Animal House

Boris the newly acquired Tom

Throughout the years of married bliss there have been numerous spoilt pets that have taken up residence with the Fullers. In most cases it was soft hearted me bringing home some unfortunate and in some cases unwanted feline to the family home. Gabi has always been a sucker for self centred and egotistical pussies, who tend to set themselves up as domestic dictators and in no time are running the whole show. At one point in time we had 4 cats and 1 labrador, who certainly came in handy in bed on a cold winters night. However at present we are down to 2 typical female felines, self centred and extremely bossy with a tendency to reduce the population of garden lizards ASAP. Jink, the fat one, was adopted from the former next door neighbours and little Dinah was a stray purchased from the local Vet. I must concede that our latest addition Dinah is the first cat that genuinely loves us, but being a girl she loves to hunt anything that moves and is extremely self centred and stubborn.

For three years a moth eaten tomcat kept on turning up hoping to have his way with our beautiful bombshell Jink, completely unaware she had been neutered....talk about living in hope. February 2009 was one big heatwave and one Saturday our tom was so distressed he allowed Gabi and I to pick him up and take him inside the house where he quickly recovered. Being complete suckers we took him to the vet who examined him and did the dirty deed by zotting him. The end result, we now have a new member of the family who appears to have been accepted by the girls, although occasionaly the ugly green monster briefly raises its head. It could be said the 4 year old Boris has settled in quite comfortably.

Jink, hard at work.

Dinah, on guard.

I'ts amazing when wandering through ones own backyard, what one comes across cuddling pussy cats. The piece of cheesecake is none other than my newly acquired missus Gabi and the puss is next doors Siamese cat, Nasser. Puss didn't seem to mind too much, but the neighbours scattered in all directions and immediately locked up their ankle biters after noticing Gabi's state of undress. Nasser features later on in this post.

Fairies in the garden.

Nasser, between Gabi's bum and those slippers.

Oh my God! don't I get frustrated when I compare some of my current snapshots with all the rubbish photographed in the past. Admittedly the technology was not available all those years ago for quality to be on a par with what is regarded as the norm today. Even so, I doubt whether it would have made a lot of difference as I was never interested in photography and my playing up schedule was such that there would not have been time for snapshots. Some of the old colour snaps below date back to the days of Koda- Color and the years have caused the dyes to fade and in some cases completely change the appearance of the original print.

All that being said, there are heaps of memories for both me and the missus and I hope the extended family derives some amusement and pleasure from the small collection posted below........

Tojo the wonder dog.

Dogs cannot talk, but this fellow came so close to doing so. The whole family was blessed because of his presence in our lives. He literally became a local legend throughout Leichhardt, Glebe and Annandale. He even had his own drinking bowl in the Saloon bar of the North Annandale Hotel and looked forward to his middy of Tooths New each and every evening between 7 and 7:30 pm. He always knew when it was Saturday morning, so off he would go down Nelson, then across Booth St. to receive his weekly dinosaur bone from the local butcher, Jack Buff. All the locals loved him and he returned that love as only he could. Toj, you were one in a million.

Judy. Proud Mum.

Lesley and Doug phoned and told Gabi and I to come over immediately. When we arrived not that long afterwards Judy demonstrated what a clever Lab she was. She also became an excellent mother looking after her litter of eight, one of which was to be our pride and joy, the inimitable Jagdale Silver Casey, known simply as Casey.

Baby Casey.

A few years later.

When my late parents, Molly and Jim purchased their first home at Blakehurst during 1972 their newly acquired cat Buffy of course went with them. Molly absolutely adored Buff and would not hear a bad word said about her. The reality was Buffy was a little bitch.... Sorry Mum.

Nasser.

Aahh! Married life. A warm and soft wife to snuggle up to on a cold winter's night to keep one snug and warm.......Along with next doors Siamese cat Nasser, that is. "I'm here," he would squeak and then wander through the house until he found you. If you happened to be on the telephone at this time, you would be scolded and then given a nip on the knee pad for not paying attention quickly enough. Nasser absolutely idolised Gabi and in no time at all I was included in his close circle of friends as he realised I was an easy mark as well. Just prior to one of Gabi's Chinese nosh ups who should turn up just as the prawns were being peeled by yours truly, you guessed it. It was a case of one for the guests, one for Nasser, whose bloated stomach came close to bursting. Gabi insists that he ended up with more than we did. The little female seal point from across the road was madly in love with him and he with her, but as he had been zotted he didn't know why, so all that eventuated was lots of fun and games with no hanky panky.........Purrrr!!!

