit.

Until that changes, the custom-made kennels will be housing dogs, the only four-legged creatures allowed on the grounds. Though one does have to wonder just how long it will be before a certain dog named Enzo comes to pay a visit.