A new camera

Supreme Athlete, originally uploaded by Wonder Westie.

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but over the years, I've become a little bit annoyed with that camera thing the He Two Legged One totes about and insists on putting in front of my face when I'm concentrating on serious things like running, sniffing, rolling and swimming. As a result, I've become adept at doing all I can to spoil the photographs - I turn around at the last minute, I poke my tongue out, I squint etc. But the He Two Legged One has outsmarted me (I would not usually admit this you must understand) - he bought this super duper serious lens for his camera and I think I'm done for - in this photograph, I was MILES away (this is a slight exaggeration) from him and yet I look so close don't I?? Well, it's back to the drawing board for me now - I'll have to come up with other ways to get out of having my photograph taken!!

Woof for now.

Groucho

A WONDERFUl weekend

The Two Legged Ones have been so busy lately with boring two legged stuff - something they call work (and I have to say that their work sounds tedious and boring compared to mine - my job description is brief and concise [I wrote it myself you see] - 1) scam as many treats as I can 2) scam as many walks as I can 3) scam as many rides in the car as I can 4) boss as many critters and two legged ones around as I can 5) make the Two Legged Ones [and other two legged ones I meet] laugh and smile as much as I can) but last weekend, we all took a break and they took me to all my favourite places - we played one of my favourite games - tag -

Apparently, I cheat - I'm not sure this is entirely true (it is - if Groucho looks like he is losing, he will cut across us, do some circle work and head back towards us to try to trip us up!).......I prefer to call this behaviour 'competitiveness'. Anyway, we also visited my favourite cafe, went to the market and the river and then, on Sunday afternoon, we all hung out at the oval again -

I heard Them saying that there will be similar going ons this weekend so I'm happy about that! Hope you all have a great weekend. Woof for now. Groucho

Gotcha Day

Groucho is having a rest today as it's his "Gotcha Day". Before we discovered the wonderful world of dog-blogging, we used the rather long winded "It's the anniversary of the day we got Groucho today' expression. Gotcha Day is so much better! For those who know Groucho, his Gotcha Day is well known - we received a phone call from Maureen of Westie Rescue Ireland (www.westierescue.ie) on Wednesday, 12 April 2006 telling us that a wee Westie was in a pound in Co Louth (about 50 miles from we were then living) and he would be put to sleep the next day unless someone would rescue him. Well, given we had been waiting for a dog to rescue for months, it was a huge YES from us and the next day, Groucho came into our lives - you can read more about that on my first ever post at the very beginning (we would have included the link but the link thingy is not working!!). Here is a photo of Groucho the day he arrived at his new home:

He looks so adorable and innocent but he packed the punch of a hyperactive banshee - he had such a horrible start to life that the poor wee thing didn't know what to do with himself. But, we all settled down after a while and with the help of Julie from Tagnrye (www.tagnrye.com) we learnt how to be the sort of Two Legged Ones Groucho needed in his life. And all we can say is thank goodness Maureen contacted us - we have been blessed with a Westie who has brought so much joy, humour, comfort, love and laughter into our lives and all those he meets that we really don't know how life was "Before Groucho". We have made wonderful friends, both in Dog Blogville and in every day life, through him and we think we are one very lucky pair of Two Legged Ones to have him. As we say, Life is not the Same without a Westie. And now, to celebrate Groucho's 6th Gotcha Day, we wanted to share even more photos of him with you all (psst, it's Groucho here, I've just snuck in for a few edits - I'm warning you, there are a LOT of photos to follow and even though I tend to be ok with my photograph being splashed all over the place - I'm a Westie after all - I thought I should warn you that well, the She Two Legged One has gone overboard ........): Groucho Takes Over the Living Room:

Groucho's First Holiday to the West of Ireland

Groucho at our Home in Dubai (Groucho here - I was a bit homesick at first in Dubai but I had a great time while we were there - I went to Doggy Creche twice a week which was pawsome - I hung out with the big dogs and I was the head honcho and the new dog mentor and I made some great friends - especially Marcel and Drake who I'd like to see again one day!!)

Groucho back in Ireland after his Dubai Gap YearNote from Groucho - these photos are taken when we first arrived back from Dubai - we had a long holiday in Galway and boy, was it great - we went for long walks, I ran along deserted beaches and while I missed my buddies in Dubai, I was so happy to be home again!!

Groucho Down Under When we first moved to Australia after some time back in Ireland, it took Groucho a while to learn to like the water but with an incredibly hot Summer the first month he arrived, he soon learnt that part of the Down Under experience was learning to appreciate the ocean and river!and now I think I'd be a strong contender in any Doggy Triathlon!

Holidays Down Under with Groucho Just as we did in Ireland, we take Groucho with us whenever we possibly can on our holidays in Australia (hmmmph, I beg to differ - two holidays this year without me!!!). And the holiday locations are always close to a beach as Groucho just cannot get enough of beaches!!!

And, to finish off our photo homage to our wonderful Groucho, here is the photograph that says it all about the sheer happiness of Groucho:

Another holiday without me

Inside Australia #02, originally uploaded by Wonder Westie.

Yes well, I hope you all had a good Easter. I did, even if the Two Legged Ones went away without me (this is becoming a bit of a bad habit with them) - they went to see this scultpure exhibition somewhere miles away from where we live - it took them 9 hours by car but it sure looks like it was worth it. I could have gone but I chose not to - they drove 1900km in three days so while I would have had fun when they stopped, most of the time I would have been in the car and oh, ok, for the first few hours that would be great fun but after that, I know I would have been bored. I don't see the attraction of road trips unless, at the end of it, I get to run around for a very long time, on my terms (ie I don't have to come back, I can stay as long as I want and I can do whatever I want) and I couldn't have done that on this trip. So, I went to the older two legged ones and hung out with them which is a nice change as they are much easier to boss around than the Two Legged Ones.

And, of course, when the Two Legged Ones got back, I was overwhelmed with tummy rubs, hugs (a few too many if I'm to be honest, I'm not really a huggy type of Westie) and a very very long walk.

Woof for now.

Groucho

The weekend

Happiness, originally uploaded by Wonder Westie.

Well, my blogging has been a bit hit and miss lately - the Two Legged Ones are having a bit of a busy spell at work, so there hasn't been a lot of time for helping me out with the wifi etc. But to make up for it, we had a huge weekend with lots of quality time, including a lot of tummy rubs. Yesterday was my favourite day of the weekend - we went into town for over an hour, and walked around, just checking things out - we haven't done that for a few months now so it was great to catch up on all the 'pee mail'! Then we went to my second favourite cricket oval where this photograph was taken - I did a lot of Westie rolls (the weather is soooooo much cooler now so I am running around a lot more these days!). We then went home to snuggle up on the couch while we watched a movie then we all went out again to my favourite cafe for coffee and carrott cake, then we went back to this oval for another crazy session of Westie rolls, circle work and playing chasey (I don't always win but I like to think I do!), then we all laid down on the grass and looked up at the fluffy, candy floss clouds and thought wow, isn't life wonderful.

Woof for now.

Groucho