What is this wet stuff falling from the sky???

My friend Rolo asked me where we were finding all the sunshine over my way? Well, I have to say, we had a week of GLORIOUS weather - in fact, it was positively warm but then, this morning, all this wet stuff started appearing - it took me a while to remember what it was - RAIN - as it's been the driest July on record apparently, where I live 'Down Under' so I was a bit surprised when I woke up this morning to see puddles (I LOVE puddles - just made for running through aren't they??) and saw water coming from the sky. So, it's been a wee bit squidgy and damp today and this afternoon, the rain started LASHING down, I mean LASHING and the wind was absolutely howling. I LOVE this weather - it reminds me of home, Ireland! But, I am always a bit worried when this weather hits as to the walk situation - rain is all very good and I know we need it for the farmers and the dams so we have enough water over summer, but walks are the highlight of my day so there were a few anxious moments:

But, She kept a close eye on the clouds and we managed two walks in between all the squalls so I'm happy. And I met a three legged Westie - she had a nasty infection earlier this year which meant her right front leg had to be amputated but oh, she was PAWSOME - she even kept up with me and she was so much fun! Last weekend, the weather was a bit overcast (but no rain) but of course, I would not let 'overcast' stop my demands for a long Sunday walk - and They took me to one of my favourite haunts - we hadn't been there for a while so I was quite busy ensuring everything was up to scratch:

And we found a boardwalk - for some reason, She loves boardwalks and when She finds one, that's it, She's off but I don't mind - the smells are great:

We found this 'pretend dog' - who, from a distance looks quite real but I wasn't fooled!!!

Anyway, that's it for now. She has promised to try to be more consistent with the posts! And by the way, we LOVE the Olympics - it's great fun to see all the photographs! And what a great job by the organisers!! Woof Groucho

We're Baaaack

Oh yes, another long break because, yet again, She has been flat out at work - I'm not sure why this is an issue because when I'm flat out, it doesn't make me tired - in fact, being flat out usually means I'm asleep! Or, at my patrol post, checking out the comings and goings of the complex where I live:

But apparently, for Her, the result of being flat out means She's very tired (and, I think it's fair to say, a tad grumpy). However, we are all still having our great weekends and in fact, this past weekend was great fun. We took the older two legged ones out for breakfast and because I have the older he two legged one wrapped around my paw, I was fed a few pieces of his toast (She wasn't too happy about that because it interfered with my DIET - bad word). And then I took them to my second favourite part of the river and went for a paddle to help along Arf-an-I-tis. On that point, I would like to say thanks to everyone for their good wishes with Arthur/Arf - I had my last injection on the weekend and I was incredibly sooky and whingy brave and tough about it all. And I'm much better and don't have to visit the dog-ter again for another 6 months, so that's all good. Won't stop me from sleeping with the Bears though - they are great for keeping me warm! My only problem with the weekend was the BATH. Secretly, I do know that a BATH (bad horrible word) every once in a while is fine, but I really don't like how I smell 'lovely' (Her word) afterwards - it's not dog-ly at all to smell 'lovely' is it???? So this is what I did to get back at Them:

And so, if that wasn't enough, I spotted a four legged one who looked like he would be good fun to run around with (and get more dirty) - after all, he was wearing a DPM harness so I thought he would be into a bit of a chase and game - I lined him up:

and then we had a chat but he then took off - didn't want a game at all - it's probably because I smelt 'lovely' rather than dog-ly so this week, I'm doing all I can to get rid of this 'lovely' smell!

Woof for now Groucho

Sleeping with the Bears

Well, as some of you already know, in the cooler weather, I like to sleep with Her collection of something she refers to as 'the Bears'which, in the past, has been the subject of some disagreement between Her and me although, in fairness, She soon realised that my awesome ability to completely ignore Her when I don't agree with what is being said (it's actually more the fact that most of what She says, I simply don't understand - I'm a dog, I don't actually understand most of Her conversation - key words such as 'walk', 'car', 'beach', 'river', 'go', 'eat' and 'treats' tend to get a good reaction but the rest, it's white noise mostly!) led to me having quite a bit of leeway with the Bears BUT, what with the Arf-an-I-tis, She's decided that sleeping with the Bears is a good thing - it means I'm warm, all the time, and I snuggle right into them so my left leg, which is the Arf-an-I-tis inflicted one, gets extra warmth from the Bears. So, it aint all bad having Arf - in fact, I barely notice it but I'm certainly not above using it to my advantage if need be.

