I did not manage to stay awake and talk to Father Christmas but he came and left me some new balls, and a ball thrower, and a big bag of Schmackos, and some special biscuits, and a whole kilo of dried liver. This picture is of me bringing back one of my new balls.

But guess what, Jesse did - she sent me a message which said "I talked to Santa last night, I waited and waited and waited, it got very late and I kept looking out the window and finally, there he was, Santa and his big dogs with things on their heads. I didn't have to open the door or anything he just came in, he drank the beer and ate the cheese and biccies that Mum had put out for him, don't tell her but I had some too, Santa always shares what he is given. He gave the dog thingies the carrots, though he did say he would rather they were given corn, carrots give the one with the red nose awful wind, and as he is the leader it can get a bit not nice when they are flying around. After he had finished eating I told him about that awful big mouth from the city that said he wasn't real, don't think he was very pleased, I told him where he was staying with his Grandma and Santa said he would go visit him, He was just going to say hello and tell him he was real but he wasn't leaving any presents for him. Can't wait to see him in the park today and hear what he has to say." That will be a shock for him

I had a really good day from lots of playing and cuddles and was happy to go to bed and go to sleep last night. It was cold here last night and it was nice curling up in my sheepskins with a full tummy from steak for dinner followed by some cheese - Jarlsberg which is my favourite, and some doggy choc drops. I slept like a log and this morning we have spent the whole morning playing ball. Ailsa is gradually worming her way back into my favour and if she keeps this up she will be OK. I don't want to see any backsliding in going off to work though. I gave her lots of cuddles since it was Christmas and to encourage her good new behaviour. Any young dogs reading this remember that if you want your humans to behave in certain ways you have to encourage them with praise and little rewards.

I am having a really good day today - lots of visitors - firstly my friend Erica came in the morning and we played, then this afternoon Lesley arrived from the North Coast to spend Christmas with us - I just love having visitors and we have already been for a walk together, just the two of us. Then we had another visitor tonight just after dinner.

We also went for a short walk to see some lights on a house around the corner. The lights were amazing - they had Father Christmas up on the roof about to climb down the chimney - we don't have a chimney - if that is how he gets in the house then how will he get into ours? All the garden was lit up and there were dancing penguins and a train and all sorts of things. I think we might go and have another look tonight.

I am afraid it may go downhill tomorrow - as you know Ailsa is obsessed with baths which is an unhealthy obsession in a drought. She says that Father Christmas will not visit me and leave presents unless I am a clean dog so the dreaded bath man is arriving tomorrow.

OK he has been and I am now beautifully clean and smell of poncey flowers and things instead of good honest sheep - at least he brought me a nice bag of home made biscuits. Father Christmas had better come and make it worth my while since I have gone to all this effort.

We went shopping for bones and a few other essentials but could not find a parking spot. After we gave up on the bones we went to the dog club and had the whole place to ourselves for nearly 2 hours. I fetched the ball a lot for Ailsa - she just loves throwing it - and then we came home and had breakfast in the garden. It is getting a bit warm now - it is about 32 - so I think it is time for a snooze.

After my snooze I thought I would check my ebay thread and got this disturbing post from Jesse "When I went for my walk this morning, I met my mates in the park and we went down to the swamp. There was this new dog down there, he is visiting his grandma for the holidays. Talk about a big mouth, we didn't like him at all. Just cos he is from the big City he thinks he knows everything and he called us Little City Hicks - well I tell you I saw red and I think the others did too. He'll get his and I bet Santa doesn't call at his house and leave him presents. You know what he said, well he said there IS NO SANTA, what a load of codswallop, of course there is, who else is the big man in the red suit that we see in the shops, well we know they are only the helpers but thats O.K., Santa can't be everywhere at once. I told him what I thought and said that I for one did not believe him, the others didn't either, what a big mouth, hope he doesn't get any Santa presents. I know what I am going to do, I am going to wait up on the night Santa comes and tell him what that smart alec dog said, and tell him where he is staying, and ask him not to leave any presents, that ought to fix that big mouth." I knew that was not true because I had met him - you have seen my photo with him - and Ailsa has been to the village where he lives in Finland. That dog will get his comeuppance on Christmas Day when there are no presents under the tree for him. I know there are for me because I have seen them but Ailsa says I can look and smell but not touch until Monday. The other dogs on the thread agreed with us - as Gabs said "That towny dog knows nothing cause Santy always leaves stuff for us animals here and the carrots and lettuce leaves mum leaves out for the reindeers always goes so who else would eat them if not him?" Jesse says "He just wants to big note himself, he better look out, no pressies for him. I'm gonna wait up for Santa, reckon I can keep track of him on this machine and wait for him in the lounge, I am leaving out things for the reindeer, don't know what yet, will have to raid the big thing where everything is cold, might be a drink in there for Santa as well." I will try and stay awake to report him as well but I am not sure I will make it.