Sammy And Snoopy (Snoopy in box)

Sammy belonged to the Greigs living in the flat above us. Snoopy was a feral who over a period of a few weeks realised living with the Fullers was much better than bush ranging, so he moved in. Sammy and Snoop hit it off OK, so Sammy decided to move in with us as well. I don't know whether Patty and Jim developed an inferiority complex however, as Snoopy once belonged to them as well before going feral.

The black Dr. Watson and Moriarty

After a hard days play....Doc and Maurie

Gabi Napping with Moriarty.

Baby Chuckie.

Chuckie was purchased at a pet shop in the Roselands Shopping Mall in Sydney. Nearly every evening Security would rush into the Grace Bros. Haberdashery department with guns drawn, expecting to find armed burglars going about their business. All they ever found was a tiny grey kitten with Dumbo sized ears swinging on the drapes. It took the pet shop people a while before they realised Chuck was able to force his way through the wires of the bird cage they had him in and did so on a regular basis.

Middle aged Chuck.

Muggsie.

Spatz.

Boss cocky Fritz.

Fritz was 10 months old when we offered to mind him for a few days back in January 1997. Eleven years later he's still here, although he now lives three houses up from us with a German couple who absolutely idolise him. Fritz loves people, but sees other cats as competitors and caused havoc with our other lot. We could not believe our luck when this lovely couple nearby were only too happy to adopt him. As for the blonde terrorist, he thinks all his Christmas's have come at once and has settled in very nicely.

Nudge.

Casey with his pet boy Patrick.

Claude and his pet dog Casey.

Throughout most of the year, this was a common sight at night. On those freezing cold winter evenings, Claude would lick Casey's chops over and over again. Casey would shut his eyes and wait for the certainty that he knew would follow. Eventually Claude would bite him on his chops, Casey would move away and Claude would then take over lying on the warm spot. Despite this Casey loved Claude.....He was his cat.

Maurie and Dr. Watson regarded Casey as Mum and never gave up attempting to milk him.

Gabi with spoilt son.

Gabi, Patrick, Casey and Claude. Check out the marvelous wallpaper in the background......Ah! yes, the 1970's.

*  Many many years have passed by since our furry friends honoured us with
    their presence and as they, along with all of us are mere mortals, all bar 
    Jink and Dinah have all entered the heavyside layer.

 

Gabi always has taken pride in herself. That's probably why she has popped out her chest. Come to think of it, there was no need for her to do that, as nature had already provided her with a decent set of headlights.

On display at Wattamolla.

A beautiful part of Sydney.   Wattamolla.

Two honeymooners on Dunk Isle. Good God! It was 1972

Deep in thought.

"I do need some decent footwear"

 

Gabi stopped to feed her mouth

When heading north to Rochedale South

Greasy ribs were very nice

At downtown Surfers Paradise

Porky bits, all over tits

Gabi did not worry

Later on at dinnertime

She knocked off Cathy's curry

A windy night I spent in bed

Hoping for some lovin'

But Gaye instead had made the bed

A whiffy, hot Dutch Oven

'The Germ' as the nurses called him.

AKA Patrick Michael Fuller

Madonna and Child in St. George.

Trev......  "He slept like a log last night, I never heard a peep out of him."

Gabi...... "F....ing bullshit, you deaf pr..k!!! 

"That was a good one Mum."

Oops! "Now where's the spoon & candle?"

First it was the Jacaranda, then the Crepe Myrtle. One thing we both miss about Peakhurst was the back yard and beautiful garden. After 10 years of planning and landscaping we finally got it right. The buffalo lawn never looked better, the paved arbour at the south west corner of the back yard was completed, the perimeter gardens had their watering systems installed, the new deck was constructed and all the new plants recently purchased were thriving.....then we sold up and moved to Lake Macquarie, typical.

A truly desperate housewife.

Sue, Gabi, Gail....Exhibitionists......Good pins though.

"Why can't we come inside, it's raining?"

Where have the years gone? It does not seem that long ago when Patrick and I would be at Leichhardt Oval watching the Tigers play while scoffing a cold meat pie washed down with a warm soft drink. I remember vividly the foodie soirees with Lesley and Doug, Bruce and Robyn, John and Maria, Peter and Flo and Gabi and I. The two most popular were Chinese and Italian, with dinner commencing at 7;00 pm and ending around 11:00 pm. The party would end around 1:30 to 2:00 am. I can also remember travelling all the way to the wilds of Blacktown to visit Gabi's sister Margaret and her pod of anklebiters as they were then. Now they're all paired off with rug rats of their own and it won't be long before they become grandparents......and so it goes.

Life has been and still is pretty good.