The Twelfth Blog of Augustus Lazarus Cooke – Gus

Hello everyone!

I expect Winston’s already told you about our new family member. He’s called Bertie and I wasn’t very keen on him to begin with. My people brought another one home at the same time, just like him! I thought they had gone mad but after a couple of days the other one went to Dorset with Gillian and Paul. He’s called Buster. Bertie had six brothers and two sisters – I’m just glad the Humans didn’t bring them all home.

Bertie smelt different to the rest of us and he had a very loud, high voice. After a while I began to realise that he was just a smaller version of me – a much smaller version – and now I play with him. I’m very careful ‘cos he’s still quite little and I’m so big and strong. I take toys to him and we play tug.

He’s bigger than Winston now but he still can’t go up and down the stairs so Mrs Human has to carry him and she says he’s getting heavier all the time. I’m not surprised, the amount he eats! He loves the food us adult dogs (and Winston) eat but he’ll have to eat his puppy food for a long time, too, to make sure he grows properly. I remember I had to do that, and that wasn’t very long ago. I had my second birthday the other day and although I’ve finished growing up I’m still growing out, I think.

Bertie goes into his pen to eat – that’s so Winston and Frodo don’t pinch his food. The Humans have to put his bowl in the middle, out of Winston’s reach or else Winston reaches in and pulls the bowl towards him so he can hook out the food and he really doesn’t need it, that’s what Mrs H says.

I don’t think Bertie knows that Winston is a cat. He keeps trying to play with him like another puppy and Winston keeps telling him to stop.  Then Bertie goes into his litter tray to use it so he’s really quite a confused little dog. Winston doesn’t seem to mind him doing that.

Now he’s had all his jabs he can come out walking with us and that’s fun. He chases after us but he can’t keep up. He watches us retrieving, Jenna and me, that is. Frodo doesn’t pick up – he just looks elegant and beautiful and lopes along next to Mrs H.

Last week Bertie was chasing Jenna and followed her into the pond. He was quite surprised to find himself in the water but he swam really well for a little chap.

Then he sat and shivered and had to be wrapped up in Mrs H’s jacket – he liked that!

We’ve been to Dorset twice to see Buster. It’s a long way to go just for the day and we’re tired by the time we get home again. Foxy is glad we go ‘cos it gives her a rest from Buster playing with her all the time. They’re all coming here next time and they’ll sleep here, too. I like it when Foxy and Tia come. We charge about in the forest and go in all the ponds. The ponds are really full now, ‘cos we’ve had so much rain and there’s more to come.

Gareth and Nina visited the other day. It was good to see the children again – I really like playing with them. 

Susannah came to see us on Saturday but she wasn’t feeling very well so she didn’t stay long, just enough to make a fuss of us dogs and Winston and cuddle Bertie.

It is fun having a little brother – I know he’s not really my brother, though he sort of is – but it is quite tiring. We all go to bed quite early and he sleeps through the night, most of the time. Mrs H says it’s (almost) like having a baby again.

Hwyl fawr am nawr! (That’s Welsh for ‘Goodbye for now!’)