All Christmas Eve I wandered around in my antlers hoping that Father Christmas would see me and say "Perry with your antlers bright, won't you lead my sleigh tonight?" I am sure I could do it, with all the sheep work and the ball fetching I am a pretty fit and strong dog. Unfortunately he did not but I am attaching a couple of photos of me with my antlers - including one where I am practising my sleigh pulling walk.

Ailsa's friend in Canada sent her a nice Christmas poem:

The Night Before Dog-mas

"Twas the night before Dog-mas when all through the pound

Not a puppy was yelping or playing around;

Our leashes were hung, by our kennels with care,

In hopes that St. Bernard would soon find us there;

Chihuahuas were curled up, all snug in their beds,

While visions of doggie treats danced in their heads;

Max in his collar, on somebody's lap,

Had tucked in his tail for a midwinter's nap,

When outside the room there arose such a clatter,

My ears perked right up to hear what was the matter.

Away to the window I jumped up with glee,

And barked at the shadows that were cast by a tree.

The glow from the moon changed night into day,

And started me thinking, "woof woof time to play!"

When, what with my puppy-dog eyes did I see,

But a splendid dog sled, led by doggies like me.

With a regal furred driver commanding, not stern.

I yelped to the others, "That must be St. Bern!"

More rapid than greyhounds our saviors they came,

And we barked and we howled, and called them by name:

"There's Duchess! There's King! Fat Chance, and bare Buffy!

On Fido! On Scooter! On Rover and Scruffy!

Go by the red fire hydrant and run pass those trees!

Nothing can stop you, not even some fleas!"

As puppies at play chase after a stick,

and race to their masters So lively and quick,

so out in the field his canines all flew,

Catching the frisbees, that St. Bernard threw.

And then in an instant I heard at the door

the Scratching and clawing of each little paw.

As I pulled in my nose, and was turning around,

Through he door St. Bernard came in with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his tail

His wood cask adorned with an icing of hail;

A bag of chew toys he had brought in with him,

And his mouth was turned up what looked like grin.

His eyes how they twinkled!

His ears flopped, how merry!

His coat shone like crystal,

his nose like a cherry!

His big floppy mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the fur on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a bone was held tight in his teeth,

And his collar encircled his neck like a wreath.

He had a large face and a furry, round belly

That shook when he barked, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was fluffy and plump, a big cuddly, old pooch

and I laughed when I saw him and gave him a smooch.

A wink of his eye and a wag of his tail; we knew right away

We'd have homes without fail.

He howled not a howl, But went straight to his deed,

and took down our leashes That soon we would need.

He opened the door, And families stood there,

with children, all smiling, And much love to spare.

He leapt to his sled, to his team gave a call

and away they all flew as if chasing a ball.

But I heard him exclaim as he chewed on a bone;

"Happy Dog-mas to all and to all a good home!"

Ailsa says tomorrow morning we are going to the dog club to play first thing when we get up so I am looking forward to that. Then we are coming back and opening presents and having nice things for breakfast and then at lunchtime my friends Roderick and Peter and Karen are coming for lunch so there will be lots of cuddles and playing and good things to eat - I have already had some cheese and some dog chocolate treats - I like Christmas.

I have had a busy month with getting ready for Christmas, having people to stay, having people here for Christmas lunch, and whatever, so I have let my blog slide. Time to get it up to date again - I have posted these just as I took notes at the time.

You will never guess who I saw- Father Christmas - Ailsa took me to meet him down at the vet's clinic and I had my photo taken with him. She said I could tell him what I wanted for Christmas and if I was a good dog between now and then and did not put my ball in the pond I might get a nice surprise on Christmas Day.Anyway, I asked him for lots of rain so the sheep get better and we can go to sheepdog school more often, some more balls, some dried liver, and some choc drops, and that there be no Koolies dumped in the local pounds next year and that all the dogs there now find nice new homes like I did. I am keeping my paws crossed.

