Pets Galore

Although the weekend rally at Koputaroa School, near Levin, was advertised as the Guy Fawkes Rally, it could have equally been called the Pet Friendly Rally.  These NZMCA rallies allow, and even encourage, campers to bring their pets along.  Of course, the usual house-keeping rules apply – all dogs on leads, and dog owners to pick up after their pets.  We decided not to take Muffy along this time, as she was badly frightened on our last visit here.  Not so much by the crackers going off, but by the freight trains rumbling past on the main trunk line which runs adjacent to the school ground.  The sound of the trains are obviously at a pitch that Muffy finds terrifying, as every time a train went past, she huddled miserably under the bed.  So she stayed home safely contained in her custom built apartment.  Chloe, a Mandarin (red) Burmese, didn’t seem in the least put out by those noisy trains.   We saw her sitting on the grass, watching the world go by.  Her owners told us that Chloe never goes outside without her harness and lead, and is well used to taking walks around the retirement complex where they live.

Chloe the Burmese

The rather raucous squawking let us know there was some type of parrot nearby, so we went to see what was making all this noise.  Buddy is an eleven month old Rainbow Lorikeet who lives with his owners full time in their bus.  Buddy has lovely bright colours and certainly attracted a lot of attention.

Buddy, the Rainbow Lorikeet, outside in his cage

Robin has always liked parrots so he wasn’t going to walk past without giving Buddy a nice long scratch on his head.  I’m not sure who was enjoying it more, Robin or the bird!

Who's a pretty boy, then?

My knowledge of dog breeds was spot on when I asked if this particular one sitting in the doorway was a West Highland White.  Three year old Beau was a rescue dog, his owner told us, and was sadly abused by his original owners.  Although he is well adjusted now, it took some time for him to recover from his ordeal.  I asked if I could pat him, as I was curious to see if his coat felt as coarse as it looked.  This breed has a soft undercoat too, I was told, as the owner parted the coat to show me.  These sturdy little dogs were originally bred to dig out foxes and badgers.  Beau is obviously a greatly loved little dog and gives his owner a lot of joy.  But drat, where has my photo gone?  Here is one to show what the breed looks like.

West Highland White Terrier

We were delighted by the antics of two little balls of fluff which spent the entire weekend playing together.  Meg, a black Pekinese cross, and Chloe, a pretty little Bichon Frise, live in different households but love to meet up at rallies.  They were so cute and the girls loved taking them on walks together.  The owners told us that by the end of the day, the two little dogs are absolutely worn out after their time spent playing together.

Meg and Chloe with their puppy walkers

After our own pet-free weekend, we were pleased to get back home to check on Muffy.  Cats always like to put you in your place, and although happy to see us, she likes to let us know that no, we shouldn’t have really left her home alone.  But it wasn’t too long till we were forgiven, and everything was alright in her world.