The RSPCA Million Paws Walk

The RSPCA Million Paws Walk occurred back in May but we had such a great time there that I wanted to show you what is was like. It was lucky that the date of the RSPCA Million Paws Walk was on after Henley had received his last lot of puppy vaccine shots. We headed out early and I have never seen so many different breeds and sheer number of dogs in one area. Henley walked with a spring in his step and his tongue out with a grin that reached his eyes. Pet stalls stretched the length of the park selling a variety of pet products. Canine cakes and handmade morsels attracted many dogs and thereby their owners into stocking their cupboards with delicious artisan treats. The stalls were all doggy targeted with collars, id tags, clothes, toys, beds and much more but don't worry the humans weren't  forgotten a few stalls where the humans could refuel and recharge with coffee, sandwiches, and sausage sizzles.

When it came time for the walk to officially start we lined up near the beginning arch. Here Henley met quite a few friends.

Waiting for mums regular pose shot.

Hi I'm Henley!

This place is great!

Come on lets wrestle!

Oh who are you?

 We chose to take the shorter 2 kilometre walk opposed to the 4 kilometre walk as Henley zigzags and does twice as many metres then if he walked in a straight line. Taking our time and meeting many new faces canine and human on the way we made the loop course back to where we first started.

Meeting a cattle dog or two.

Dad and Henley trailing along.

 When we got back to the main hub of the Million Paws Walk where all of the stalls and activities were taking place we had a bite to eat and indulged in some people and dog watching. Many competitions such as best dressed human and pooch brought out the competition in some and it was great to see Mighty Woof and Farmer Dave's agility Park run demonstration. Wherever we walked Henley made his once secret mission blatantly obvious, operation meet and greet every Great Dane he can! He especially loved playing with one stunning blue Dane that caught his eye (and heart).

Pouncing around to get her attention.

From down here you look even bigger.

Perhaps if I crouch she'll bend down to my height?

Lets go you giant saucy minx.

Wow I can nearly reach your tonsils.

Umpf that's ok I like to play rough too!

Oh little puppy bring it on!

Stealing a kiss or two.

The Great Danes were defiantly Henley's favourite part of the whole day, even when he met a couple of his fellow Hungarian Vizsla's he kept searching the crowd for the gentle giants. Henley did spot a couple of dogs standing on the outskirts of the park that looked quite large from a distance so we slowly but steadily headed over to greet them with Henley pulling on the leash the whole way trying to get us there faster. But as we got closer Henley noticed that they just seemed to appear taller and taller. At one point he paused and looked up at me like: "mum do you believe this? These can't be dogs, they're too big aren't they?"

Wow how did you get this big? If keep eating non-stop will I get this big too?

(Sigh) puppies and their endless energy.

Irish Wolfhounds are another breed of dog I admire and one of the three we met here only had three legs. But don't worry that didn't hold her back in anyway.

From this angle he doesn't appear as tall as he really was.

After meeting the Irish Wolfhounds it was clear that an over excited puppy wasn't someone they were interested in wrestling with (as much as Henley tried to entice them in a game) so we said our hellos and goodbyes and made our way back through the crowd to where we caught a lift home.

We had a great day at the RSPCA Million Paws Walk and will defiantly be attending it again next year. Raising money for a great cause and getting to meet all types of dogs (and people) we went home very tired and happy.

Homebush Olympic Park

Back in May when Henley was nearly four months old I took him to Homebush Olympic park. The olympic precinct is jam packed full of great things to do with your family and many of the places allow you to bring your dog (as long as they are on leash). So as part of his socialisation we (Henley my father and I) headed off to the suburb. Built for the 2000 Sydney olympics the entire site is now used for sporting events, concerts, exhibitions, the Sydney Royal Easter show, conferences, restaurants and a hotel as well as being the home for many businesses. Surrounding all of the buildings are dedicated green pathways, parks, a bird sanctuary (no dogs allowed there) and even a frog sanctuary. Before the olympic precinct was built the entire area was full of industrial factories and subsequently industrial waste had polluted the waters and soil there. Across the site there can be found multiple man made hills that you can walk up or ride your bike to the top of. These hills are intact landfill and rubbish, but you wouldn’t know just from seeing or walking on them. It’s great that they changed the whole area into a family friendly and native fauna and flora friendly zone.

One of the many hills/mounds scattered across the site.

The main park where you can hire and ride your bikes, have picnics, eat at the cafe, let the kids play in the multiple sandpits, climbing frames, swings and slides and have a great day with your family is Bicentennial Park. A 40 hectare parkland one of the best areas within the park (in my opinion) is the two water play areas. First we went to the spraying water fountain up near all of the main arenas. Large jets of water are sprayed in an arc and the water runs down the steps into a large manmade pond/ lake. Henley loves water, especially when he can splash his paws in it so there was no stopping him from getting into the water and chasing it down the stairs.

Hmm what's going on here, where's the water going?

Quick lets follow!

