Woof Y'all

It's hard to get up on the slippery floor, and even harder to keep my bowl still

Guess what? I've moved to Texas with my family. Oh Dog, what a trip! First they shove me in a tiny box with with metal bars, then they shove the box on a plane. Not the nice bit of the plane where all the other people go. Oh nooooo. I had to go in the cold bit underneath the plane where the suitcases go. THE SUITCASES! Way to make an old dog feel appreciated. So now I'm no better than baggage. At least the lady who picked me up was nice… and clever. She kept telling people that I was "an old darling". I liked her immediately.

At least there was a break in Sydney overnight. I really needed that rest stop. The boarding house there was nice and the people who greeted me were lovely. They patted me and told me I was gorgeous. I was thrilled to see they employed clever people too. I woke early and thought I might get a bit of exercise in. No such luck. Before I could even think of rousing the staff or ordering my breakfast, they'd fooled me into another box. Oh well. The trip to Sydney was long, but not too long. I thought the next trip wouldn't be too bad. How wrong could I be?!

Flying from Sydney to Dallas is ridiculous. I have no idea why anyone would want to do it. Birds are crazy. Everyone knows that. And even they wouldn't fly from Sydney to Dallas. That has to have been the longest and worst trip of my entire life. Eventually the plane touched down and I was so relieved. The US staff were kind. The let me take a bit of a walk around before seeing the doctor and that helped, but it's hard to pee with an audience. Plus I hadn't had much to eat or drink for the longest time. Then it was off to the doctors for my checkup before they let me in the country. I'm not going to go into detail, let me just say that that doctor needs to learn how to warm his thermometer.

Finally the nicest lady came to get me and I thought I'd be able to have a bit of a run and a rest. But no. Back into a box and into the back of a van I went. Then it was on the road and off to Houston. I was ready to bite someone. I could tell it was getting dark outside, but I'd given up trying to figure out what day it was. My head was all muddled up.

After what seemed like days, they opened up the back of the van and there she was! My Mum! I was so exhausted, but so happy to see her. I could hardly contain myself. She said "hello old man!" and I was in doggy heaven. And, even better, Nik was with her! I had really missed him. I think my tail went into overdrive, but legs were so unsteady and I just didn't trust them to support me if I jumped down. The nice lady who drove lifted me down from the van and Mum gave me the biggest hug ever. She smelled nice. I missed her hugs.

It's taken me a while to get over the flights and I had a bit of kennel cough from the trip too, but I feel much better now. I love living in an apartment because I get to stay inside all the time. It can get pretty hot in here with the heater on, but my family usually turn the heater off when they see I'm uncomfortable. There was some talk of a house recently. I can't wait to be in a house. No more stairs is a good thing. I was a bit scared to start off with, but Mum helped me find a way up them that was less scary. I don't mind going down, but climbing back up again can be a bit of a challenge.

I hope my family find a house for us soon. But I'm really glad we've been in an apartment, because now I'm a proper inside dog!

Shadow D    

It's a Two Duck Kinda Day

Woohoo! Mum bought me a present the other day. Two presents in fact. Both were my favourites... ducks! I was so excited that I didn't know which one to pick up first.

That's the lucky thing about being a big dog, sometimes, you can fit more in your mouth than you expect. I just opened up as wide as I could and voila, I squished both of them in.

They're both in my favourite chewing spot now (under the clothes line... but don't tell anyone). I'm a bit sad that it's raining today, because I'm in just the mood to head out to the clothes line and chew on those ducks.

I love to sit there on a sunny day when Mum's done the washing, chewing on my ducks or a bone I've saved. There's nothing quite as relaxing. Mum gets a bit annoyed with having to step over me to hang clothes up, but she doesn't ever move me so it can't be too bad.

Oh there's more exciting news. We have chickens now. They're mad. The little ones are ok. They mostly just run off and do whatever chickens do, but the brown ones are loud and dumb. One of them escaped from their pen the other day. Mum and I don't know how she did it. The fence is 6 foot high and I can't get in, so I don't know how that chook got out. Anyway, Mum and I were just getting ready to hang some washing out when we see this fat brown bunch of feathers waddling towards us cackling away. Well, we got a surprise. Mum went over to her and she just sat down on the ground for Mum to pat and pick up. Stupid bird. She didn't even try to run off or fly. If I had wings, I'd definitely try to fly off. That would be cool. I could fly past all the dogs in the neighbourhood, showing off. Then I could flap my way up to the oval and those magpies would never stand a chance if I had wings! Maybe that's why I love my ducks so much.

Shadow D

Dog Day 6

Getting my chest rub and jiggling my leg

I got the best chest rub ever today. It felt so good that I just had to shake my leg like a crazy dog!

I think Mili was just in a good mood because he was going to the school disco tonight. I don't know what a disco is, but Mum has been running around and sorting out clothes and charging phones all day. I think a disco is something important because everyone made a big fuss of Mili. Then he left. At night. Dad took him there and Mum and Nik stayed with me. It was so weird.

