Aussie Dogs LOVE the CCCold Beach!

Taffy & Jedha finally experience snow up to their knees...

here they are jumping thru it like snow bunnies!

Taffy plays in it like he is at the beach back in Australia!

Jedha eating the snow like it's Edy's french vanilla ice cream!

Dad with his boys in the morning snow




Michigan Winter Wonderland!





Taffy on the attack! Jedha seeking refuge with Mom :o)

The boys watching Dad shovel the steps and porch....waiting ever so patiently for their walk to the park where Jedha almost caught a squirrel slowed down by the 6-8inches of snow we've gotten so far today!...Granted I think even if Jedha had caught the poor fella, he would've just wanted to make friends...however, knowing what happened to our Golden Retriever, Cassie, a few years back, I think the squirrel would've had quite a painful surprise in store for Jedha's big, black nose!

Aussie Dogs LOVE Michigan Snow!

Jedha enjoying the quiet stillness of a Michigan Winter....

In awe of the softly falling white stuff from the sky....

The boys discover you can eat the cold white stuff! Now they think it is ice cream as they eat it off of everything and everywhere....yes, we have discovered that eating too much snow does not work too well with a dog's 'system' but how do we tell them no?....

Taffy playing with his ball like he did back home at the beach....boy this is cold sand here!

Jedha and Taffy's 1st Autumn & Winter in Michigan!

Can you tell I've neglected Jedha and Taffy's blog a bit? Well as you can see they have enjoyed the leaves of fall and now are enjoying the discoveries Winter has in store for them....as you can see from the photos they were wondering what this cold white stuff was falling from the sky?? More snow photos to follow!...

Taffy Gets a New Doggy Coat :o)

Ok, is there anything cuter than a dog in a coat??.....



"...that's what friends are for...."





Taffo and his ball.....

Taffo very rarely allows himself to be photographed doing anything too 'silly',

but I was able to capture this shot as he slipped off to dreamland....

....simply entitled, "Jedha's Lip" :o)

...I have to be sure to keep up on this blog because I know our friends back in Australia want to be sure we are doing ok over here in America, especially our Grandpa Harris who took such good care of us until we were able to fly across from Sydney to Michigan to be with Mom & Dad. Grandpa if you are reading this, we are doing really good over here in America, getting walks everyday, special treats when we are good, and trying not to chase so many squirrels! And we are staying far away from those 'smelly kitty cats' too!

Fun at Kensington...our Favorite Park!

Is there anything more to say with these photos??! Taffy is FIERCE and FEARLESS! Jedha on the other hand would run down the launch pad, but stop juuust short of the water and then go running back down the dock and go in the safe (sissy) way....they both LOVE the water, even as cccold as it is here in Michigan!

Jedha Meets a 'Very Smelly Kitty'....

So last night I let out the dogs and of course Jedha, our Lab Mix wanted to stay outside just a little bit longer, so Taffy and I went inside without him. On our way in Taffy suddenly stopped and put his nose in the air, looked up, and at the front gate, but I didn't see, hear, or smell anything, so we both continued on inside. Well in just a few minutes I could hear the jingle of Jedha's collar so I figured the knucklehead now was ready to come in. So, I open the side door and to my horror I see a baby skunk staring at me only about some 15 feet away! I grabbed Jedha, although in hindsight probably really didn't need to as he just wanted to get IN! and away from that REALLY smelly 'kitty cat'...see in Australia they don't have skunks, boy are they missing out huh?! Anyway, the smell was horrendous, although luckily? for Jedha it was a baby and either had bad aim or maybe the stream doesn't go that high when they are young, regardless he was mainly hit on his chest, not his head. I called up the vet and they said to mix 1 quart of peroxide, 1/4c. baking soda, and 1 tsp. dish soap and leave that on for about 15 minutes. So, I made the mixture and scrubbed it all over Jedha Boy's fur and we waited...he whimpered a bit, but after 15 minutes we washed it off and he did seem to not smell as much. I know from experience though that the stinkiness will last, oh probably a good 2-3 months, as this is what happened with our 1st Golden Retriever years ago when she had a run-in with a skunk. Anyway, we are really thankful all is well now and that it was a baby smelly 'kitty-cat' Jedha met and not the Mommy smelly 'kitty-cat' because I have a feeling the outcome would've been heaps worse! Welcome to America Jedha-Boy!

