The Travels of Mouse: Retrospective

Hello people, Mouse here.

Well, we’re on our way home, and Mum and Dad are missing Nambucca Heads already.

The mouth of the Nambucca River from the Shelly Beach Lookout

The weather was really good the whole time, the caravan air conditioning behaved itself, there were no incidents, accidents or mishaps, the wildlife was… interesting (you’ve seen the goanna, meet the magpie who insisted on sharing breakfast), and catching up with distant and greatly missed friends was memorable.

Last night the Staff did lots of very unsettling packing up and putting away, leaving only the bare minimum for My comfort. This morning it was even worse, so shortly after 7am I demanded to get into the car and away from all that nonsense. I must say, they do have the process down pat by now, but it sets my teeth on edge and ruffles my fur to see things being disarranged. Tonight, we’re staying over in Landsborough Pines on the Sunshine Coast again, and tomorrow at Tannum Sands near Gladstone.

The plotters, planning next year

Anyhow… It has been a fun getaway for Me too. I really did enjoy Swimming Creek Beach. All sorts of doggos, but well managed by their Staffs, and I particularly liked meeting all the whippets, my small cousins. And of course I did get several good runs in when the place was empty, so I could get a good workout and stretch my legs.

I know the Staffs had a good time too. To such an extent, mind you, that they are already plotting the next one. Not that I object… It appears that Mum and Aunty Chippy are agreed that the second week of February next year will be spent at the same place, and Aunty Dale has it pencilled in too.

Same time next year

Mum and Aunty Chippy have already booked their spot: Mum and Dad on the shady caravan site and Aunty Chippy and Uncle Jonathan in the cabin directly behind it, beside the beach access. Mum is compiling a list of things to do and places to visit. All the Aunties agree that we will get together again for a reunion meal on Sunday 11th. Fine by me, especially if Diesel and Dolly are there too.

So that’s it for this year. Just two more days of lounging in the back of the car, a night at Tannum, and then we’re home and I can do the sniffspection of the house and back yard to make sure all is well. I hope the chickens have been behaving themselves and that the rude cat from across the back fence has stayed away from My Yard, or I will be giving it another earful next time I see it. Not chasing it, you understand, that would be much too undignified, I’ll just give it a bit of a barking at to let it know the Boss is Back.

I believe there is a roast chicken lurking in the caravan for tonight’s dinner. I shall be insisting on doing Quality Control to ensure the Staff are eating correctly and that I also get my fair (largest) share.

Meanwhile, I shall snooze on my floof after all this hard work dictating the post to Mum.

Mouse, out.

🐾

 

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The Travels of Mouse: Nambucca Valley top ten

Hello people, Mouse here.

I must say, it’s been a top notch experience so far. Last time, a few years ago, it was very nice and all that, but this time…

Dad has created a Top Ten Reasons to Love Visiting the Nambucca Valley:

1. Friends we miss and haven’t seen for ages. Lots of Aunties and Uncles. Lots of strokies and a big bag of super treats from my favourite, Aunty Dale. I love you, Aunty Dale ❤️.
   
2. The joint birthday party, something we should repeat next year because it was Fun. Orange cake filled with fruit, and cream on the side.
   
3. The After (Lunch) party the next day with even more new friends both human and canine. That’s Miss Dolly the kelpie having a snooze behind her Staff, Uncle Matt.
   
4. Big, beautiful, empty, white sandy beaches for me to run on. Dad’s put a video on my FaceBook page, it’s a comment to the last post there, if you scroll down. I haven’t lost all my form in retirement, it seems.
   
5. Strawberry tarts from Nambucca Bakery & Cafe (Staff pick). Dad’s birthday treat. You were lucky to see this, as he’d already started in on it when he remembered to take a photo. It didn’t last long. They never do, according to Mum. Prolly pretty good, then.
6. The delicious food at Nourish Café & Grocer, Valla Beach (Staff pick, but I concur – I got bits of Mum’s salmon and sweet potato fries and Dad’s burger and cheese)
   
7. The view (and sniffs) at Seelys Lookout Sky Pier, Orara State Forest. I approve, as I’m allowed out of the car in State Forests, and the sniffs can be spectacular!
   
