Last Sunday (the 2nd) saw Miss Thriller turn nine years young, so yesterday (Monday) I took the venerable Miss up to the café at Sydney University’s Camden campus vet school where vet and ag science students from the main campus in Sydney get to do “farm stuff” as part of their courses. Caffe 104 is not open on weekends, thus the delay, but then, given Miss Thriller was born “across the pond” in the State of Georgia, then with time differences, it remained her Birthday in the land of her birth.
There was heavy drizzle when we left home, so, to keep Thriller’s feathering clean and dry I placed Tubigrip “stockings” on her legs before leaving. “Tubigrip” is elasticized tubular bandaging most effective for the purpose. There was only fine drizzle when arrived for the long walk from the carpark to the café, and no real need for Thriller’s oversized umbrella. We were stopped several times by concerned students and one concerned lecturer each asking what happened to Thriller that she needed all her legs bandaged. Each was relieved when told that the venerable Miss was not “in recovery”, merely keeping her clean and dry before her birthday lunch. Many joyous wishes were bestowed on the little love for her celebratory day! When Thriller finally made it inside her favorite eatery there were more concerns and much relief. Extra towels were taken along to dry Her Ladyship’s tootsies that great splodges of incriminating wetness were not left trailing off to our table.
Our host, Karon, had an extra special “Thriller-burger” prepared for the birthday girl too!
Being “wet”, there were not a lot of people there, however Thriller did well with meeting and greeting the available folk – and Karon in particular with the little love pawing in her direction while sitting, or throwing herself over for deserved tummy-rubs – at least until her tucker arrived, then Karon held somewhat lesser interest for the girl. Two other puppers stopped by, a toy poodle and a Kelpie-type “Heinzhound” (57-varieties), however Miss Thriller only had eyes on her hamburger and not them!
Karon was taking photos of Thriller when her burger arrived and it was passed over her head while Thriller was focused on Karon. The venerable Miss didn’t “see” her Thriller-burger arrive, however she sure knew the aroma and immediately was up following where the delicious fragrance had come from! She took some convincing to return to the table where her burger was waiting patiently to get on the inside Her Ladyship!
Some well-wishing students seemed surprised at the size of Thriller’s burger – considerably larger than theirs. It was explained that “birthday calories” do not count – they readily concurred, and left wiser students than when they arrived.
Later, once her dining pleasure was complete, Mylene from the vet clinic’s reception came over wishing Thriller a Happy Birthday, and Thriller threw herself over for more tummy-rubs! It is great to see Thriller, finally, after 14-months with me, start to “interact” with people, to engage with them beyond just sitting and smiling!
Other diners even brought over tidbits for the Birthday Girl as well! Thriller had a great time up there yesterday, and we know where we’ll be celebrating Her Ladyship’s tenth birthday!
All the very best
Arthur Witten
Thriller – Will someone please tell my dad that Newfoundlands are supposed to get wet!
P.S. When leaving, there was a young woman at the counter waiting on coffee. When Thriller appeared, she stared open-mouthed at the little Miss and Karon explained that Her Ladyship is a regular, and it was her birthday. The young lady, very well-dressed and obviously very well-educated, asked what Thriller was. When told a Newfoundland, she said, “yes, but what type of animal is she?”