Jacky:

Every time I leave a house sit, I feel a little sad as I say goodbye to the animals that have been part of our lives for the last little while. I felt this way after leaving Billie the Westie in Peregian Springs and did not believe that I would get that attached again.

Cino had other ideas.  A little chocolate poodle with a feisty side to his nature that showed he was completely fearless with other dogs! No matter their size.  Once on a walk with nose to the ground and his leg cocked on every tree, bush or post, he was a real boy!  At home, he was afectionate, attentive and one of the most intelligent animals ever.  He would gaze intently into my eyes as I talked to him (yes I talk to the animals, a right Dr Doolittle!) as though he understood my every word.  Every morning I deposited a plastic bag with chicken negs on the mat outside and he would gently tip the bag and separate the necks, eat one and then hide a few around the place for later! Sadly the magpies and next door’s cat were onto him and a fair few seemed to be swiped while he was sleeping.

He was also a horny little so and so and if no other dog was in sight, his blanket would suffice.  One day, I started to film this cute little dog playing with his blankie – the next second…… well you can see on the video!

The map you see in the photo gallery is a map of the world designed using only the names of the countries of the world. It hung on our bedroom wall here and every morning I would sit and ponder over all the places we might travel to!

Gerry was Uberring daily from Drewvale so I became very close to Cino, with our home routine and our twice daily excursions.

Cino was so funny when we drove to the Gold Coast and took him to the doggy beach.  He would launch himself at every dog and had boundless energy to chase and romp (yes in the true sense of the word!) with any dog that would tolerate him.  Our first trip was into Kawartha Forest and although he apparently was not keen on water, he jumped down into a swamp and I had to rescue him.  He had no idea how deep it was!