8. Next time, we’ll be visiting with VanEssa. Bigger, comfier, more convenient. What is it they say? “Happy Staff, don’t make me laugh. Happy Mouse, Boss in the House”. Something like that, anyway.
   
9. The Nesting Needles Patchwork & Fabric shop in Coramba (Mum’s pick). Mum and Aunty Chippy parked the Husbands at the doggo-friendly pub next door and Did Shopping. The Husbands did beer. I did a bowl of water and lay on my blankie, sighing loudly. I think I got my point across because Mum and Dad gave me treats later, when they had lunch.
10. The sound of surf at night to lull us all to sleep. And we have all slept very well… At least, I have. Mum says I did lots of bum fluffs from too much chicken. Dad says he wouldn’t know, as the CPAP machine prevents the fumes reaching him. I wouldn’t know. I was asleep.

I think I’d agree with most of Dad’s points. I’m fairly meh on the subject of strawberry tarts and fabric shops, to be honest, though. But the plan with Aunty Chippy and Uncle Jonathan is to come back again same time(ish) next year, have the same get-together with everybody (if possible) and do lots more exploring in the fun places the area has to offer. Mum is developing a list already. Dad is muttering Oh Lord under his breath (dunno what he expects Me to do about it…). Aunty Chippy is looking excited. Uncle Jonathan is looking resigned. So I expect it’ll prolly happen. I leave that sort of thing to the Staff.

It’s Aunty Chippy and Uncle Jonathan’s last night here, so Mum is making Nasty Goreng, or something like that.  (Nasi, not Nasty, Mouse – Mum) so they don’t have to cook. Mum and Dad have two more days here and then we’re off too. It hasn’t been long enough, but I need to check everything is OK at home and tell Lotti All About Everything.

Right, must be off, I detect that My dinner is in the offing.

Mouse, out.

The Travels of Mouse: sun, sand and Mini-me

Hello people, Mouse here

Some of you may be wondering why the silence over the past few days. Well. Mostly it’s because we’ve been very, very idle, which is how I like it, but also because the phone reception here isn’t very good; we’re at the bottom of a cliff and behind a dune, which make for peace but not many bars of signal, so downloading images takes a long time.

This holiday park is lovely. It’s shady, very quiet (apart from a muffled roar from the surf behind the dune and butcher birds singing), and roomy. The bathroom is huge and clean and modern, which is nice for the Staff, and there are plenty of grassy bits for me to use. I do have to share the amenities with some rather larger permanent residents, most notably a 1.2m long goanna, who strolls around like he owns the place. Most uncouth, but I’m steering clear. I don’t do reptiles…

I have a choice of walks, but I do enjoy the sandy path up and over the dune and onto the beach. The sand here is squeaky!  Dad says it’s because of the high levels of silica. Even my paws make it happen, not just big human feet. I’ve told Mum to put in a YouTube link to show you what it sounds like. It’s nice white sand, very, very fine and it just drops off my paws so I don’t walk it into my floof (or the caravan, thankfully – Mum).

Anyway, the other day the Staff did Shopping and Laundry, which is boring, and yesterday we went to Valla Beach and had lunch at Nourish Café and Grocer, which is not: I got bits of both their lunches: salmon from Mum and burger and cheese from Dad. Mum says it was yummy and worth a mention here because the tables on the front verandah are dog friendly. The portions were pretty generous, and the grocery was good too: they had the milk I like (lactose free – Mum) and some very nice cakes. Dad had Ricotta & citrus crème brulée slice and Mum had a Fig & macadamia tart.

