She WAGS her tail with her heart!

My 4-legged furry companion turned 4 today .... wow!  

It seems like only yesterday that I bought home a chubby chocolate-brown fur-ball with big brown eyes and even bigger chocolate brown paws. The lemmings mocked me when I christened her ‘Chocolat’ .... what a ridiculous name for a hound they told me.

But Chocolat she is ... and I cannot imagine life WITHOUT  this chocolate hound of mine.

Rambling with her has opened my eyes to things I might not have ever noticed before.  The ripples in the waves, reflections in the water, silhouettes in the sunset, paw-prints in the sand.  

Every day with her is a new and exciting adventure.

Together we’ve travelled roads not travelled before, explored nooks and  crannies only accessible when the tide’s out and scrambled over slippery rocks to find hidden treasures ..... mostly humungous logs that then have to be dragged back over said slippery rocks!

We’ve rambled in baking sunshine when there isn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun shines down with a ferocity seldom felt.  We’ve rambled in soaking rain when less hardy souls seek shelter indoors. Even the wind ... my least favourite of weather phenomena ... doesn’t deter us from rambling AND wallowing in the waves.

I’ve lost count of the number of amazing sun-rises I’ve witnessed or the beautiful rainbows I’ve seen as they burst through ever-darkening storm clouds. If it wasn’t for the hound, I wouldn’t have captured these magical moments in time .... they wouldn’t be etched forever in my memory. 

Orewa Beach where we went for a wander after the market fnished.

I’ve laughed with her, I’ve cried with her and I’ve made so many friends because of her.

She wags her tail with her heart ... always.

Her birthday falling on a Saturday this year meant no birthday ramble on the beach with balloons ... our usual activity on her birthday as she loves balloons

 ... BALLS that POP! 

Saturdays are Market days most weekends and this Saturday we were heading to Orewa for a market we haven’t participated in before.  It was an early start ... we needed to be there by 8am.

Early morning mist on the road to Orewa

She LOVES the markets.  She loves the action and the people and the vast array of hounds she gets to fraternise with.

Copper, a 17 month old cross Papillon/Pomeranian

Today was NO exception.  She wagged her tail at all the appropriate moments, rolled over on her back for tummy rubs, sniffed bums and noses with other 4-legged furry friends and totally enchanted an elderly Indian lady. 

So much so that said Indian lady, who’s a vegetarian,  returned to our stall with a present of pork crackling for the hound!  Not just ONE piece, but TWO!

THIS hound is special. She IS what unconditional love is all about and my life, in fact my whole family’s lives, are so much the RICHER for having her in it.

Why can't we have these simple rules for our beach!