Kangaroo Valley Voice - Lazyfish Technology

July 2008 Kangaroo Valley Voice Page 13Toffer’s tricks are just part of his appealAt the end of last year we had to haveour 15 year-old Labrador put down.It had got to the point where he couldhardly see, hear or walk and we knew itwas time.For the last few years he had spent his daysmainly asleep, just waking to eat and give us awag of his tail and a lick, totter outside and thensettle down to sleep again.We had got used to his sedentary lifestyle, theway he quietly melded into the woodwork andgot on with his business of sleeping withoutdisturbing us at all.But suddenly we were dogless and the houseseemed very empty.It was time for a new pup. We had decided wedidn’t want a carbon copy of Tenzing, ourprevious yellow Lab.He had been so wonderful that we didn’t wantto be constantly comparing a new pup with ourold companion.This time we would break with tradition andhave a black Lab.So into our lives bounded three-month-oldToffer, a pitch black bundle of mischief.At night the only part of him you can see are thewhites of his eyes; two little round white ringsof tissue staring out at you from thecamouflaging darkness were at first quitedisconcerting, until you felt his rough tonguelovingly licking your hand.He quickly wriggled his way into our hearts andlives and proceeded to make our place his homeand playground.For the first three months he surprised us by hisdocility.He was small for a Lab, but with a big headand paws that he is only just starting to growinto. Small, quiet and well-behaved; wedecided our previous fears about a young doghad been groundless.There was nothing to this puppy business.And then he turned six months old and spranginto life with all an adolescent’s disregard forrules and regulations.The first sign we had of his changed outlook onlife was our shredded swimming pool.A collapsible 12 foot circular pool, it had beenjust the thing for us to flop into at the end of ahot day, or for the kids to play around in.We had just drained it and were drying it inpreparation for its winter storage, but Tofferfound it just too tempting.“Our fault”, we said, “we should never have leftit around”. That was before he attacked the oldrecliner chair on the verandah.We had bought this chair during the early yearsof our marriage in Canada.We have a photo of three-month-old Katrinalounging in it. We had dragged it all the wayback from Canada and eventually Chris had reupholsteredit.When it was finally replaced last year wecouldn’t bear to part with such an old friend,and it was wonderful to stretch out on in thecool of the verandah.But Toffer had other plans, and we went outone morning to find its stuffing strewn all overthe verandah and lawn.Admittedly Toffer wasn’t the only oneresponsible.My daughter’s seven-month-old Kelpie had ahand in it. In fact, I think they egged each otheron as they raced backwards and forwards seeingwho could drag out the largest piece of stuffing.So the poor chair was consigned to the tip.And then there was my sister-in-law’s brandnew Italian shoes that we found with the toeschewed completely off; a visitor’s medicinebag which Toffer had carefully ferreted outof a packed suitcase and was in the process ofscattering the contents over the lawn whenhe was found – fortunately before he hadswallowed any of the pills.No cupboard is safe.We couldn’t work out what on earth had causedhis stomach to be so swollen one night that hecould hardly walk.Then we found all the potatoes had disappearedfrom the bottom of the pantry.There were many trips outside that night!But the saddest theft was the smallest.All that our grandson wanted for his birthdaywas a praying mantis.They’re not the most popular item in pet storesand his father had been trying everywhere tofind one.We couldn’t believe it when a couple of weeksbefore his birthday, his mother looked down onher arm and found one just sitting there.It was magic; the answer to a prayer!ReflectionsWe carefully putit in an old icecream containerfilled with alldifferent sorts ofleaves, as none ofus were too surewhat a prayingmantis actuallyate, and covered itwith aerated gladwrap so Samcould watch him.Sam was elated,but you can guesswhat happened.by Jenelle BrangwinToffer knowswhat comes in ice-cream containers; hesometimes gets old ones to lick.Despite the fact that we had left this one on topof the outside fridge, by the morning it haddisappeared and all we later found was onewell-licked ice-cream container and a fewscattered leaves.Poor Sam!Toffer is not all bad and he does try.He’s good with our chickens and ducks,watches them curiously and although hewould love them to play with him he leavesthem alone, and if he finds an egg he carriesit ever so carefully in his mouth withoutleaving a single mark!He loves to be with the horses, often sittingright by Blackie the Shetland’s head as hegrazes in the paddock and I’ve even witnessedthe two black heads sharing a bucket of feed!He mostly comes when called, he’s pretty goodat sitting and will stay for a reasonable amountof time before it all gets too boring and heforgets what he’s doing at any rate.He barks at strange noises from the safety ofthe verandah, letting us know that he’s incharge of the place and won’t let any outsiderscreep up on us.But he’s the one that’s done the creeping; rightinto our lives and there’s no way we would bewithout him.ForValley Voiceadvertisingplease phone44 651 621Shoalhaven Spring Water Pty LtdABN: 48 114 801 259PO Box 4050, East Nowra NSW 2541Phone: (02) 4423.3316Fax: (02) 4422.6073Email: sswater@optusnet.com.auDelivery to Kangaroo Valley on Fridays