Yippee - Ailsa has a day off - for the last two days she has been going off in a police car to work. When I saw the car come yesterday morning I pushed past her to get out of the door - she was not expecting it - rushed out and rounded up the car - checked out the policeman inside to see if he was friendly - he did not come out for a good licking so I raced around the car again showing off a few good sheepdog moves then I leapt over the car, did a quick U turn and jumped on his bonnet and wagged my tail at him to show him I was friendly - Ailsa caught up with me at that point, dragged me off and took me back to the house. She said it was a very bad and very silly thing to do because policemen have guns and they can also lock bad people and bad dogs up in the watch house. I don't think I was in any danger though because he was laughing. I was watching out for him this morning but he did not come, instead we went to the dog club and played catch for over an hour, then we went shopping and now we have come home again. I thought she might like to play again in the garden before it gets too hot but she says she has work to do.

That policeman came again today but she made sure I did not get out to say hello to him - she is just no fun and does not now how to properly welcome guests.

We have just come back from a little drive in the car because Ailsa had forgotten to take her dinner out of the freezer so we drove down to the fish and chip caravan for fish and chips. I love fish and chips but she said I had already had a bowl of roast chicken so I did not need fish and chips as well - she was so wrong. Anyway I looked really sad and the nice lady in the caravan cooked an extra bit of fish and some chips for me and put it in a separate box and told her to make sure I got it. Now that is what I call service and I will recommend them to every dog I meet. If any of you come to Canberra let me know and I will tell you where they are.

CHAPTER 14

The drought is affecting us – sheepdog school at Binalong is cancelled until next year because the sheep have not got enough feed or water and are in bad condition. This is dreadful, dreadful news. We went this weekend to Michelago and it was nice but I do miss Brad and the nice big pens at Binalong. It is now a very long time since it rained and the temperature has been in the 30s – in October – everyone says we are in for a long, hot dry summer with no rain in sight – there was only 3mm of rain in October instead of the 64mm we used to average. Lots of the farmers here are selling their stock because they cannot afford to buy feed and water for them. It depends on whether we have rain whether we can go to Michelago again – we won’t be going this year. I think my career as a working dog may be over before it has really started.

Anyway, I cannot complain – we had a good time while it lasted and Ailsa says we can probably find a farmer locally who will give us some lessons until school opens up again. The weekend at Michelago was fun although yesterday it was very hot and windy and I kept thinking I could smell bushfires. It is very hard to work when it is so hot and that farm has some very bolshy sheep – one in particular – a ewe with a red tag in her ear gave me a lot of cheek and in the end I had to get in a corner and tell her she would be roast lamb for my dinner with some mint sauce on the side if she did not start behaving better. Robert wanted me to go and work in the big paddock but it was so hot and windy and it is on a hill and the sheep are scattered to the four corners of the paddock, that I was not very keen and this afternoon he let me stay in the small one.

There were lots of new puppies at the school and Robert was telling everyone how to check whether a pup would be a good working dog – it was very interesting but Ailsa says she will never have a puppy because they are too much work and she would rather take an older rescue dog – just as well or she might not have got me. One of my worstest rivals at sheepdog school – a Kelpie called Red Rocket – had six 8 week old puppies and Ailsa said they were very cute but I did not think so. I liked my mate Chance’s daughter better – Fleck is a red merle Koolie and she is very pretty and you should have seen her taking an interest in the sheep – Ailsa took some photos of her for the Koolie Club newsletter. Koolies rule!!!!

Going to the farm gave me a chance to see my friends Harry and Lucinda again – Harry is just four and Lucinda is three – they have both had chicken pox but they are getting better now so they were allowed to come and play ball with me.

Ailsa has ordered some Christmas stamps – they have a photo of me with sheep at the farm at Michelago. She says we can also make some Christmas cards with the same photo on and we can put lettering on the bottom which says “While shepherds watched …” I hope people like them.

Now she has finished having to go to the office for that big job she can work from home and that means we get to go to the dog club and play ball most days - I just love chasing the ball for her and she loves throwing it. Usually we go to the post office and collect the mail, then we go to the nice bakery called Silo and buy some breakfast, then we go to the dog club and share it while we play ball - pretty good.