Later on, we went for a walk on the squeaky beach, and there were whippets!  Always fun to meet other sighthounds, but some of them were very forward and kept pestering and licking me and running in circles. There was one, though, who was more respectful, called Shadow. He was rather tall for a whippet, and black, which is of course the Best colour, and he wanted to show me his rock, which his mum said he’d been carrying around for a while. I gave it a polite sniff, and then he decided to bury it! The Mums decided he was my Mini-me, and I can see their point…

And then in the evening, Aunty Chippy and Uncle Jonathan arrived!  They had done a mad dash up the coast from Melbourne and had done 1400km about 24 hours, stopping briefly here and there for food and naps. They have a very nice cabin here, and they came over after they’d showered and unpacked to eat with us and plan for Saturday’s picnic party. Mum has lent Aunty Chippy a whole bunch of quilting books, so there’ll prolly be some boring chat about that, and she also handed over the miniature sewing room model she made for Aunty Chippy, which has been carefully carried all the way here in one of Miz Lizzie’s lockers. Amazingly, it’s still all in one piece and the light still works!

I’m expecting to score some very decent handouts at this picnic party, judging from what they were saying. I must fill Diesel-dog in when he arrives, he probably doesn’t realise the snacking opportunities ahead of him! There will be many Aunties and Uncles and most of them won’t know about limiting my intake of snacks, so I shall be playing the field with my best Poor Starving Greyhound impression! I’ll let you know how that goes.

Time for another snooze, I think. Mum took me out at 6am, but I’m not quite ready for breakfast yet. I’d better fortify myself for the day ahead at some stage, though. Walkies to take, strokies to demand, snacks to cadge…

Mouse, out.

🐾

 

The Travels of Mouse: a new one and a good one!

Hello people, Mouse here.

Sorry about the radio silence, but the Staff have been pretty tired and I wanted them to focus their energies on walkies and food for Me rather than posting. Still, it means this will be a fairly big post. Also, I will put links (who exactly will put links, again? – Mum) to all the dog-friendly caravan parks where we stayed in case it’s useful for another doggo and their Staff.

The Staff say that for a long trip south again they won’t repeat staying at the Coolwaters Discovery Park in Kinka Beach, Yeppoon, as it’s just not far enough for the first leg of a 1,400km trip. It’s very nice, but better for just a long weekend visit, perhaps even a forthcoming shakedown trip, of which more later. I’m a bit sorry, because it’s a lovely park, the area is very pretty, the beach is handy and I went for a nice paddle (I prefer quiet waves, less chance of wet fur).

Soooo, anyway, the plan was to stay the next two nights at the NRMA Treasure Island on the Gold Coast. Didn’t happen. By lunchtime it was clear that the almost incessant roadwork and speed reductions down to 60kmph from the usual 100kmph meant we wouldn’t make it. So Mum made an executive decision and we broke the trip at Ingenia Landsborough Pines instead of staying two nights at the Gold Coast. It was a good decision. We were all tired by that point, and I like Landsborough Pines, it’s very pretty and there are ducks and wildfowl and geese to look at in a meaningful but totally, totally non-threatening way….

Anyway, onwards and southwards and we just spent the night at the NRMA Treasure Island. We haven’t stayed here before, but it’s lovely. Generally, they prefer doggos of lesser stature for the convenience of other park residents, but made an exception in My case because I am Beautiful and Quiet and Polite. The ensuite bathrooms in NRMA parks are always really beautiful and well-kept, the sites are level and generously sized and here, there’s an onsite café where doggos are welcome on the deck, which is most enlightened. It also has an off-leash doggo area within the park itself, which was much appreciated after a few days of comfortably lounging being confined to the back seat of the ute. Mum and Dad say they would 100% recommend over the other place we’ve stayed nearby, which was the BIG4 Gold Coast, which is squishier, more crowded, less easy to get to and has a very confusing layout.

On the way here we crossed the Gateway Bridge which I always find a bit unsettling for several reasons. Firstly, all the lamp posts are wonky and it looks as if the place has been hit by an earthquake. Secondly, the bridge is very, very high and very, very steep. Coming up to it, it looks like you’re going to drive up a ramp and off the end into nothingness. See what I mean?