Mili came home though, so I was relieved. I thought I might have to go sniffing for him, but it was all ok. He seemed pretty happy too. Mum tried to get him to talk about it, but he didn't say much. Maybe he'll tell me all about it tomorrow. I'll have to find some time to get him on his own. He always tells me what's on his mind when it's just the two of us. I love my brothers. I especially love it when they cuddle me, or talk to me about stuff, or (best of all) when they scratch my chest... especially when they get that special, sweet spot. Oh it makes my leg jiggle just thinking about it!

Shadow D

Dog Day 5

Me in the car waiting for Mili.

I love Wednesdays! Mum doesn't work on a Wednesday, but she did go for a grooming session today so she wasn't home much. But Wednesdays are great. Mum buys more food on Wednesdays... and I get to go in the car for a ride on Wednesdays! On Wednesdays, Mum always takes me with her when we go to pick Mili up from school. Dad picks Nik up later so we don't have to worry about him.

I love the car. I love the smell of it, I love the feel of it and I love the fact that we get to go somewhere really fast. I wish I could run that fast sometimes, but then I think I'd get super hot and puffed out.

It's such a neat way to sniff lots of new smells too. We always go somewhere exciting and that means delicious new aromas. The school my brothers go to always smells like ducks and fresh mown grass and white cockatoos. I always feel calm and happy when we pick Mili up. I'm so happy that Mum takes me with her.

Shadow D

Dog Day 4

How did my family find me?

I don't like it when my family has to go to work and school. I try to hide, but they always find me. I can't work out why. I wish my Mum didn't have to work. I like it when she stays home. She's the only one who doesn't shout at me or wake me up when I snore. I love having a nap in the daytime. Often, Mum will work on her computer and then I can just have a little sleep on my blanket in the lounge room. I always feel so refreshed when I've had a day time nap.

I also really like just flipping myself upside down and lying there. Mum thinks I look funny and Dad says I look even more stupid than usual. I like the way my lips flop open and my brain does a backflip. Collie dog, from across the road also likes going upside down. She does it all the time though. It's kind of weird. Every time she's over for a visit and Mum or Dad come out and see her, she flips herself upside down right away. I tried to ask her about it once, but she said she didn't want to talk about it and looked all embarrassed. I heard Mum say that she was super submissive. I don't really know what that means. I like Collie dog, but I wish she wouldn't keep flipping herself upside down every time she sees my family. It makes her look like she's got narcolepsy and it's pretty creepy to be around.

I love being UpsideDown Dog

Shadow D

Dog Day 3

I have some special places to lie down in around our house. One of my favourites is under the dining table. It's such a great place especially when my mum sits down at one of the chairs. I love to just lie near her and put my head on her feet. I don't even mind if she puts her feet up on my belly.

In one of my favourite spots. Especially when Mum's sitting at the table.

After my family all went to work and school, Sheba came over to the fence for a chat again today. She tells me that Prince has been hanging around and sniffing her important bits a lot recently. She's a bit fed up with Prince. She says he's more interested in how he looks than in how she looks and she "wasn't interested in such a girly man". I think she was trying to give me a hint that she wanted me to sniff her important bits. I'm just not that into her.

After my family came home, we had such fun running around and playing. I even got to play dress ups! I love playing with my family, but I'm not sure green is really my colour. What do you think?

Hmmm...I'm not sure about the stripes either. Do they make me look fat?

Shadow D

Dog Day 2

Yummy Ram's Skull

First things first, here's the delicious Ram's head I found! Isn't it fantastic? I love the smell of it. It's so tempting, but Dad's put it up out of my reach on the fence post.

Today's been a bit of a boring day for me. Dad took me on a walk as usual this morning and then I kind of hung out with my family until the boys had to go to Karate. Once they were gone, it was a bit dull. I poked around my usual spots in the garden and chased the magpies away. Sheba, next door, came over for a bit of a chat. I'm not sure I like Sheba. She's very pretty, but a bit up herself. She thinks she's better than me just because she's got that weird bit of hair along her back. Hairy-backed women aren't really my thing, but I think Prince, who lives on the other side of Sheba, quite fancies her. I haven't met Prince yet, but Sheba's owner talks about him sometimes. Collie, from over the road, comes to visit quite often. She's fun, but I get the feeling she's only seeing me for a free dinner. She has a habit of turning up only when Mum's cooked my dinners.

Anyway, it's been a mundane day with a bit of hiccup. Dad gave me a bath. I really hate having a bath, but afterwards.... Oh, afterwards! I love rolling and shaking. And I have a secret spot next to Dad's shed where there's a wild rose bush. I love going into the middle of that rose bush and just shaking and rubbing. Such a good feeling.

A bit of shaking...

A bit of rolling...

And a rub in the rose bush in my secret spot!

Shadow D