Last day of March

This month, we’ve been in three different states (SA, VIC, and NSW), checked out a fire station, did a whole lot of disc, and went swimming in a lake. It sure went by fast, but somehow March was packed full of… well, stuff!

 

We managed to avoid the flooding through NSW, although there’s still a bit of water lying around in Wilcannia.

 

We were all up early this morning, some of us at sunrise, and got some gorgeous photos!

 

Yesterday and today we’ve been seeing these REALLY old cars. To celebrate 100 years since the first west to east crossing of Australia, a group of people are driving across there using the same type of cars that were around in 1912. How cool is that?

Jireh says they look like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! (that’s his all time favourite movie at the moment!)

 

As for the team’s training - the dogs are all pretty laid back at the moment after two hour bush walks and a few hours playing fetch over the last few days. Our routines for WS still need a fair bit of work. Tess and Sparkie are learning some new tricks.

 

And Mr and Mrs Fluffy are expecting little fluffies at the end of May!

Fire station!

Last time we were in Broken Hill, NSW, in November, I was always looking for excuses to walk/drive past the local fire station. So when we came through Broken Hill again this week, our walking track through town included walking past the fire station. And on Monday, we got to check out the fire truck! The firefighter was happy to show us around and we even got to SIT IN THE FIRE TRUCK!! It was so exciting. But kinda unfortunately, it happened something like this…

I was sitting up on the back bed watching an episode of Emergency on the computer, when suddenly I heard bang! bang! bang! of feet hitting the steps at the front of the bus. Then thuds as whoever it was raced up the “hallway.” It was Chantel, eyes shining, practically bursting with excitement. “Guys, guys, guys! Come on, come on, you wanna see the fire truck?” she shouted, before turning and thundering back down the hallway. Jessica hit the pause button on the video and we exchanged confused looks. “Chantel, what happened? Chantel?” Bang! bang! bang! and she was out the door again. Jessica, Chana, and me scrambled off the bed and thundered after Chantel. I was first out the door and saw Mummy standing just outside the big roller doors of the fire station. And she wasn’t alone. She was with a firefighter. “Jess, did you shut the bus door?” I asked as Jessica joined me. Chana flew past us. “Nope,” came Jessica’s short reply. “Man, I hope Sparkie stays inside.” I couldn’t help getting excited though. We all filed in beside the fire truck and eagerly watched as the firefighter opened the door to it and asked us if we wanted to hop in. I couldn’t help grinning like a Cheshire cat as I climbed in. I was IN a fire truck! I also kinda lost my tongue, leaving Jessica to answer the questions. Apart from things like, “Yeah,” “Uh huh,” or nodding, I was pretty much silent the whole time. The firefighter showed us his helmet, some cool heat detecting thing-ummy, and then we all climbed out again. After a tour of all the equipment they use, the firefighter gave us a handful of balloons and temporary tattoos. And suddenly it was over. We thanked him and walked out of the station. I finally found my voice again. “Wasn’t that just awesome?! We got to sit in a REAL fire truck! How AWESOME is that, guys? A REAL fire truck! And we got to talk to a REAL firefighter in a REAL fire station!” And for the rest of the day, I pretty much talked about it non-stop.

But in the rush, nobody thought to bring a camera. So the next day we parked nearby and took some photos while the doors were open. Hmm, I wonder when we can check out another one…

Happy 1st birthday Gyvie!

Actually his birthday was yesterday, but we had no internet access at our camp. I lost count of how many times we said “Happy birthday Gyvie!” after about ten! Little Gyvie (or not so little now) was born around 10am the day of Serenity’s funeral.

Gyvie’s mother, Misty, went missing in January last year (I can’t remember the exact date!). We were parked up on a hill avoiding the Gympie floods. When we had to leave without her we were understandably upset. But imagine our surprise when we returned a few days later and found Misty again! She was starving and very thirsty and happy to see us!! Unfortunately we accidently left her behind at a camp one day, and when we returned to find her somebody told us someone else had taken her home with them.

A lot of people ask us “how do you travel with a cat?!” I guess Gyvie’s never known anything different – he was born and raised in the bus. His first bus trip was when he was just three hours old.

 

Gyvie’s littermates went off to their new homes one by one, but with Misty gone we wanted to keep a kitten. Gyvie ended up the last one left, so we kept him. He’s really sweet natured and I think he thinks he’s a dog! He’ll come up and lie next to Lassie, rub on Sparkie’s legs, and hide behind a seat to bop Sambo when he walks past!

Midway checkpoint

Well, it’s halfway through March already. With just seven weeks until the Wallumbilla Show, the team is FINALLY getting a bit worked up and starting to sort out routines! We’re now on the show website – check it out here.

 

We had a really good storm here today, bit of wind, lots of rain and thunder and lightning. After a REALLY hot day, it was a nice cool down!

 

March 12 went fairly ok, as good as it could be I guess. We had a cake, did the dog routines, etc. Tried to keep it like a normal birthday but it wasn’t easy. So glad it only happens once a year!