Mum wants to point out that I have missed out a Very Important Point. We put down a deposit on a new-to-us caravan! Miz Lizzie is comfy and familiar and homey, but a bit more floor space for Me to stretch out would be a great advantage and VanEssa offers that. Mum says she also offers one or two other significant advantages, such as a much larger fridge for My meals, quieter and more efficient air conditioning, etc. Apparently Van Essa arrives in Mackay on 13th February, so it won’t be long to wait. As soon as we can after that, we will take her out for a bit of a trial run to work out what she’s like to tow, sleep in, etc.

Also, we popped into see Dad’s brother Uncle Kev and Aunty Chrissy in their new home and had coffee and cake on account of Mum’s birthday, and I met their two doggos, who were polite but rather small and fluffy. I like Aunty Chrissy, she knows ezackly where to scratch. Also, they have horses, the big ones as opposed to noodle horses like me. Mum is allergic, so we stayed clear. Wouldn’t want the level of service to drop because the Staff can’t stop wheezing and sneezing…

Today we head out on our final leg, Gold Coast to Nambucca Heads. We actually cross a time zone, which means the journey appears to take an hour longer than it should and that has to be factored into arrival times, etc. But it’s all good. We’ll be staying at the Tasman Holidays Nambucca Heads, which is right on the beach but protected behind a wooded dune. I’m looking forward to a good run on the beach, as it’s doggo friendly. Also, Aunty Chippy and Uncle Jonathan will be there for a bit which will be great fun, even if it means the Staff will be doing a Lot of talking and perhaps not quite enough Looking After Me…

But most of all, I’m looking forward to not packing up and moving on for a few days. (You and me both, Mouse. You and me both – Mum).

Mouse, out.

🐾

The Travels of Mouse: the farewell tour

Hello people, Mouse here.

No, not MY farewell tour, I’m not retiring, or at least, not any more retired than I already am. Apparently Miz Lizzie is moving on to new career opportunities and a quieter life. Sounds OK to me, but meanwhile she’s taking us on her final trip south. The Staff and I are going on holiday! First night is at Kinka Beach, near Yeppoon, second and third nights are on the Gold Coast (during which time we inspect VanEssa, the new caravan), and finally we arrive at Nambucca Heads, where we’ll spend a week, have lots of fun and then repeat the whole thing in reverse.

Personally, so long as the Staff do all the work and I don’t have to lift a paw or even raise my head off my floof, I’m all good with that. I enjoy travelling, especially the bits where I can stand on the back seat with my head out of the window and take in the Sniffs. Mum says she’s glad I’m not one of Those Dogs whose faces go all flappy and tongues and ears trail in the breeze. I pointed out that I’m built for speed and my bits stay tidy, even when I have a smile on my face. The Staff appear to have packed my newest (and least ‘aromatic’ – Mum) floof and Squeaky Pig and my second bowl, so all should be well. Dad says my private enclosure is stacked up on the back of the ute. Mum says the food is under control and she has my papers, lead and (whisper it quietly) vet bag.

We haven’t been south of the border (QLD-NSW) for about 3 years, so everyone’s looking forward to it, especially as we’re also seen Aunty Chippy and Uncle Jonathan and Aunty Dale and Uncle Wayne – and most importantly, My Mate Diesel-Dog. Mum says there are also other friends to see and of course her sister and BIL, so it’s going to be a busy time. There will apparently be a Birthday Party on the first weekend we’re all together, so I sincerely hope she’s arranged for suitable edibles for me; I can’t be doing with all that “No, Mouse, that’s not safe for doggos” nonsense. And anyway, I’m a bit puzzled because My birthday isn’t until July. It must be a Staff thing….

Meanwhile, back at home, neighbouring aunties are keeping an eye on the house, the chooks and other Important Stuff. I shall miss Lotti and Aunty Lyn, but I’ll definitely have lots to tell them when we get back. I’ll post as we go to let you know my thoughts on each place.

Take-off is in about an hour and a half. Time to digest my breakfast and watch the Staff bustle…

Mouse, out 🐾

The Travels of Mouse: another dog park!

The Staff have made a Discovery.