Guess what, I have a thread on eBay in the Antiques and Collectables discussion group! Bet that surprised you and you would never have guessed. It is for all the dogs of the people who talk on there and there are a lot of us and several of us have been rescued from bad starts in life. There are also some cats and even a snake called Slithers – we were all a bit wary of a snake but he has promised not to hurt us and provided we keep our relationship confined to the internet I think we will all be safe.

CHAPTER 13

In early September something awful happened – Ailsa got sick and ended up in hospital. They let her come home but she was in a lot of pain and not interested in eating and did not go to work. I was very concerned that she was not eating and tried to tempt her appetite with some of my favourite dog biscuits – I even gave her one of my favourite Pedigree Milky Biscuits that they do not sell any more but she was not tempted. After another day she was clearly getting weaker and did not want to get out of bed so I dug up a very mature bone and put it on her pillow so she could chew on it without moving if she wanted to. She got out of bed very fast then but insisted that it was better for me to eat it – so I did. At least it did the job of getting her out of bed.

As soon as she was a bit better Ailsa went back to work and started working long hours on a big job but fortunately she arranged for a new friend, Anja, to come and play with me every day. It was good – she is a good ball thrower.

Ailsa also took a week off and went to New Zealand to see my Grandma and Aunt Kathryn and my cousins and my Uncle Graeme who came to visit all the way from Canada. I wish I could have gone. Peter came to stay with me while she was away and that was good because we had lots of walks and games. When Ailsa came back I gave her the cold shoulder for a week to teach her a lesson although she did bring me a really interesting ball as a present. Anyway, after she went and bought me two new ball throwers (one got broken and she thought we should have a spare) and a couple of new balls, and some dried liver, and some special dog biscuits, I decided to let her have a cuddle again. Hopefully she will take the hint and make sure we go to the dog club a lot to play ball once she has finished these interviews.

One weekend soon afterwards a new friend, Nat, came up from Melbourne and she took some very nice professional photographs of me – I think I look pretty good. She did a mixture of some portraits and some action shots of me chasing the ball. I was really pleased with the result. I think I look pretty glamorous.

CHAPTER 12

A few weeks after Peter came home we went to a farm to play with some sheep and meet the farmer who works dogs and gave us a lesson – his name is Jim Luce. It is at a place called Bungonia which is somewhere near Marulan, the other side of Gouburn about 90 minutes away. It was fun.

We had a wonderful time at the farm– although Ailsa complained about the drive because we had over 30k of dirt road which was full of pot holes and it had been foggy and raining was very slippy. We came home a different way and got lost in the dark as well. Eventually, though, we got home safely which was good because we were both tired and hungry and went to bed as soon as we had had dinner.

Jim is a really nice man and he liked me – he said I was wasted as a canine companion and should have been a farm dog because I work my sheep very nicely. Ailsa pointed out to me that farm dogs do not get roast chicken for dinner, long car rides, or to sleep on a soft bed in front of the heater and said she cannot manage without me though so I am going to stay with her. Best thing of all was that he said we could have private lessons if we wanted so when Ailsa has a free day we can go out just the two of us and have fun with his sheep. She is a bit busy at the moment trying to earn enough money to pay for that tooth but as soon as I see a free day I am going to push for a trip to Bungonia to see Jim. He and his wife are moving soon because the owners have sold their farm to subdivide it so he and his wife are retiring to their own place near Cowra and he says we can go and see him there as well.

Two weeks later we went to another new farm at Michelago on the way to the Snowy Mountains for a sheepdog school with Robert and the sheep. All the people were complaining about it being cold, especially yesterday, but it must have been at least 4 degrees and it was not snowing so I don’t know what they were complaining about – nothing to stop them putting on some more clothing and I had nothing but my fur. I like it down there because apart from the sheep there are also Harry and Lucinda who live on the farm and are my friends. They are about the same age as me and we all like to play and I got to give them both a good licking.

We had lots of fun with the sheep – Robert let them out of the pen and when he and Ailsa followed them I could not see why because there were a lot of fresh ones in the next field so I stayed in the pen and waited for them to come to their senses and come back and get new ones. Then it happened, Ailsa was walking backwards up the hill and she tripped over an old tree root and fell backwards. I rushed up to see if she was OK but she was surrounded by sheep so I told them to back off. Once I was sure she was OK I made it pretty clear that I thought she was wasting good sheep time and should get up and get on with it, so she did although she complained about having lots of bruises on her back for the rest of the weekend. I did not laugh because I am aware she is getting old and if she hurts herself who is going to look after her? I often worry about not having an opposable thumb – life would be so much easier with one. She has a badly bruised back, very badly bruised dignity and pride and a bad headache from banging her head on the frozen ground - she is hoping none of these injuries is serious or long term. She really should be more careful at her age. Without an opposable thumb there is a limit to what I can do to look after her no matter how much I love her.

