July 2008 in Melbourne

Silver's in Australia!!!

Hi everyone. Silver here again. It's been a while since I've written, and for that I am very sorry. I know how much my public adores me, but sometimes even we famous dogs need a bit of time off, just to ourselves, to relax and chase small animals.


But now I'm in kennels, and so I'm a bit bored and I have some spare time to write. I'm not exactly sure how or why this happened, but basically, here's a run-down of the past several months:

In January, my Mommy and Daddy went for a ride in the car without me and never came back! Can you believe that??? Anyway, I was with my Grandmommy and Granddaddy, so it was OK. I like staying with them because they feed me donuts and let me sleep on their bed, and I just love playing with Charlie and Rasta!

Every now and then I could hear my Mommy's voice coming from the big box on top of the desk in my parents' office, but I could never see her. That was confusing. My Grandmommy said it was something called "Skype", but I don't really know what that means.

All this time, they were taking me on a very regular basis to see Dr. Jon and have blood taken out. I don't know why this had to happen, like, eight times, but it did. Humans! I just don't get them.

Anyway, last week, my Grandmommy and Granddaddy drove me up to Washington, DC. I thought I was going to see the sights, check out the Lincoln Memorial and all that (my Mommy and Daddy went in December and talked a lot about the monuments, so I assumed I was going to learn more about what it meant to be an American dog -- of German descent), but apparently there were different plans for me.

I was put into a huge crate, and then put into a really big flying car with wings, and sent to Los Angeles, California! I thought, well, that's OK that I didn't get to see DC, because I've always wanted to see the Hollywood sign and shop on Rodeo Drive and stuff, but I didn't even get to do that!! All I got to do was go to another vet, a different one this time, and then two days later, I was put on another flying car inside my huge crate and sent to Australia! I am in, like, a completely different country now than I was last week. It's so weird.


I have to stay in Quarantine for 30 days, but I've already been visited by my Mommy and Daddy. Yesterday they came to see me and we went out and threw the ball around for a while, and caught up on the latest news.

They told me that they had moved indefinitely to Australia, and they couldn't bear the thought of not having me with them (obviously!) and so they shipped me out here as well. My Mommy will be able to come visit me twice a week until I'm out of jail, and Daddy will come when he can because he works full-time so he's not quite as free as Mommy. Mommy and Daddy also told me I have to go on a diet --I hope that doesn't involve another long trip on a flying car -- because I've gained weight eating too many donuts! tee hee!

Since this is my new home, I asked Mommy and Daddy what it's like living in Australia, and I am so excited about what this new life holds for me! It sounds like so much fun. Here are some of the important things about Australia (and Melbourne in particular):


1. There are some really cool animals here. There are kangaroos and wallabies and koalas and wombats. All of these animals are called "marsupials" because they have little pockets where they keep spare change and their babies (or "joeys").
My Mommy says that kangaroos are easy to spot if you go out of the suburbs, and they aren't as shy as the deer that I liked to watch in America so they don't always run away. And the koalas, well they are like the slowest things ever but they stay up in the trees or in bushes. They don't run away either because they're too tired. They're always sleepy. Which is weird because they sleep a lot.

There are also parrots all over the place, and magpies too which are very beautiful but really loud and obnoxious. Damn birds. I'll chase 'em when I can!


2. Australia smells really good. There are plenty of food smells in the city (my favourite smells of course!) but since the country mostly has Eucalyptus trees, the country smells like Eucalyptus. The nickname for Eucalyptus in Australia is "Gumtree" so it's common to hear someone talking about "Red Gum" or "Lemon Gum" and that just means a species of Eucalyptus. The best smell is Lemon Gum because it smells like a cross between Eucalyptus and Lemon. It's sweet and fresh!


3. There's a saying "Pizza is like sex. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good". In Melbourne, this phrase is absolutely true. Now, my Mommy and Daddy don't let me eat pizza apart from what I can steal --hehe-- but they have told me stories about the wonderful pizzerias in Melbourne and how good the pizza is here. Even the take-away pizzeria in Oakleigh makes really good pizza. It's not the same as the gourmet pizzas that you find at posh restaurants, but it's better than chain pizza! I have had "the snip" so I have no real interest in sex any more, so I'm hoping that pizza will give me some idea of what I'm missing!

4. Because we're in the Southern Hemisphere, our winter is happening right now, in July. That is going to take some getting used to! But in December when it's nice and warm, we won't be complaining. Spending Christmas on the beach sounds like fun! We also have our own special constellation that can only be seen from the Southern Hemisphere, called the Southern Cross. It's the stars that are on the Australian flag.

Well, that's about all the news for now. I am doing very well in kennels and eating everything I can get my paws on! Everyone tells me I'm very sweet and well-behaved. Mommy and Daddy are skeptical, but they are so happy to have me here. And they just filed their permanent residency application, so we're all in this for the long haul!

Hugs and licks,
Silver (world-travelling canine)