Message from Finn

I received a lovely email from Finn the other day. Here it is for you to read:

Hello Louise and Neil,

It's Finn here and Helen said I had to write you a quick note to let you know how the past 24 hours have been for me up in the Hills.

Well, after I left home I was plonked into a little doggy bed on the back seat of the car. I was quite pooped so I lay still for the whole trip. When we got to their house I spent a lot of time sniffing in every nook and cranny and familiarising myself with the layout. they have lots of steps in their garden and Helen had to help me get up and down some of them,
Later in the evening we went to the park and I had a good run around chasing a tennis ball and following Ellie wherever she ran. By the time we got home I was starving and I ate Ellie's food and she ate mine - Helen tried to intervene but didn't succeed. We went to bed at about 11pm and I was a bit unsettled and kept fidgeting around. JF picked me up and let me sleep on their bed for a while. That was great until I fell off and then I decided to sleep in my bed on the floor. I woke up at about 6.45 and made sure they knew I was awake. Helen took me into the garden so that I could do my pee. Ellie and I ran around a bit and then I did a bit more sniffing around the place hoping I could find some food. I overheard Helen saying to JF that I have a huge appetite. Helen gave me some of the food you left for me plus a yummy chicken wing.

After breakfast we went to the oval in Monbulk and Ellie chased the tennis ball again and was running around like a whippet - I had to chase her of course to show her that I am just as fast as her. After that Helen put me on a lead for a while and we walked to the post office. I was too tired to do any more walking so Helen picked me up and carried me back to the car.

I went to the office today and spent a bit of time sniffing around when i first arrived - lots of interesting smells, especially from their big kitchen. When Helen or JF weren't around there was always someone else to look after me and I got lots of tickles and scratches. One young couple came in to have a look around because they thought they might like to get married at Nathania Springs. When they saw me they made a big fuss of me and even wanted to take me home with them. I spent a bit of the afternoon asleep under a desk where it was a bit cooler. Later in the afternoon when Helen had finished her work she took me downstairs to her office where it's comfortably furnished and airconditioned I had a big sleep in my bed with Ellie close by and Helen sitting at her computer.

All these young people started arriving for their shift in the late afternoon and they all kept coming and disturbing me downstairs to say hello. I kept hearing the word, "cute, cute, cute" all the time.

We went back to the park again in the evening and I had another good run chasing Ellie. We met another little pooch called Nelson (Ellie knows him) and they played chasey together. I tried to join in but Nelson kept snapping at me and trying to put me in my place . I think he thinks he's top dog...

When we got home I ate an enormous dinner as I was starving again. Ellie's food is really yumm and I like to eat out of her bowl.. when I growl and bark she moves away so that I can eat from her bowl. I can tell Helen is a bit miffed as Ellie seems to like my special puppy food which Ellie isn't supposed to have.

It's bed time now and Ellie and I are on the bed and it's very comfortable. There's a nice ceiling fan which makes the room nice and cool and I think I will have a good night's sleep.

I will write again soon when Helen and JF tell me to as I know you must all be missing me!

Love and cuddles from Finn.