Animal Companions
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Dan & Jessie,
"Raydon", April 1990
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A love of animals has bought so many of these special
friends into my life. Back in 1990, two
puppies were selected from a large litter. There was the bright, playful,
leader bitch which was given the name Jessie.
And a steady, cautious, loner dog who was given the name
Danny.
In late July some two years later, the dogs strayed one
Sunday evening and were shot less than an hour later beside the
road. But it was until the following Wednesday that a local
council worker called to say that Jessie was dead and where
I could recover her corpse from. Danny was finally found wounded and
frightened on the following Friday. He'd spent
the first two days beside Jessie's dead body. Danny
recovered and a partner for him was found the next week at the Broadford pound.
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Jude the "Party Animal"
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Thus "Hey" Jude, the party animal,
came to live at "Raydon". But Jude has a very independent
nature, preferring to spend time outside with Polly the sheep rather
than inside.
Danny on the other hand would always follows me everywhere, lying across my feet,
under my desk, as I worked on this website. Sadly one morning in June 2007
we found Danny had died of a heart attack overnight. RIP.
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Lloyd, Danny & Jude at
rest |
The dog enclure at "Raydon" started as simply a fenced area
with a dog kennel in it. Over the years it was upgraded with a second kennel, and
artificial grass. Finally, wind protection, plus a serious rain and sun shelter
were added.
The stange things was, although she had two kennels to choose from, and two raised
dog beds, Jude preferred to dig a hole and lie in it!
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Dog enclosure – June 2005. |
In March 2008 Jude's health started to go fast and to save
her from pain and discomfort she was put down.
One Weird Sheep
Another animal friend formally around the place at "Raydon" was
Polly, the sheep that came and stayed. She just
wandered in one day in 1992, and that was that. Polly stayed
constantly near the house, never going near the other sheep
that wandered through the paddocks.
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Polly in
Mick's VW ATV
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Polly got special treatment at shearing time, typically
just before Christmas each year. She would clamber into the back
of Mick Gardiner's VW "All Terrain Vehicle" and be chauffeured
to and from the shearing shed. Not for her being part of
the muster like any normal sheep.
Polly camped down most nights on the back door mat. She
would constantly try to come inside the house.
Leave a door open briefly and you would suddenly have a sheep in
the house! Almost all of the bottom panes of glass on
the house doors and windows have had to be replaced with
laminated glass as Polly was quite prepared to break
through normal glass in order to get inside!
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Polly at the back
door
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Jude and Polly spent hours roaming around "Raydon" together,
or simply itting in the shade. Polly would even come to the door and
call for Jude to be allowed out to play with her.
This was one very different sheep!
Sadly, at an estimated age of 13 years, Polly began to
fade fast. She stopped eating and drinking and soon became
unable to get up and move about. Nothing could be done for
her and she had to be put down. It was Australia Day 2003. RIP.
The Horses
The first of the horses to arrive at "Raydon" was
Noddy. So named because he would stumble when he'd dose
off. He'd typically sleep at night with his bum against our bedroom wall,
and sometimes as he nodded off he'd fall over with an almighty crash.
When we went on walks around the property, the two dogs would be out front,
Noddy would be nudging us in the back wanting us to walk faster,
and Polly the sheep would be calling out for us to slow down as she brought up the rear.
Sadly, Noddy died of a snake bite. He was placed into a suitable
depression on the property, and a truck load of dirt burried him creating
the "Noddy Mound".
The second horse to arrive was Big Ears, for obvoius reasons.
Big Ears was a Garryowen Trophy winner at the Melbourne Royal Show.
When you gain a reputation for looking after horses extremely well, you tend to be
swampped with people offering you top-quality horses for free.
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Big Ears, Denice & Jude on the left.
Noddy, Lloyd & Danny on the right. |
The Tribe Together
At our place in Frankston South, Yves, Tiny, and Taj all enjoyed
regularly chilling with Lloyd on the couch watching TV.
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Lloyd, Yves, Tiny & Taj on the couch – July 2012. |
Dive Shop Dawg
When I purchased the dive shop in August 2013, Yves enjoyed coming to the shop
and greeting customers.
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Yves, the dive shop dawg – November 2013. |
Yves even took to modelling a Sonar Dry Duffel Bag with Hannah for the dive shop.
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Hannah & Yves the dive shop models – November 2013. |
Even the dogs party at Christmas. But maybe Taj overdid it!
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Taj had a big Christmas – Xmas 2014. |
Last modified: 6:59 am Thursday 25 September 2025
Local time: 2:39 pm Sunday 28 September 2025
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