So......How's Woody doing?

For those of you that are wondering what our precious dog is up to, below is an email from Aunty Lyn keeping us up to date.

 

"Woody is very fit and I’m trying to keep up – we go for a walk down the paddocks most days, even though they’re pretty rough (The paddocks that is). Both dogs hurtled about madly, then Woody rolled in two separate lots of calf poop and followed that by racing down to the dam and having a swim.  Man, did he STINK!!!!

Anyway, here are a few pics I took when Andrew and family were staying prior to heading south.

Abby decided she wanted a nap one afternoon and she was on Woody’s sofa, so he joined her.  Had to laugh.

He enjoyed lots of tummy rubs when the kids were here.  Ryan was especially sorry to leave Woody behind.

Then there were turkeys.  I told you I’d been training Woody to chase turkeys and that he’d found a hen nesting in the Park by the fallen pine tree.  He checked it out every day and chased the hen off down the paddock.  The eggs all disappeared and I assumed one of the many hawks had helped itself.  Then hen #2 arrived and laid HER eggs almost on top of the old nest and both hens sat on that clutch, being chased off from time to time by ‘you know who’.

 

One afternoon I hadn’t seen Woody for a while so went out to the Park and there he was, turkey egg between his paws.

He was having a great time cracking the shell, then I heard the egg cheeping!!

I quickly rescued it and put it back on the nest to hatch properly.  Bad move – that was HIS egg and he promptly brought it out again.

At this stage I went inside, couldn’t bear to watch.  When I returned later both egg and chick were gone and Woody had four more eggs between his paws.  Yep – those all went as well.  I had visions of him throwing up shells and feathers overnight but he’s been fine.  Now I know why he hadn’t been eating his dog roll – over the past couple of weeks he’d consumed some 15 turkey eggs, the second lot all having chickens in them!!

However, he doesn’t show any interest at all in other birds; the Paradise Ducks have 5 babies and he goes nowhere near them – only the turkeys are fair game.  Lois reckons he’s doing a great job keeping the population down.  Needless to say, the turkey hens have given up on that particular nesting site.

A week or so before that, I took both dogs for a walk to the beach.  I walked, they ran, having a dip in the dam on the way down and again on the way back.  Woody had a shower that night!!  They had a wonderful time at the beach but had a wee rest on the way back.

Woody dug a hole in the wet sand under the bank and they stayed still long enough for me to get this pic.

Perhaps not as exciting as your doings but I think Woody is enjoying life on the farm.  I’d hate to think of him falling off your boat and being eaten by one of those alligators!!"

end of email...............Obviously he misses us a lot!!