Editor's Note: the following post, although published for a blog about gardening, is not principally about a garden. Any reader who is queasy about blind love for one's dog should cease reading now. The editor makes no apology for the smattering of sentimentality and hopeless adoration which follows.
Sonny the brown dog has made himself at home in the garden. Determined to maximise on the limited sunbathing time over the weekend, he lounged on top of the garlic and carrot plants for the most direct hit of sunshine. sigh.
It took several grrrr's to get him off his comfy position and the flattened flora. And somehow, as he looked quizzically at me, I managed to feel guilty! How the hell did he do that??
So, in an attempt to distract from this unsavoury habit of his, I decided to bring him along to a big day out with friends in the city.
Fresh from 4 years on the farm, sharing a neighbourhood with a brood of brazen lady chooks, Sonny the kelpie trotted off early into the big smoke for the day, casual as ever.
Waiting at the train station, a couple of locals in tracksuit pants and empty liquor bottles ambled past calling out " Hey look, it's red dog!". ( I only wondered for a second then whether this city trip was such a good idea before those lads kept on walking...)
He sat obediently at the end of the train carriage until it was time to alight at central. Navigating the huge flight of stairs, a gazillion people, ticket barriers and drones of traffic, he then raced with me down a spiral staircase and over to the ferry where our friends were waiting for us. Fare paid, he jumped onto his first ever ferry and introduced himself amiably to the bum of the other handsome dog on board.
On the hour-long ride he nosed his way around a constant supply of pats from the human passengers and then tried out the ol' sea dog act for a while.
After sharing some fish and chips, and checking out the seaside scene at Williamstown for an hour or two, he jumped back onto another ferry back to the city, snuggling up to the little kids and nice ladies all the way (sook).
When it was decided by the humans that an afternoon ale might go down well, he accompanied us to a riverside bar and dozed as the sun started to set.
Before parting ways and heading back to the train home, we spent the last half hour of daylight doing sonny's favourite thing - hitting the tennis ball up the hill for him to chase. This lovely photo was taken by jofo, fellow appreciator of dogs and suspected secret admirer of sonny:
Thinking about that day and his charming reactions to his new alien world, really, what's there not to love??
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