Benji / Max. Morning coffee with a sting.

It should be mentioned that at the last Vet. visit, before I left for Naracoorte , Benji  weighed in at 8 kilo.  Max is close to 20 kilo, so when there is a spat Benji does not fare well. I have concerns in leaving them alone together, something I do not have with the other dogs. Dougal and  Benji / Yogi and Benji  are strapped into the back seat where they sit quite happily on a drive to the Wetlands or the Lighthouse. I dare not do that with Max. Benji goes on the front seat and Max in the back seat. In my view it’s sad because I really do think that Max is a lovable dog. Out walking is  not too much of a problem and they walk well enough together, Benji does his thing and Max potters along and we walk to Max’s pace.  At the Wetlands we cover only about one third of the distance Benji and I would normally walk – and yes, I have to lift him in and out of the car. Going the full circuit of all the ponds would be just too much for Max. Max sleeps a lot so in the morning I let him sleep and  Benji and I quietly slip out and go out for our morning walk – about 1.8 miles. In the evening I take them both out and we  again walk at Max’s pace. It’s very interesting in that as soon as I lift the  leads ( in Australia and the UK we call them Leads – Leeds – in the USA you use the term Leash) and as soon as I do Max’s tail – such as it is – goes like  mad. He likes to get out and he is excited about going out. I could probably take him out a bit longer but I was told that  when he feels he has had enough – he just stops and refuses to move. Sorry, but 20 kilo is a lot to carry for any distance. Anyway, we have never reached that stage yet. I like Max, but, sadly, Benji does not

Today (Wednesday) I was in panic mode. Our house has a T junction on one side and a corner on the other, so I have to be careful backing out of the driveway.  Annabell called me to come

and pick her up from the coffee morning and I told her I would be there in five. I didn’t get there for  nearly 35 minutes.  As I was backing out of the driveway a child suddenly appeared in my rear view mirror. I hit the brake, put the car in park and  dashed out of the car to find a child standing in my driveway – a child not much older than my grandson and still wearing PJs.. I had no idea where this child had come from and at this time in the day, the place was deserted. I crossed the road to go to a house where I believed there was a young family. I knocked the door, but no reply – back to my house – crossed to the other side of the road to talk to my neighbour who I knew had a  young girl of school age and thought perhaps she could help. She was away on holiday and her mother was looking after the house whilst she was away. Tried to call Annabell – no success. Meanwhile if there had been anyone around with evil intentions, they could have gotten themselves a car for free since in my panic I had left the door open, the engine running and the keys in the ignition. I decided to cross the road and  try the first house again and this time the woman did answer the door, surprised to find me and her child in my arms. She wasn’t sure how he had got out since she was on her telephone in another room ( that’s what she said). Anyway, I handed her the child went back to the car and  went to get Annabell, who was in her own panic mode, concerned where I was and concerned that I had not responded to her calls. We went for lunch and  I explained to her what had happened and why I was so late in picking her up.  The thoughts that were battering my brain were twofold, – if I had been reversing only a little faster than I was –  the outcome just too,  horrendous and secondly in this modern age in Australia, here I was  an adult male  carrying a child in his arms who was no relation – and that scared me too ! It turned out ok and the child was reunited with his mother, but it was the most scary 35 minutes ever and I never want to  be like that again but five more minutes and I would have called   000 – (911) and involved the police and the consequences that would have flowed from that are really concerning.