OSKA'S BLOG ENTRY

13 July 2008.

Hi, I have found the perfect forever home!

After a couple of days with my first foster mum - she was lovely but I got lonely and made a nuisance of myself, I went to my second foster mum. She was lovely too and I had another greyhound, REX, there that I could follow around. After a while I got the hang of things, but I still had to follow him everywhere so he could show me what to do. One day a shaggy black thing bounded into the house with a couple of new humans. Boy, did that shaggy black dog have some energy and SHE smelt really good too. My foster mum put Rex in the house and told me to go see Ebony - I guess that's the name the humans gave her. WELL.......we ran and ran.......then we both jumped in the pond to cool off a bit......then we ran some more......back to the pond then into the sand pit.

I think we both fell in love at the same time. Mum said Ebony was a Labradoodle whatever that is but she was almost as fast as me. The humans weren't bad either, they looked really hard at me at first, then they smiled at me (and each other) and then they were laughing at us running and playing. After a while they called us both over and cuddled us which was nice but I really wanted to get in the sand pit with Ebony. We got to play for about an hour then the humans and Ebony left and I wondered if I would ever see her again.

That night I had to do all these tests..."Of course you can have my dinner if you really want it"...."Ok take the bone you just gave me"........"Ooooh I like kids"........"Is it time for walkies, ok I'm good at this too, in fact anyone can take me, I don't mind"......"Wow, a little dog to play with, I'll be gentle"......."A fluffy thing, not a toy, it's alive, not my cup of tea"........"What's next?".

Next was a drive in the car to a strange place I didn't like very much, I had to go to sleep and when I woke up I felt strange, a bit wobbly and a bit sore. Then it was back in the car again and back to my foster mum. Boy am I busy......I wonder where Ebony is. I slept and slept when I got home and the next day I felt much better. When I was having my afternoon nap I heard a car drive up and when I looked out the window it was Ebony!!!!!! She came back to me! I was very happy to see her again. I thought she had come to play again but my foster mum was giving the humans my coat and some of my food and telling me to go with Ebony and get in the car.

Now what's happening? I like riding in the car but I wasn't sure so I just stood by the door. My foster mum said good bye and told me to jump in. Ebony flew into the back seat, the humans gave me a bit of a lift and I was up there too. We went for a long drive, Ebony had her head out one window and I had my head out the other one, boy this is fun. We drove up into the hills and stopped at a little house with a big yard. Ebony seemed to know where we were so I just followed her. The humans told me that my new name would be OSKA because mum's name is Pat and she didn't want me to get confused. I'm already confused so I will just try to remember to listen for them to call Oska and I will try to answer. Wow, lots of smells here, so I went exploring. I saw some chooks who made such a racket when I went to look at them that I decided I'd better leave them be and go back later when they were quiet.

I got to go in the house and the humans told me this was my new home. OK, this deserves a closer look. Ebony showed me around everywhere and let me sniff everything, I could tell that she lived here so I started to think this would be fun. We had our dinner and then I was so tired I wanted to go to sleep. Ebony bounded into the lounge but I was scared. There was a black thing in there that was really, really HOT and I didn't like it. My new mum said it was ok, it was the combustion heater, but I was still scared so she showed me another place that I could have a nap. When the humans went to bed, Ebony jumped up and laid on the end near our mum's feet, I looked but I didn't think I would fit so I curled up on the big, soft bed that was on the floor. The next day my new dad got out lots of tools and started cutting a bigger hole in the front door. There was already a hole in it for some reason, why did it need to be bigger? After lots of sawing and banging dad shut the door and left mum, Ebony and me inside. Dad called Ebony and she disappeared - RIGHT THROUGH THE DOOR -I looked and mum and she said "Go on Oska". I didn't know what to do, then I smelt food on the other side, I wanted that food so bad I put my nose to the door and my head went through. WOW. Dad had the food and was calling me so I was really brave and stepped through the hole. I got the food and I was outside. Ok I can get the hang of this. Mum called me and I went back through and I was inside. Mum was laughing and giving me lots of cuddles and telling me I was really clever, plus there was more food. Ok I get it, its our own door just for dogs. COOL.

Over the next few days we went to lots of places in the car. I was a bit worried each time, just in case I had to leave this comfy place and Ebony. I didn't want to jump in the car in case mum and dad thought I wanted to leave, so they had to lift me in. BUT we came home each time. The trips were fun, we went to a great big shop that sold lots of toys just for dogs and I got to choose one just for myself. Ebony got to choose one too - we swapped as soon as we got home and now we swap all the time. We went to different places where I smelt lots of different things and met lots of people and other dogs. We also had visitors. There was this one little white dog. He was so small I had to bend right down just to say hello, we hit it off straight away and he comes to visit sometimes and play. We go in the car almost every day now and I jump straight in because usually we are going for a walk or a run. Sometimes it's just a drive, but that's ok because that's when it's really cold and raining. Mum taught me to eat bones when I arrived and the vet says I have great teeth. We have a bone after our walk every day and then a big dinner for me because mum says I'm too skinny. I don't mind, I like food. I eat anything and everything. Mum laughs and says I haven't said no to anything yet. (And I never will...HA HA).

I love my new home and my new family. Thank you GAP for finding me a forever home and a forever girlfriend all in one place.

Bye for now,

OSKA