ooch Sc Issue No. 20
May 2012
p
M O NTHLY
SPRINGWOOD DISTRICT DOG TRAINING CLUB INC.
Shane Grundy & Hachiko’s Story Our Hachikō, a beautiful German Shepherd, was born 9th March 2009 at Orange NSW to a breeder that was the sister of a family friend.
Dog Friendly places for a Holiday S
ituated in the leafy suburb of Shoal bay and only a 7 minute stroll to the village centre and five minutes drive to the very popular Nelsons Bay, Bali Hai is a very comfortable 3 bedroom house sleeping up to nine people. It’s the ideal place for exploring the Port Stephens Area. Take a Dolphin watch tour, a four wheel driving tour or a boat cruise. Stroll along the seafront or take the dogs to the many dog friendly beaches or one of the walks in the area. The Port Stephens area is famous for it’s attractions for families and couple alike. Shoal Bay Port Stephens. www.shoal-bay.com phone: 0421 510 955
Dog Of The Month? If this photo shows your dog and you claim it at the table by the end of the month from Ella, Leanne or Wally, you can then pick a small gift out of our raffle box.
Prior to the arrival of Chiko our house was filled with the pita patter of 12 paws, there was Bear, a Rottweiler X Shepherd, Bonnie a Rottweiler and Grace our Dalmatian. We lost Bonnie on Boxing Day 2007 and Bear a couple of months after that, a pretty horrible time as many of you would understand. This left Grace the lone dog and she fretted pretty badly, and I missed the companionship of the larger dogs in the yard and around the shed, as Grace was happy in bed or in the house with my wife Samantha. In June 2009 the surprise was unveiled when I was coaxed into a trip to Orange. This is where we first met all the pups. We had the pick of the boys and there were three to choose from. After some time watching them we chose a pup that was extremely calm, easy going and a gorgeous fluff ball. We had to leave him there as I was going overseas for a few weeks. Back home and the next day we were off first thing to get the boy. Prior to his arrival home we had to pick a name, the breeder informed us it had to start with a H so the
DISCLAIMER PLEASE NOTE: News, views and opinions in this newsletter are those of the correspondent’s and not necessarily those of the club, editor, committee and publicity officer. The Springwood District Dog Training club INC reserves the right of rejection of material.
search began. We settled on the name Hachikō. The name was chosen after reading the story of a remarkable dog. Here it is: In 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner’s life Hachikō saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya rail Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting. Hachikō was given away after his master’s death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he did not see his friend among the commuters at the station. The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people Continued page 3
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Bill, Ella, Mary-Anne & Mick