Cure For The Blues

Morale was low. It had rained solidly for a week and it showed no signs of backing down (it didn’t back down. The rain continued for another week!). The media kept harping on about how it was Sydney’s worst summer in fifty years. Great! I decided to turn up when the weather was utter shite. “Come January the weather will be much nicer,” was all I kept hearing. It was still November and January felt like a lifetime away.

At this point I had no job and, due to the constant rainfall, had arse all to do but click the refresh button on my emails. Mel was in a similar mood. Although she had a job, Mel yearned for the sun and wanted to explore the beaches and DO something. Unfortunately Mother Nature was against us so we decided to go shopping…again. I couldn’t really afford to buy anything but I thought I’d stick twos up to my budget and treat myself. Steff came along too for a bit of fresh air!

With encouragement from Mel, I bought a bra. A real bra. I was so happy. It’s amazing how something so simple can bring a smile to one’s face. I was already skipping but there was more joy to come. Mel and I walked past a pet shop and saw the cutest puppies. Little pugs and other varieties I couldn’t name. There were two white fluffy kittens too!

Mel and I didn’t even have to say anything to each other; we dived straight into the shop to give these cute little creatures a nice big cuddle. Steff rolled his eyes but I knew deep down that he loved them just as much as we did.

Cute: These guys look like they need a cuddle.

King Charles cutie

Another photo for good measure.

I think Steff was coming round to the puppy idea.

Mel astutely spotted a sign that said shoppers can babysit the pets until they are re-homed, even just for one night. What’s more, it’s free! We didn’t even think about the fact that we were staying in a hostel and left our details. We were told to call and check what’s left in store the next day.

At that time I didn’t think there’d be any puppies left for us. Plus, I would have thought that we wouldn’t get any further with it once the shop found out we were staying in a hostel. Negative on both counts. There was a beautiful King Charles puppy waiting for us and they didn’t bat an eyelid when we handed over our address. In hindsight, that’s pretty worrying but at the time me and Mel couldn’t contain ourselves. We started picking out names and coming up with a master plan on how to sneak our new friend into our room. Steff didn’t object but said that he didn’t want anything to do with it and that he won’t look after it. Mel said he’d change his mind once he saw Buddy.

Operation Buddy
Mission: Sneak our new puppy Buddy in past reception and keep him overnight.
Enemy: Hostel receptionists
Possible obstacles: Fellow residents telling staff, Buddy howling, Buddy appearing before hostel staff
Attack options: Disguise Buddy as a hairy backpacker, sneak him in via the balcony or go Paris Hilton and hide him in Louis Vuitton bag.

Mel and I built it up in our minds but it was a surprisingly easy task. Mel emptied her Louis Vuitton bag contents into another shopping bag. I placed Buddy inside to see what he thought. If he squirmed or yelped then we’d have to come up with a different plan. Buddy prodded his little paws inside the bag and curled up. He seemed to be ok. Mel collapsed his cage and carried it like a shopping basket. I went in first and acted all casual. Thankfully I wasn’t stopped by reception for any reason. I would have cracked for sure. I’m a terrible liar! Mel followed me up some time later. We couldn’t believe it. Now all we needed to do was make sure Buddy was happy and comfortable as not to disturb the other guests. The walls are frighteningly thin.

Buddy turned me into some strange person that spoke a language that was definitely not English. “Oooooyoouusooocutte yeshyouarrrre, yesh yesh!” Oh dear. I couldn’t help it.

"Who's a good boy?"

A few minutes later, Buddy weed on the bed. Not my bed thankfully but still…We didn’t think about whether Buddy was potty trained or not. We had his food and brought him a dish of water but the part that happens after that didn’t even enter our minds. Whoops!

Precautionary measures!

As gorgeous as Buddy was, he didn’t half make a stink in our room! We each took it in turns cuddling him and he was a very good doggy. He didn’t yelp or bark once. He fell in love with Steff which was annoying seen as he didn’t even want him here in the first place! Steff’s heart soon melted and he was enjoying his company just as much as we were.

The evening was difficult as Buddy didn’t like the dark. We all felt terribly guilty and began to question why we brought him back. He goes to a different home each night only to be taken back to the pet shop the next day. He must think that the babysitters don’t like him. It must be so confusing for him.

Sad doggy in the window.

I had work the next morning so only had a brief moment to say goodbye. I was quite sad about that fact until Mel told me that it was much harder for her and Steff to take him back to the store. Mel cried a lot that day which isn’t great as the whole reason behind bringing Buddy back was to have a happy experience!

As much fun as it was, we decided not to do it again. It’s not fair on the puppies and it’s not worth the risk of getting kicked out of the hostel!