Renato is a Selektia Tartufi team truffle hunter. He has years of experience and an extraordinary passion for the nature, truffle and truffle dog.
He has a special bond with his truffle dog like every truffle hunter. That’s a true love born with long walks in the woods of Tuscany looking for the precious white truffle of San Miniato and Crete Senesi, both areas of excellence in the panorama of Italian white truffle.
“Stella was a very pretty doggy – Renato says with tears in his eyes – at a thought I get a lump in the throat. Stella was poisoned in 2010 because she found truffles where the other dogs already passed and she was only 3 years 2 months. I remember once other truffle hunters found nothing, I gave them the satisfaction of seeing Stella extracting a 230 grams truffle. She was an extraordinary doggy”.
Sadly, the truffle hunter world is also rich in envy and jealousy and truffle dog very often pays the price, especially those who are gifted with a very good sense of smell, those who easily find truffles even where the other dogs cannot detect any smell.
“I’m not the dog’s owner – Renato keeps talking – I’m its mate because we live together: dog and man work together to find that white little ball we like so much. When the dog smells the truffle aroma, scratch the ground and wants a sweetener: a little cookie as a reward for the good job. To the dog, that’s only a game”.
That game passed down the generations and thanks to truffle dog and truffle hunter job, Selektia Tartufi can bring white truffle from the wood directly on your table. Thanks Stella and thanks Renato!