I'd like to thank y'all for the kind messages re Arf. I had my second injection over the weekend which was fine - the very nice vet nurse gave me the needle instead of the dog-ter which was much better - I like the dog-ter but I really don't like that cold table they put me on! And, I got a treat (although not a big one as I'm on a DIET - being a dog, like I said, I don't understand a lot of words but I know that DIET is up there with BATH - bad bad words) and then, on Sunday, we went to Her favourite part of the river with the plan that I would do some paddling but, me being me, now that I SHOULD paddle, I decided NOT to. But I had a great time anyway:

and I eyed off this bird as my next challenge - yes, it's a big bird but I'm a Westie, I have no idea I've no chance of ever getting it:

So, all in all, it's fine - Arf is being treated, I'm still using it to my advantage when it suits me (although being carried up and down the stairs every time is becoming a bit tiresome - it was fun at first but now, well, I see it as undermining my independence!!) and They are making sure my stunt-Westie tendencies are under control - I've gone a whole week without diving off a sand dune! Woof for now. Groucho

Arf-an-I-tis

Well, ok, so I've been away for a while - the She Two Legged One is very busy at work and is a tad grumpy tired these days and They have refused to buy me my own lab-top ..... not sure what that is about. BUT, anyway, She was ok tonight and seems to have found her sense of humour some time to help me out. So, here's an update: A few weekends ago, She said to Him - it's a lovely day, let's go for a road trip - so we did. We went to a little town about 2 hours away, and we drove through some glorious country side - oh, the smells were wonderful - sheep, cows, kangaroos - and I wasn't annoying at all, demanding to stick my head out the window every few seconds, no, not at all. I was very well behaved (I hear someone snorting in disbelief behind me - I shall ignore Her) and took great interest in the goings ons in the main street:

So, that was a lovely treat for us all BUT, then, wham, back down to earth - if you remember, I was limping a bit a while back but I was all good for ages afterwards - however, with the very cold weather we have been having (well, not cold compared to Ireland but cold for here!), She noticed the limp was back so off to the dog-ter. the very nice dog-ter said I had to go back for an 'xray' - so I did, last Friday and, well, as suspected, I have Alf-an-I-tis and something about worn cardigans which will only get worse if I continue to do this:

and this:

BUT the good news is that with treatment and a few modifications to my rather reckless Westie behaviour, I will be ok - I'm not in any pain, I just need to be a bit careful with my cardigan and Arf-an-I-tis (and yes, I know, it's actually cartilage and arthritis, I'm just pointing out that Her diction could be better at times) AND, even better, I don't have to go up and down the stairs by myself anymore - They have to carry me (and I'm not milking that for all it's worth - much!!) BUT, on the downside, when we were at the beach over the weekend, She picked me up AND LIFTED ME UP OVER THE WALL - in FRONT OF THE VBDs (the very big dogs) - CAN YOU IMAGINE THE EMBARRESSMENT?????? The VBDs were very good about it and looked away, pretending they didn't see it by oh, my, was I GRUMPY about it - as soon as she put me down (like I was a small puppy or something) I took off with selective hearing firmly in place and pretended I did not know them at all:

AND, the other good news is that the more I do of my paddling, the better - it's good for me you see:

AND, the more I run on flat surfaces, the better so it's not like I have to give up my very active lifestyle, I just have to be a bit careful about my diving off sand dunes, jumping off high walls and preferably, do zoomies on flat surfaces. So, it's all ok, I'm as happy as I usually am, I guess it's just age and my incredibly daring exploits catching up with me! But at least I can still do this:

Woof for now. Groucho