Remember the post I wrote about Cruise, dog-about-town and long-distance traveller?
Well, in the short time since then, Cruise has added to his list of destinations with his furthest expedition yet – a jaunt to the Emerald City itself, Sydney.
It all started on Saturday, when Corner Cottage played host to a group of friends from way back. We were quite excited – it was an opportunity to reconnect with people we’ve known for a long time across a few continents, and the first time we’ve shared our home with anyone. Plus of course, they’d been locked in for months and were straining at the leash to get out and about (which come to think of it, is pretty much what Cruise is doing 24/7).
Our guests arrived with generous gifts, mainly of the alcoholic genre. These were reverently laid on ice while dinner simmered away in the slow cooker (lamb shanks, since you ask). And we went for a walk, loosely following the Braidwood Heritage Walk provided by the recently-reopened Tourist Information office.
Arriving at the Doncaster via a stop at the chocolate shop, we came across Cruise, corralled in his quarters – his owner was away overnight and although he was well supplied with food, water, and cosy bedding, his melting gaze won our guests overand they convinced us to release him from captivity for walkies and maybe a bit of a feed later.
The hike was definitely enlivened by his presence – he coursed ahead of us, galloping single-mindedly from tree to dustbin to lamppost and garnishing each generously with a cockily-raised leg. He’d run ahead, ignoring our instructions to return, inspect whatever feature attracted him, anoint said feature, and then return to check on us.
So we made our circuitous way home. We plied Cruise with water and ourselves with refreshments of varying alcoholic content. We gathered around the pulsating grate and told our stories. Cruise did quite well out of our leftovers, including a couple of sizeable lamb-shank bones. Periodically we let him out for a wee – and here’s where the problem arose: after one protracted visit to the garden, he failed to return when called.
This didn’t bother us overmuch – as previously mentioned, he’s quite independently minded and knows his way around town, so we thought he’d probably headed home to the Don. We continued with our convivial repartee late into the night and woke the next morning in reasonable shape – if a little sensitive to the winter sunshine which insisted on glaring inconsiderately everywhere.
Our guests departed after breakfast; we made a call to Cruise’s owner, only to learn he hadn’t reappeared yet. Thus it went throughout the day – no word from the boy. No sightings at his usual haunts, no sign of his insouciant trot anywhere around town. And again on Monday morning. “It was really cold last night,” we fretted. “If he was outside he’d have been really chilly.”
Then, later in the day, one of the nieces mentioned at the local IGA (a chain of supermarkets formerly called Independent Grocers of Australia, for those of you not in the know) that he’d gone walkabout. “Oh,” they said. “A man left his number with us because he’d found a Jack Russell – you should try him.”
The call was made and answered by a man in Sydney. It turned out that on Saturday night, Cruise had slipped across the road to a nearby motel where this gentleman had just arrived bearing a fragrant haul of fast food. Cruise used his superpower – that ‘feed me’ look – to great effect. The man became concerned that it was too cold to turn him out, so let him stay indoors for the night. And in the morning, when our anonymous gentleman opened his car door, Cruise just hopped in. And hitched a ride to Sydney.
I should mention that Cruise had slipped his collar a day or two before, so wasn’t carrying ID. He does this routinely, preferring to pursue his business au naturel. But it meant of course that his rescuer didn’t have a number to call when the hungry hound showed up.
Anyway, Cruise has now been ‘rescued’ from his Sydney host and is staying with a friend until we work out how to get him back. Reports confirm that he’s comfortable and eating well – which shouldn’t come as a shock. So while huge swathes of the country, not to mention of the world, are unable to journey far from their front doors, Cruise has contrived to go on a nice extended holiday.
It’s really good to know he’s OK, and of course his legend has grown just that little bit more. But is he still A Good Boy? Well . . . of course he is. He’s good at finding his way into people’s hearts and getting his way – which has served him well through the years. Long may he prosper.
