
Pet Tales: True Blue
Following the overwhelming success of the movie, Red Dog, a Sunrise Beach regular with paws-onalty and athletic prowess, has been secretly seeking stardom in a sequel… possibly a musical. Helen Flanagan has the tale.
He’s a red-iculously adorable Aussie larrikin, a pure-bred Kelpie born in Colo Heights, a village near the Hawkesbury in NSW. He was given the oldie-worlde name of ‘Wes’ – somewhat appropriate given the famous first winners of Australia’s extraordinarily competitive sheepdog trials in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were kelpies.
The naturally smart, workaholic herding dog descends from collie and dingo ancestors, but how does that translate from living on a farm far away, to a beach house with Sasha and Jesse Manzie-Howitt, and ten-month-old daughter Maggie.
“Wes lives up to the breed’s characteristics with an affectionate loyal nature,” says Sasha admitting whilst they do love their crazy Kelpie, more time could have been spent on training.
“He knows all the general commands such as sit, shake, lay down and high five, but he still doesn’t know how to do the washing up.
“He is super friendly with everyone, loves rope toys, is keen on a tug-of-war, and mad about animals on the television even when it’s on mute, excitedly running towards the screen hoping they’ll play.”
He has a dry food diet and a doggie door to outside, preferring of course to sleep inside next to the couch, no doubt counting sheep.
“He was a little apprehensive when Maggie was brought home, initially showing little love, but has slowly warmed by sneaking into her room and laying next to the cot when she’s asleep. So cute and very protective,” Sasha said.
Wes is five and generally a very busy albeit energetic dog who runs for miles, especially at the beach.
“We take him most days and is so quick and difficult to keep up,” Sasha says. “He does backflips when attempting to catch breaking waves, however, is not as co-ordinated as dad Jesse when it comes to actual surfing.”
Being a true-blue beach dog keeps him happy but there’s nothing better than a visit to the relatives where instinctively he turns into a helter-skelter maniac.
He bolts out of the car, down the stairs, no hellos or pats, belly-flops into the pool and swims lap-after-lap; then circuits around the lawn area, before launching into the Noosa River foreshore, dog paddling around, acknowledging the presence of black swans, jabirus and pelicans; oh and around again, then the reverse of lawn circuits and pool laps.
Lastly, it is back upstairs for a paws-itively wet furry shake and a toothy smile. With a record (hmm) time of 55 minutes, perhaps Wes could compete in all three legs of a triathlon. Should be a cinch with four.