The Italian Shepherd or Pastore Italiano is a breed of dog. The existence of this breed can be traced back to 1975 when Piero Accettella of the Little Ranch Kennels in Cepagatti in the province of Pescara in Italy noticed that in the surrounding Italian regions of Abruzzo Umbria Tuscany Marche and Northern Lazio there existed mid-sized dogs with wolf-like features used as livestock herders and known locally as Cane Toccatore.