Zampe di speranza is a dream I’ve had for many years. I learned throughout my life that people attempting to recover from addiction or a rough lifestyle do much better when they have a companion. That’s why I wanted to create this project as an attempt to not only give these stray animals a second chance, but also the humans that are taking care of them.
I’ve been around this environment for awhile, and I can say that animals are the most common factor in recovery. In Italy, these ideas are still looked down upon in a way that they aren’t in the United States, and that’s why I think this idea has great potential in Italy. Animals and humans are the same, and we all deserve love, why should we discriminate against each other?
Back to Italy, the south has a bigger stray animal population while the north has a bigger addiction issue, so having this rehab center in the middle will help both.
Alex Gardner
My name is Alex Gardner, and I am pursuing a double major in Italian and Creative Writing, with an emphasis in poetry, along with a minor in Spanish.
This project has been a personal dream of mine for many years. When I was fifteen years old, I attended several rehabilitation programs. My experience was negative because most of these institutions seemed interested only in money.
For this reason, I want to create a new model for addiction recovery that teaches people how to love and care for an animal in order to understand how to love themselves. During the three years I spent in these institutions, I worked with animals, and that experience helped me tremendously.