Imagine my surprise when on Sunday they let the sheep out again when there were perfectly good ones waiting for us – what do they think I am? Do they think I have nothing better to do than chase some tired sheep back down the mountain when we already have some fresh ones waiting? Anyway, Robert let me bring some fresh ones into our pen and then I gave them a good working and he encouraged me to take them backwards and forwards between the two pens so Ailsa could practice working the gates. It must be quite complex because she needed a lot of practice.

CHAPTER 11

In late July Ailsa and I went up to Armidale in northern NSW to meet the woman who rescued me from the farm and to go to sheepdog school. When I came to Canberra to live with Ailsa I flew down in a plane and I did not realise how far away it was. It took us two days to drive up and two days to drive back – over 2000k - and we were both very tired – Ailsa because she was driving and me because I was helping her from the back seat. I carefully pointed out all the cars on the road and the trucks and the caravans and sometimes there were cows and sheep.

We left on a Thursday and drove out towards Yass in thick fog – I thought I would help by barking loudly all the time to help warn other cars to stay away from us. It was foggy nearly all the way to Cowra where we stopped and had an early lunch because the sun had come out. From there we went to Canowindra and then up to Wellington and across to Mudgee. We went to a couple of vineyards and a cheese factory where they let me have some samples as well and I can strongly recommend it and a honey place where Ailsa tried some stuff called mead and bought a bottle.

We stayed in a lovely renovated country house at Mudgee on the way up and back. They have made the old stables into 2 apartments for people travelling with children and/or dogs – other people are allowed to stay in the house. I thought it was wonderful – a huge garden full of interesting smells, cattle and horses and sheep in the adjoining fields, a friendly golden Labrador to play with, home made dog biscuits, and a nice fire to sleep in front of.


The next day it poured with rain but we went up across country through lots of little villages and towns until eventually we got to Uralla just south of Armidale where we were staying. It is a village like Bungendore with old houses and shops. We were tired and went to bed early on Friday night and on Saturday morning we were up early because we had to go to sheepdog school to meet Janine and Spy. It was cool but not very cold and at least it was not raining.

Ailsa had arranged to meet Janine, who rescued me, at the sheepdog school at Uralla Showground and when we got there we saw about 60 people with dogs – I was wondering how to find her when suddenly there she was, my tail went up and started going around in circles (always a sign of happiness) and I dragged Ailsa across to meet her and Spy, then I leapt up and covered her face with kisses. She hugged me and said that I had not changed. I gave her the presents I had bought for her and Spy and Ally her human puppy. The picture above is of me with Janine and Spy. She also has a new Koolie called KC who is quite young. We had a lovely weekend at sheepdog school – Spy is really good – she is more advanced than I am but I think that Janine would have been pleased with my progress. Robert said I am doing really well.

It was so nice that she recognised me after two years and we all ended up in floods of tears. Janine was so pleased to see that I can work sheep well since that farmer was going to shoot me for not working. It was really good catching up with my foster sister Spy as well – Spy has lots of titles.

It was really sad to say goodbye to Janine and Spy but on Monday we had to start our trip back – we had good weather on the way back and stopped at lots of antique shops although Ailsa did not buy much. Just outside Coolah we got caught up in the middle of lots of cows which a farmer was moving up the road – we were there for at least 30 minutes and I tried to help by barking at them to get them to hurry up – most of them just ignored me but one cheeky one pressed his face to the window and mooed at me – the nerve of it. I gave him a good growl. Then the farmer came up on his horse and he was using two border collies and a couple of Koolies to move the cattle so I barked to let them know I had been helping them.

We stayed in the same place in Mudgee which was good and then the next day we came back through Sofala, Bathurst, Blayney and then through Cowra again. I was really glad to get home – I had not realized that driving was such hard work – Ailsa was tired too and we had an early dinner and a very early night. The next morning we slept late but we had to get up eventually because we had to get the house ready because my friend Peter is coming back from Europe on Friday and is going to stay with us until his house is ready