“It looked like a roast chicken running across the park with furry legs”
Melbourne’s dog lovers have seen some crazy things (
Angelo Ainalidis, 42 and Ricky, 11 Ricky’s breed Westmaltshitalier (West Highland terrier/maltese/shih Tzu/cavalier mix) Personality “Like most dogs he loves having his face in the wind. I used to stuff Ricky in my jacket when l rode my bicycle, then my friends and family bought me a scooter for my 40th birthday, so we upgraded Ricky into a shoulder bag so he’d feel snug and secure.” Life with Ricky “He was orange when he was a pup, and no one wanted to buy a ginger dog, so I rescued him from the pet store. We’ve been companions for 11 years now and Ricky hangs out with me at work [at Cherry Bomb salon in Collingwood].”
Michelle Le, 27 and Swift, 16 months Swift’s breed Whippet Personality “Whippets can be a quite timid, but Swift is a more boisterous and playful.” Life with Swift “He gets along with other people and dogs really well. In general, Swift is a really silly dog. Once he got his head stuck in a cardboard box and when he realised he couldn’t get out on his own, he just sat down. No whining or barking. I helped him out of it and he was back in the box five minutes later.”
Ruby Lee, 30 and Ron, 2 Ron’s breed Cavoodle Personality “He’s a very friendly dog, and quite cheeky.” Life with Ron “We call Ron the Chicken Thief. One day we went for a walk at Central Park in Malvern and saw a young mum and her two kids tucking into a picnic feast. Next minute, Ron is bounding away with half a chicken in his mouth. It looked like a roast chicken running across the park with furry legs. Once we chased him down, we realised we couldn’t give the lady her chicken back. We only brought our house keys with us, so I’m ashamed to say we legged it! We felt so guilty we donated $30 to Save a Dog Scheme…and avoided the park for a week.”
Denee Savoia, 35 and Chips, 7 Chips’ breed Chihuahua Personality “Chips likes humans. She spends her days watching people walk down Smith Street from my balcony.” Life with Chips “Chips has her own Instagram account with more than five thousand followers (@Chipsofficial) and occasionally people recognise her. She also gets up to all sorts of trouble. When she was a puppy she ate three-quarters of a block of Lindt Chilli chocolate while I wasn’t looking. She then vomited it back up over the course of six very long hours.”
Husny Thalib, 34 and Hugo Boss, 5 Hugo’s breed Schnauzer Personality “Hugo’s not the smartest dog in the world, but he’s certainly the friendliest. He gets recognised on the street from cameos he makes on friends’ Instagram accounts.” Life with Hugo “I wasn’t even a dog person before a former partner and I got Hugo, but I adore him now. I work long hours and he would get really sad if he doesn’t get enough emotional attention, so my younger sister co-parents Hugo with me and takes him on alternating weeks.”
Jamie Woolway, 26 and Rippa, 16 Rippa’s breed Golden labrador Personality “He’s gone a bit blind and deaf, but I have a feeling he’s pretending to be deaf because he’s gotten lazy.” Life with Rippa “My family got Rippa when I was ten and he’s been part of the family since. He has a funny history of escaping though, for a dog with limited mobility whose favourite pastime is sleeping and lounging around the house. A few months back, he disappeared for an hour or so before re-appearing in the lounge room covered in partially melted asphalt. We had to cut away almost all the fur on his tail and belly.”