It was a Happy Accident. We were crossing a bridge over the Ross River in Townsville, and Dad said that a bit of grass running down to the water looked like a nice place to give Me some air. Mum suggested we turn off.

Rossiter Park, Townsville

What do you know… it turns out there’s an off leash dog park we didn’t even know about, right on the river in the middle of town instead of way out on the edges like most of them. It’s called Rossiter Park, and it’s really very, very nice. Most of it is human park; you know the sort of thing: river walk, huge old trees, green velvet lawns, picnic tables, but there’s the added benefit of the off-leash area for those of us of the four-legged persuasion which makes it just that extra bit more attractive. There’s also loads more of that ‘nice view‘ stuff that Mum enjoys so much.

I give you: the Ross River at Rossiter Park, with Mt Stewart in the distance. Wellll, it’s all just Nature, isn’t it? Dunno what the fuss is about, you can’t even smell it.

Mt Stewart seen from Rossiter Park, across the Ross river

Still, it made Mum happy, which ensures good service. As evidenced by extra helpings of dinner this evening, may I say. I am a happy doggo.

We’re off home tomorrow. I shall supervise the packing up from the safety of the car once again. I must say, I’m looking forward to a choice of beds once more when we’re finally home. Oh, and re-establishing my authority over the back yard, in case those chickens thought they were somehow In Charge.

Time for beauty sleep once more. Early to bed means breakfast comes sooner!

Mouse out.

The Travels of Mouse: somewhere to stay with dogs

Hello people, Mouse here

Well, yesterday was a pleasant, not very stressful day for Me. No wiggly bends or bumps or activities where I was not welcome. All most satisfactory!

The Staff drove me over to the Goomboora Park off-leash area for a little fresh air, exercise and some sniffs. Loads of other doggos, so I declined to be unclipped from the lead, although I did consent to do a little paddling in the creek, which is Not Like Me, apparently.  It’s a lovely place, but I still find too many exuberant, barky four-legged floofs of all sizes a bit overwhelming…

After that, Mum though we should visit the Cairns Coolwaters Holiday Park. It’s right next to Goomboora Park (very convenient for morning walkies), and is on the creek (turtle viewing and swimming, apparently… perhaps if you’re a human). There were some very nice sites and lovely cabins, but no en-suite sites, so we probably won’t go there as first or even second choice with the caravan, BUT, they do have two doggo-friendly cabins!  So it was worth recording on the Resources and Information page (see the menu icon at the top of this page). If you have a caravan with a bathroom, of course, there would be no issue. The staff there are also very nice and helpful, and there’s a café on site too, handy for a spot of breakie if Mum is feeling more lazy than usual (Lazy?! Have you ever missed out on breakfast, O Great One? – Mum).

While we were there I met a new friend. A lady came rushing out of her tent wanting to “stroke the lovely greyhound“!  She also has a doggo who is a greyhound/kelpie cross. Miss Milly is a very cute young lady, sleek and black and the right sort of shape, but considerably more compact than my grey friends. Also, very friendly and could actually “Sit!” for treats, which is more than my athletic physique will let me do.

Oh, and Mum bought some of that fabric stuff. Not sure what it’s good for… It doesn’t smell good, you can’t eat it and she seems to cut it up into small bits distressingly often. Still, seems to make her happy. She says she’s going to post about it too. Bless her, she thinks she’s an expert blogger because she types up mine…

We’re back in Townsville this evening, a day earlier than planned. There was a mix-up with the booking, and Mum isn’t sure if it was her or them as it was all done over the phone, but in any event, Cairns only had us booked till last night instead of tonight. The Townsville place was able to fit us in for an extra night when the Cairns place wasn’t, so it was all hands to the pumps this morning, while I supervised, naturally. To be frank, I’m not sorry. Cairns was rather soggy, although we managed to get away in the morning before it actually started raining.

So, anyway, an extra day here before we finally head home. I shall have to devise ways of keeping the Staff out of Mischief. Leave it with me…

Mouse out.

The Travels of Mouse: too many bends

Hello people, Mouse here.

