Birthday

Our dog Zac is 12 today. He is getting really old now and I can see him slowing down. He is going blind and deaf and just not as quick off the mark as he use to be. When he awakes from a long nap, of which there are many, there is a stretching and creaking in his bones. 

He still meets me at the bottom of the driveaway every time I get home and runs up beside my car making me laugh at his excitement in the rearview mirror. He still gets excited when my Mum comes to visit as he knows there are treats in her bag and he will be spoilt. 

He still loves to go for a drive and always minds my seat until I get back.

He still loves cuddles from Busy who has loved him from the moment she first saw him. She misses him when we go away and she often points to him when he is asleep and says "look Mumma look how cute he is..." he is still tolerant of her insistence that he lays in her lap. 

 He is still  the biggest sooki-la-la in the world and is so gentle with kids despite his 30kg size. He has taught so many children that not all dogs are scary. 

He still gets under my feet all day and drives me crazy. 

He still loves cream and milk and all thing dairy.

He still clip clops down the hallway every night and sneaks into our bedroom and lays down next to me on the floor. 

He is still the master of pleading doggy eyes.

He still barks at every car that comes up the driveway and puts on his scary bark when people he doesn't know arrive and Chef isn't home. He often has couriers too scared to get out of the truck until they see me. 

He is still my most loyal friend. 

He is such a big part of our lives and we have been so lucky to have him for another year. 

Happy Birthday Zaccy-boy. 

Please don't leave us for a very very long time. 

Best Buddy Birthday

Zac is 11 today. I cannot believe he is 11. People are often shocked that he is 11.

He is pretty good for his age, as we live in a huge steep hill and he runs up and down it every time someone arrives at our house, his heart is strong.

When he wakes from his many naps in the sun , he is a bit stiff and slow, he is going deaf and we know he has lost a bit of his eye sight, but he is still spritely. 

He is going a little grey under his chin- but still so very handsome. 

He will chase a ball until he is panting so hard that I think he is going to have a heart attack. 

 He is clever, he remembers a ball/ stick thrower for years. He has learnt when people arrive if you are waiting with a ball of stick and you drop it inside their car they will pick it up every time and throw it. 

He first dropped a ball in Busys lap when she was 2 weeks old- she started throwing it ( dropping it) at about 5 months old. 

He is patient and tolerant of children and other dogs.

He loves Busy and she loves him, she loves nothing more than him falling asleep with his head on her lap.

he loves it when we dress him up- he gets very excited! 

 He knows when I am sad and he looks at me with his head on the side with a look of such genuine concern that only other dog owners can understand.  

He can make me feel better, when sometimes nothing else can. 

When you scratch him under the chin, he puts his paw up to push your hand down to his chest where likes scratches and rubs best of all.

 He drives me crazy sometimes with his constant need to be under my feet and he does the most horrific whizpoppers you have ever smelt, honestly, I have no hair left on the inside of my nostrils. 

The last big sigh he makes before he goes to sleep at night is one of my favourite sounds. 

The middle of the night chchchchchch ( his nails on the wooden floor) down the hallway sound as he creeps into our room and lays on the floor beside me.

He has the ability to hear a chip packet open from several acres away. 

He has a love of dairy- cream in particular, like I have never seen before.

He still gets scared during storms.

I could not imagne my life without him.

Happy Birthday Zac. We all love you so. 

( Zac ate three pieces of this cake, had 2 lamb shanks for dinner and new toys to play with) 

10 years today

Ten years ago today, I saw you, 6 weeks old and the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life! You came over to me and sat on my foot.  I was at Candelo Markets in southern NSW and I had no intention of getting a dog. I was living in a terrace share house in Sydney and was at uni and living just above the poverty line... But when I looked down and saw you and picked you up and you looked at me, well I just felt the strongest feeling, I knew I had to take you home. Look at him- resistance was futile!

You  my special man in fur coat. My best mate.  A few nights ago we couldn't find you for a few hours, the terror I felt was too awful to even remember now, if something ever happened to you.... 

Has it really been ten years? I couldn't imagine you not being under my feet, beside my bed when I sleep. Except when you fart, that is not nice.  

...but I love you anyway...

* I took these photos last week when it WASN'T raining cats and dogs like it is now!! No Global Carnival for us today.... devastating.... it has been cancelled... don't forget giveaway here