Riley and his D.O.

My mum says that I’ve given my best friends D.O.  but I think my little friends are all perfect, and they have never told me that they have a problem with this. In fact I spend a lot of time carrying them around, resting my head on them and taking them outside or to my humans so we can all play together, but she says sometimes coating them with my Doggie Odour and drool gets too much and smells bad. 

Now I think D.O. is good (as I know where to “seek” my friends around the house when mum plays a game hiding them for me to find) but this horror story starts when I am not looking.

She rounds up my favourite friends (currently Horsey, Duckie, Quack and Rudolf) plus my chew rope and the rugs I sleep on and tries to drown them all. I hear strange gurgling noises. I can hear them crying out to me, but can’t get inside the big white box to them to show them how to always swim with their head above the water like I do.

After what seems like forever, and lots more strange noises and beeps from the nasty white box, she takes them out and attaches little torture devices to them so they hang on wires.

I am too short to help them, and even if I could get up really high, I haven't yet worked out how to use my paws to gently free them.

Then the fresh air spins my friends round and round, and they get dizzy and I notice that they look pale.

All I can do is wait underneath the wires and speak to them with gentle barks to let them know I am there and this unpleasantness will soon be over.

While I am waiting ramdom thoughts go through my head like:

• Should I report my mum to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Stuffies?
• What can our neighbours think of her strange behaviour?
• And why does she make strange comments about getting all my ducks in a row? Doesn’t she realise that two yellow ducklings hardly makes a row, although sometimes my grey and green ducks are also subjected to this torture and there are four to six ducks hanging there.

Then, after what seems like ages, we are finally together again and I realise that I love my friends even more for the things they endure just to be with me.

Have a great day, and remember to appreciate your friends.
Riley

Wordless Wednesday - Fighting my garden hose

Happy New Year

Greetings from New Zealand. Today was a public holiday so I was taken for a late afternoon walk around some of our Auckland bays. Firstly I went for a short car ride (I love going in the car) to Tamaki Drive, and we parked just round from Okahu Bay (near Kelly Tarltons which is an underground aquarium built in the holding tanks of Auckland's first sewage station!).

This is me with Rangitoto Island behind me. Rangitoto is an active volcano, although it hasn't erupted for over six hundred years, so I felt quite safe.

A different view of me, with North Head behind me to the left and Rangitoto island to the right.

My humans decided the first thing to do was walk to the end of Orakei Wharf which you can see in the photo below. I took the high road, also know as the wall beside the footpath. For those who know Auckland, you will now notice Devonport in the background.

The photo below was taken at the end of Orakei wharf. There were lots of people fishing all along the wharf, and I even saw a several fish being caught, but I managed to resist the temptation of eating the smelly bait, knives and fish hooks that were left on the ground in front of me.

Looking the other way, from the end of the wharf,  is Auckland's central business district. It looks grey, as there were some clouds in the sky.

Then a long walk back to the road...

and we turned right and continued on to Mission Bay (which is behind me in the photo below). The wharf , where I started my walk, is at the very right of this photo.  

Then my humans decided the sun was too hot to keep going to St Helliers, so we returned to Mission Bay for some food (they got some hot chips and let me have some!) and of course I had some of the water that my mum had carried on our walk especially for me.   

Both the beach and park were busy with people having picnics and playing games with their family and friends. I got to meet some new dogs, and had strangers pat me.

On the way back we stopped at Mission Bay fountain, which is in the park in front of Mission Bay beach.

Then another enjoyable car ride, and I was home in time for my evening meal, and the chance to snooze in front of the TV with my family.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with the things that you love and enjoy most.

Woofs,
Riley