I’ve had to speak to Dad about this before. It disarranges me to be sliding about in the back of the car while he flings the car around sharp corners (Um, ‘sliding’? ‘flings’? No exaggeration there, then, Mouse? – Mum). Well, anyway. Yesterday they asked if I wanted an outing, which of course I always do, but they didn’t tell me we were going up the Gillies. I urge you to click on the link so you can see my complaint is fully justified… Such a relief to get to the top, even if the Staff were enjoying the view. I do concede there were some decent sniffs to be had out the window and I had my head out a fair bit, bends or no bends.

Sniffs on the Gillies Range

We went to the Mungalli Creek Dairy for lunch. I made sure to position myself at the entrance for maximum attention and admiration, and in prime position to receive suitable bits of Mum’s lunch. Several very nice ladies offered strokies, which was very satisfactory. We’ve been there before several times before, so I won’t bore you except to say biodynamic dairy farm café, tasty cheese, yoghurt and ice cream made on site, and home made cakes and cheesecakes. Mum’s local ham and Havarti cheese toasted focaccia was most acceptable. Dad didn’t let me try his Italian-style focaccia because olives. Fair enough. Suffice to say they have lots of dog-friendly seating, both picnic tables out the front and the whole front verandah area. I approve…

That girly pink bowl belongs to the café, not me!

Carrot cake, flourless chocolate cake

They did bring home cake, though, and I got an exceptionally aromatic dried chicken neck treat which for some reason I wasn’t allowed to have in the car. I can never understand this human obsession with ‘bad’ smells. There are no ‘bad’ or ‘good’ smells. Just smells. We have 50 times more scent receptors in our noses and our sense of smell is 100,000 times more acute than humans. So don’t tell me the human nose is more ‘particular’. You lot are just wired funny.

Crawford’s Lookout, towards the North Johnstone River

On the way home, we stopped at a lookout so Mum could ooh and aaah at the sight of some trees and a river in the distance. Apparently it’s called Crawford’s Lookout and it’s on the Palmerston Highway at Wooroonooran. I wasn’t allowed out of the car because it’s a National Park and apparently I might scare the wildlife.

And then we came home and Mum fiddled about with a needle and bits of fabric and Dad snoozed, and I may or may not have snoozed a bit too.

Not sure what the Staff have planned today for my entertainment. I’ll just snooze a while to conserve my energy till they have it sorted. I’ll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

Mouse out.

The Travels of Mouse: Going Nowhere

Hello people, Mouse here.

Well, it’s been a bit of a washout as far as fabulous travelogues go. And I mean that in the most literal sense. It has rained Every.Single.Day of the holiday, to a lesser or greater extent. Which means that we haven’t done the usual racketing about the countryside looking at Stuff. The tops of the mountains are all “wearing grey angora berets“, to use Mum’s favourite phrase. There are puddles everywhere and I’m having to work quite hard to keep my paws dry, not to mention the nastiness of wet fur when Mum takes my out for my 6am constitutional and commune with nature, ahem…

On the upside of all this, the Staff have been confined to quarters, where I can keep a close eye on them, cadge treats, demand walkies and strokies, and stir them into violent action by the use of carefully- judged farting… Heheheheh!

Advanced snoozing. AKA The Roach…

Of course, when I say a close eye, I mean occasionally lifting a lid during some of my snoozes. As for the farting, the Staff have retaliated by buying scented candles and burning them inside the caravan and additionally restricting my chicken intake, which is an Outrage. I might just possibly have overdone it when it resulted in Mum erupting out of bed and fumbling for candles in the middle of the night. I’m only surprised that it wasn’t Dad, since he’s closer to the, er, Business End. But then he wears one of those weird CPAP things in bed that makes him look like an elephant, so he might not have caught the full impact….

Spare a scrap for a starving doggo?