My shadows in the splashing water.

Oh don't breath in when you have your nose in the water, eugh!

I kept him on the leash because I know that if he was off it he would have followed the water all the way down and into the pond and its not a dog friendly place to swim.

Ok Mum what are we doing here?

Water spurts up out of the ground in different patterns and at different speeds. On hot summer days this area is always packed with families and there's always kids running in and out of the water trying to keep cool and play games.

Pawing at the water spout.

What it gets bigger!

Ahh water up my nose, water up my nose!

How does the water keep coming and then disappearing?

After leaning in too far and having the water shoot up to get him in the nose we decided to spend sometime on the grass drying off.

Make sure you get my good side mother.

Really no more pictures mum.

NO MORE PHOTOS MUM!

Just one more sweety.

Snuggles in the car on the way home.

Henley loved our adventure to the Olympic Park and we'll definitely be going back again another day.

And In the Red Corner!

Today’s post is all about the ongoing war that exists in our house between Tess the senile seventeen year old tabby in the blue corner and Henley the seven month old young rogue with endless energy and a penchant for trouble in the red corner. When Henley first came home as an eight week old puppy I was happily surprised that Tess wasn’t afraid of him and was actually quite intrigued but the vivacious ball of energy. It also helped that he was a little bit shorter than her too. He was initially wary of her and so all of the humans in the house breathed a sigh of relief. 

But and there’s always a but, he started to grow, and grow, and grow. And with his increase in size so did his confidence, determination, sneakiness and ninja-like skills. Tess was no longer the big cat on the block, Henley went from double her size to quadruple her size in a matter of weeks. 

Tess has been with me for her whole life, rescued from the bush with her sister and brother she and her brother came home from being adopted at the vets. I chose Tess the little female tabby with quite a lot of ginger throughout her coat and my sister chose her bigger brother and named him Spider.

Spider

Tess

Tess grew into a medium sized cat whereas her brother Spider grew into cat with gigantic proportions. At 10 kilograms (and not fat) he ruled the roost, albeit rather casually and with plenty of smooches and naps to while away the days. Sadly Spider died four years ago from complications with a cancerous tumour that had grown in his digestive tract. I didn’t have much personal experience with animals and how they respond to severe change or grief but when Spider died Tess didn’t take it well at all. She spent the first few days he was gone walking all over the house and putting her paws up on surfaces to see if he was on them. She went off her food and spent the majority of her time pacing around the house calling out without getting an answer from him. Her food refusal got so bad that we took her to the vet fearing it wasn’t just grief but that she may be ill. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong with her and suggested giving her some of her favourite foods to entice her back into eating. Luckily the minute we brought her home she went straight to the food bowl and demolished a full serving of food. It felt like she was saying “I’ll eat, I’ll eat just don’t take me back to the scary vet.”

Skitz the Crazy

My sister moved out of home years ago to Melbourne but came back home and brought two cats with her. Skitz a crazy cat who wishes he was the only cat in the house and Princess who is more commonly known as Larney, Wei Wei or Burger (she has many nicknames). Larney is a lover and an eater but no fighter, which Skitz more than makes up for. Luckily when Henley came along it gave Tess quite a reprieve from Skitz’s bullying ways as he (and still) wants nothing to do with the loud dog thing.

Larney the lover.

Tess is set in her ways and resolutely demands to stay in the living room (the area that has been sectioned off with a baby gate to prevent Henley from going into the carpeted lounge room). And now that Henley sees Tess as a great challenge that must be engaged and pestered at all costs the peace and quiet is but a distant memory. Henley often tries to get Tess to play with him but she either doesn’t see his barking in her face, play bowing and racing around the living room as play or is just not in the mood. She is quite tolerant of his boisterous and rude manners concerning his elders (Tess) and hisses or gives him a swipe without her claws. However his playful (in his mind) nips and pawing of her that due to his sized knocks her off her feet quickly means that she has had enough and grows at him. He of course takes the growling and hissing as the sign to take it to the next level. This is where the noise goes to the next level and hey are separated like siblings who fight because they are bored or because they want attention. I often ask my mum or dad “Jenna (my older sister) and I were never this bad were we?” And Jenna and I used to fight almost all of the time growing up. So now when we hear Tess’s growl we split her and Henley up.

One of the few times where a truce is called in favour of sharing the sun.

They do have their moments when they seem to have developed a truce, mainly when there is precious sunlight that they both want to relax in or when Henley is just too tired to continue on with a battle. Tess is also a fan of Henley's comfortable cushiony bed and loves to sneak a little nap on it any time she can.

She has many beds all around the house, but you know what they say a stolen bed is the best!

There's room for two.

Mum really do I have to share? Why?

If I lean on her she'll leave on her own.

These times of truce are a quiet blessing that we all enjoy.

Do you have pets that get along one minute and are at blows the next? Henley is convinced that Tess is out to get him whereas Tess blatantly denies any wrongdoing and blames it on the annoying young whippersnapper.