In Memory

Tomorrow would be Serenity’s first birthday. She’d be walking and talking and smiling. If she’d lived, that is. But she didn’t, and here we are, about to celebrate a life that lasted just thirteen hours. I can’t really be bothered writing out the whole story again, and it’s pretty sad so I’ll just stick to the stuff I put in my diary.

12/03/2011
It's today! Woke up at 6:30am (QLD time) when Mummy's waters broke all over the front seat, and took Sparkie for an off-lead RUN to calm down a bit! Talk about a good start to the morning. I've always dreamed of going for a run at dawn and it's just like I imagined! :) Let all the dogs out for a pee and then they all went back to bed. "Serenity" was born at 8am, and sadly passed away at 9pm. I love you, my dear little sister! :( No training today. Took the dogs out for a few pee stops, but we spent most of the day at the hospital. :(

14/03/2011
Really wishing I'd wake up from this nightmare! :( Short on lead walk for Sparkie this morning. Mummy's ringing around, sorting out the funeral and stuff. Surreal! Sparkie spent a bit more time outside today, tied up to the bus. Spent a lot more time with her too. Hard times! :(

15/03/2011
Early night last night, sorry I forgot to update! Got Sparkie a new tuggy yesterday. She loves it! The funeral is at 1:30pm on March 17. Gonna be pretty hard! Took Sparkie out for a pee stop and did a bit of random training inside. Went for a good jog with her up and down a running track, then gave her a dentastik. She loves those! Still sorting out the funeral details, I'm organising a speech and stuff. Got the results from the autopsy in the afternoon - they say it was the cord around the neck that killed Serenity. :( Sparkie had a good time on the long lead later, spent some time letting her be an idiot. She's pretty hyper right now!

23/03/2011
Sorry I took so long to update - been a hectic week! I did my speech at the funeral, that's all over now. Misty had 7 kittens on the 17th, in the morning. Yes, same day as the funeral! :) But unfortunately #6 was a stillborn, so Misty only has 6 live kittens - three ginger tabbies, two cream, and one gray tabby. We're not sure if they're boys or girls yet! Sparkie's been getting a lot more exercise, she is still doing great off-lead, even in public! :D We've been doing a bit of training, lots of fetch and romping with the other dogs. She's enjoying it! Been keeping in touch with Chelsea Marriner too - she's been a great help with Sparkie's recall issue.

 

I don’t how I would have coped with all that horrible stuff without Sparkie. She never complained and barked at being cooped up, just let me have a few days off training and pretty much doing ANYTHING. I remember stumbling out of the hospital that night and being too tired to do anything else except mumble the story in Sparkie’s ear then go to sleep. I also remember how well behaved she was at the funeral, and in fact all the dogs were good at the funeral, despite the lack of exercise. We had people from DCS and police officers and funeral whatevers coming in and out nearly every day and Sparkie just took in all in her stride. When I finally got my head back together she was my focus and I spent so much time with her. Even now if I’m feeling upset about something she’ll come up and put her head on my knee or just follow me around.

 

I want to thank everybody who has commented on my blog. It’s great to know people do actually care. The past 12 months have been really hard for my whole family and I really appreciate just knowing you guys are reading this. A lot of people have said things along the lines of “I know how you feel,” or “I’ve been through the same thing,” and then we find out they had an abortion or miscarriage. That is NOT the same as losing a baby that you held in your arms and really, REALLY didn’t want to lose.

This time last year

We were in Dungog NSW. Our cat Misty was heavily pregnant, and so was Mummy. We were guessing who’d give birth first. Sparkie had just learned to come when she was called and I delighted in taking her for off lead walks.

^ Sparkie and me, February and early March, Dungog NSW ^

Just a warning – this post, and the next few posts, might be kinda sad. This one definitely is. It’s coming up to that time of year. Don’t worry though, there’s happier stuff down the bottom of this post. I won’t be offended if you just scroll past all the heavy stuff and go down to read about the latest Superdog news.

 

Ok, here goes. I’m not gonna say March 12 this year is going to be easy. In fact, I’m saying it’s going to be hard. With all the floods in NSW we’re unable to get to Newcastle in time to visit the cemetery. I know I haven’t said much publicly about it all, but I’m planning on saying more on the day. It’s hard to believe Serenity would be nearly a year old. What are we going to do for her birthday? Trick routines, definitely. I’ve nearly sorted mine and I’m pestering the rest of the team to get theirs organized. Apart from that, I have no idea what we’re doing for it.

And Gyvie. Our beautiful kitten now nearly a year old too, who was born around 10am the morning of March 17, the day of Serenity’s funeral. It’s hard to explain how I feel about him. Something along the lines of “God took something and God gave something.” Gyvie doesn’t really fill the gap left in our lives, but he’s special to all of us.

 

And here’s the promised happy news. We got a new frisbee and the dogs are doing great with it! Sparkie’s getting fairly consistent 3/5 and the occasional 4/5. Tess is sticking with 3/5 mostly but she’s got a few 4/5 and 5/5. Lassie usually gets 1/5 or 2/5 – she gets 3/5 and 4/5 when I throw, so I’ve told Chana to practice more. Chantel also needs to work on her throwing style, but Sambo’s getting 1/5 usually which is pretty good as it’s his first time with a frisbee.