The other night, we went out for pizza and by virtue of looking especially piteous and starved (despite a more than adequate dinner before we went out – Mum), I scored not only ham off Mum’s pizza, but also BBQ chicken off Dad’s. They certainly paid for that later, hah! I like to play these strategic games to keep them on their toes…

Miss Thelma and Uncle Ron pay a visit

Oh, and one nice bit of news. A very attractive Lady Grey is staying two sites over with her Staff. They are from Melbourne, apparently, and have taken a nice leisurely route north. Her name is Thelma, and she is also a retired racer, but they adopted her directly from the trainer after a rather successful career. She’s 7, so a year older than me, and she’s also quite tall, but not as well-built as I am. I am a Burly Dog, and need lots of space… Uncle Ron and Aunty Sharon are very nice, and are obviously devoted to her, which is always good to see. She’s very friendly and approachable, which just goes to show how well they treat her. I think Mum got quite a decent photo of her on the one sunny morning we’ve had so far!

The forecast for the next couple of days isn’t too flash. I think there will be a lot more rain and non-excitement, but to be honest, I don’t mind too much so long as I get Walkies and we go for regular rides in the car so I can stick my head out and catch all the sniffs.

It’s almost dinnertime, and I can smell what Mum’s got for me. Time to go!

Mouse out 🐾

The Travels of Mouse: A Walk on the Not-Very-Wild Side

Hello people, Mouse here.

I’m tolly zorsted. You know how it is when you meet a whole bunch of new people and you have to be all outgoing and friendly and on your best behaviour? Yeah, like that, but add in the extra dimension of bottom sniffing… To be honest, I don’t know why you humans don’t do that, it helps to break the ice and tell you who the other person really is. Anyway, moving on…

It was the Walk today. We did stuff this morning (like visit Aunty Kate aka Manic Mum for coffee), but this afternoon was the Social event of my week. The Staff (well, Mum really) were a bit concerned that we were going to miss the others as we had a large area to observe, with the added complication of crowds of people. Australia were playing Zimbabwe in a one day international match at the sports stadium at Riverway. (For the uninitiated, that’s cricket. Do NOT ask me to explain the rules. Life is too short). We won. Just saying...

Australia is 1 for 97, if you click on the photo…

Well, we did find everyone. There were 11 greyhounds and two whippets and a few more than 11 Staffs.  It was all a tiny bit overwhelming at first. Mum went round offering treats and petting all the doggos like a great big soppy, no reserve at all. I was a lot a bit more guarded but in the end I’d sniffed every bum and knew who was who. I didn’t get names for all the doggos, but the ones the Staff did record were Nikki, Victor, Millie, Chatz, Bella, Gobi, Tiger, Maxie and the whippets Thorin and Elrond.

I must say, the social anxiety wore off very quickly. Mum and Dad moved up the column with me and chatted to everyone they could, I got in plenty of sniffs, and confirmed that as Mum and Dad have always told me, I was the biggest and most beautiful. Mind you, there were some very pretty doggos. Gobi especially is unusual, he’s a sort of grey/pale amber blend with light brindle markings, and he has light eyes for a greyhound. But most of us were the Best colour, Black. It made quite a spectacular showing!

Halfway through the walk, we all stopped at the riverside and some of us went for a bit of a swim. I paddled… As previously mentioned, I do not care to get wet (possibly something to do with a previous traumatic sperience where I misjudged the footing and fell in went for an involuntary swim. The Staffs all stood around discussing the care and feeding of greys and what our various interesting behaviours mean. And then, sadly, it was time to turn around and head for home.

Mum and Dad have passed on details of the Happy Greys Facebook page and My Blog. We are hoping for new visitors: Gobi’s Staff have parents living in Mackay and will obviously visit at some point, so with luck we’ll see them at a Coffee Morning some time. Thorin & Elrond’s mum makes Dog-wear under the name Sironae Crafts and Mum shared some details about the making of my party collar in case it was helpful. All in all, it was a useful network event for both doggos and Staffs.

We got home tired but happy, I was well fed on top of my bellyful of treats, and have been lying on my bed farting contentedly and continuously with a smirk on my face (you disgraceful and ungrateful hound, you – Mum). Tomorrow we have nothing planned, and I plan to do nothing!

Mouse out.