Yves' close encounter

Some of you may remember a post I did awhile ago on a dog we affectionately dubbed "Tramp" due to his uncanny ability to jump up onto the fence when you walked past at lunch time.

Occasionally you can be in your own little world and Tramp can catch you a little off guard, as my fellow illustrator Yves discovered one day. this particularly incident inspired me at the time to whip up this scribble.

Puppy Profile: Holly

One of my fellow illustrators, Brad, has a young Kelpie named Holly.

It would seem that Holly is your kind of adventurous act first, ask questions later kind of pup.

Holly loves her ball, the beach, and chasing her ball at the beach. It just took her awhile to grasp the concept that water is not as easy to run on top of as sand.

It can certainly come as a rude shock when you're baring down on you favourite tennis ball and the ground disappears out from underneath you, and then the next thing you know, you're having a salt water bath!

Have included some wonderful photos of Holly when she was young taken by Brad's brother.

Covorting with the enemy

I've often wondered why it is that some dogs will quite happily live in harmony with cats, others will take not interest in them, and then others will look at a cat like its the greatest remote control chew toy of all time.

I wonder if those dogs think of their doggie brethren as traitors when the see them covorting with the enemy.

Space walk - One small step in slow motion

Was thinking to myslef this morning how funny it is to see an owner chasing their dog that has got off the leash and is chasing something. Take that amusing situation and place it in the low gravity of the moon and we have our very frustrating astronaut calling out in the vacuum of space as he pursues (in low gravity bouncing slow mo) his moon rover. :)

Another day older - Chase that Ball

Well, its the day after and I must say I'm feeling pretty good. It was a great birthday and i'm feeling pretty good about things. So its back to reality and back to chasing the ball!

Birthday!!! - what do puppies dream of

Its that mixture of excitement and dread that makes up any birthday of mine these days today. The excitement of presents and nice dinners, mixed with the dread of being yet another year older.

I was unwrapping a present this morning with my dogs staring happily up at me. They didn't know what was going on but to them it seemed pretty exciting. I wondered if they knew when they got a year older, and if so what did they wish for as birthday presents.

And so hence this lil illustration that i startedas i was waiting for the car to warm up...lil dog, big present!

Puppy Profile: Bella

Meet Bella.
She's a young and energetic boxer with a serious underbite when she smiles and a penchant to act a lil more human than any dog has a right to :). Bella belongs to my mate Jemma and the two share a very close bond. Bella went in a a bit of an operation today and I'm glad to say came through with flying colors.
I did this pick a while ago for Jem when Bella was very sick. Whilst I got the underbite I somehow think the picture doesn't do justice to the personality that Bella seems to exhibit in the many tales I've heard of her (mis)adventures.
My favourite story of Bella consists of the time that Bella decided that droopy boxer jowels could do with a bit of botox - the solution - try and eat a bee, suffer an alergic reaction and presto, no more droopy jowels. Don't ry that one at home pups.
I've been told there is a photo of this. Hopefully one day I'll get the chance to post it here.

The walk... or is it a social event?

The walk. Dogs love it more than life itself I think. The chance to get out into your neighbourhood, check your messages and leave a few of your own. I can only be so grateful that humans do not feel the urge to check where other humans have peed. That could certainly make for some very uncomfortable social events!
We humans like the walk because its a chance to give us and the dogs some much needed exercise. Mind you Alana walks the dogs a heck of a lot more than me, but I still feel expert enough to comment on this! My pet hate however, is how many times the dogs feel they need to stop to sniff things!...and seriously don't get me started on how much pee one dog can possibly hold on to! They must have bionic bladders.
Do you reckon that dogs in medieval times did the same when they went outdoors with their owners. What about natives in the deepest jungles? Do they take their dogs for a walk? Do they find themself standing there tapping their foot and scratching their top knot as lil rover marks his territory?