News Hound Ady & Flo

I never knew house repairs could be so much fun.

All those friendly builders, painters and carpet chaps down on their hands and knees, fixing our broken house, just waiting to have a wet puppy nose planted in their faces. Not to mention cavorting around in the sawdust, running off with tools and sticking my oversize pup paws in the wet paint. The boss doesn't think it's quite so much fun however. He fails to see the funny side of a pipe bursting in the upstairs floor and flooding the entire downstairs; resulting in half the house being dismantled and rebuilt. (About as impressed as when I tell him need to go to the lawn at 2.45am.)

Ironically, he and Mrs Boss thought they'd planned a quiet time to get a puppy – all prepared with the fences tarted up, old D's dog door rebuilt and even the garden shed had a makeover.

Little did they know that a few days after my arrival, the laundry, bathroom, kitchen, dining, lounge and spare room would quickly turn into a paddy field. On top of that, Rena decided to hari-kari on the reef, throwing the newsroom at work into overdrive as well.

How does a puppy cope with such upheaval in my life? Remarkably well, really. Not fazed at all by a handful of industrial blowers and dehumidifiers going 24/7 in my face. A bit like sleeping with a Boeing jet in the next room. Us canines are incredibly versatile critters, we can adjust to anything.

When you're 10 weeks old, it's easy to take it all in your stride, as long as the food and the love keeps coming.

Meanwhile, the nice people in the mobile vet van visited the office this week to bring me up to date with shots. Joerg and Natasha from Mobile Vets just cruised up in their van and delivered whatever a canine needs to keep healthy and vibrant. In my case, it was a bunch of vaccinations and a microchip, which is a bit like a number plate for dogs. Except you wear it on the inside.

Funny, I always thought the microchips were the little bits left in the bottom of the bluebird bag after a Labrador's had his face in it.

Anyway, Joerg gave me a clean bill of health, except saying maybe I was a little light for my size and could do with a bit more tucker!

Hallelujah! That is music to the ears of this foodie.
Next week I'll tell you the story of my adventure on the high seas, but in the meantime, Ady's got a tale about her wild goose chases.

Darn, that girl has a life, meanwhile the Boss and I go walking around the lakes and as I am supposedly a bird dog, I just do what I do, but according to the man, trying to beat Ian Thorpe at his game is not really the thing to do.

We were walking in the morning sun (all serene like), when geese on the water were spotted. I held my best pose, until the boss got to me and as soon as he gave me the sign (secret), into the water I went. After 30 or so minutes and 10km of going round in circles, getting no closer to the #@**!!s and adding to the ignominy, the boss had gone, so I decided to give it a rest for another day.

Wet, happy, but tired I followed the boss man's tracks back to the 'Ady and Flo” mobile. When we caught up, at least, he gave me lots of love and attention and treats, as he reckoned that was the first time bird seeking that I actually did what he told me. Well well, one step for dog kind.

Anyway when base was reached and a few hours kip, it was off to seek out Flo, as my BONE IS MISSING!
Cheers all, have fun out there and enjoy life.

Love from Ady and Flo.

Training by Wendy Graydon, The Dog Trainer. 0210 700 111
Repairs and Maintenance: The Mobile Vet 0800 VETCALL
Sustenance: Ziwipeak.
We do all our own stunts. No geese were harmed in the making of this column, although one or two got a nasty surprise.