You Can Take the Dog Out of Australia....

....but you surely cannot take 'Australia' out of an Aussie dog! Here is Jedha catching wind of the neighbor's BBQ, or 'Bar-Be' as they'd say in the land down under...

....moving closer

....I've had to call him in already a few times as once he smells something cookin he expects an invite nonetheless! He'll start his typical 'whinging' as we call it, just like a typical 5 year old, he starts his high-pitched 'mmn-mmn-mmn' as if to say, 'please, please, please can I have some, please?'

...hard to resist this face, but he has to be given boundaries....

( yeah right!)

Learning How to Navigate Stairs...

So another thing we neglected to consider in bringing our 2 nuggets from Australia was the fact that they each had very little experience with stairs. We found this out straightaway as we opened the door to let them into their new home, only to have Taffy go flying down the basement steps, so much so that he basically had to jump off the steps to the floor below to avoid falling into a wall at the bottom....so yeah, this was our first 'a-ha moment' concerning the dogs and stairs. It was pretty nerve-racking the first week or so, mainly for us, fearing that the dogs would surely break their necks going down the stairs, but they have learned to go s-l-o-w-l-y down them, well most of the time! And wouldn't you know it, Taffo seems to fall up the stairs on occasion...ah, ya gotta love em!

Visiting PetSmart :o)

Whoo-hoo! We're here!...

We can actually go inside Taffy?!....

Look at all the goodies Jedha!....God bless America!

Oy! these look pretty good!...

Ok, deadset this is MY FAVORITE aisle!....

This is MY FAVORITE!....

....and this one's pretty good too! We LOVE PetSmart! :o)

SQUIRREL PATROL!!!

Well, let's just say I did not anticipate just how much our 2 Aussie dogs would LOVE squirrels (they don't have them in Australia)! Each morning, as they step, or should I say LAUNCH out the door!, they run to the back fence where they saw a neighborhood squirrel, oh about 2 weeks ago now...but of course they think it has to still be there. I wish I had photos of the very first squirrel Jedha saw. I watched him from the kitchen window as this friendly yet cautious little squirrel came slowly walking down the side fence. Jedha had been napping on his Coolaroo bed( from Australia I might add! purchased here at PetSmart), and spotted this furry creature making it's way closer and closer to his proximity and then it just stopped. The squirrel started clicking and flipping it's tail as if to see if he could entice Jedha to do something...well a couple steps later down the fence and he got his wish! Jedha SPRANG off his Coolaroo bed and flew towards the squirrel, who in turn first tried turning and going the other direction down the fence, then backtracked, nearly fell, until finally he decided he better make a leap for it and jumped off the fence and onto the safety of a nearby tree! It was just so amazing to watch...one moment, calm, peaceful serenity, a split second later flying fur at 100mph! Welcome to America Jedha Boy!

Jedha & Taffy~2 Aussie Dogs Take On America!

This is the story about two Australian dogs, rescued from the streets, and their adventures here in America! I thought it would be fun for family, friends, & fellow dog lovers to share this journey with us. Taffy, a Kelpie/New Zealand Hunterway Mix, pictured first, was rescued by my Aussie husband, Jonathan, off the streets of Cairns in Australia about 5 years ago. He appeared literally on his front doorstep in the pouring rain of the wet season, every rib showing, hungry for food and for affection. Jedha, our Yellow Lab/Red Healer Mix, was rescued by my husband from the local animal shelter in Cairns after he was found wandering the streets at only 2 months old. Now, fast forward a bit as we were living in Australia after our marriage in 2006, but decided to take on America in 2008! There was no way we would be leaving our furry nuggets behind, and so on July 2, Taffy and Jedha made the long journey from Sydney, Australia, to join us here in Michigan!