August 4, 2024

Thwarting Badger's bid for freedom

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Badger the beagle was within a whisker of being returned to the Dogs Home this weekend. After an extremely difficult week when he escaped multiple times – I know, I know, beagles are renowned for their wanderlust - we'd had enough and I had gone so far as to book an appointment to return him.

 

It was a tough decision and not made lightly as he's a lovely dog in so many ways, but his determination to escape quite possibly is why he'd been surrendered to the Dogs Home twice before. This characteristic simply isn’t on in an area where there are farms and livestock and every second property has a few chooks.

 

After some discussion and deliberation we decided to give him one last try, so after initially posting on the community Facebook page thanking neighbours for the care and concern so many had showed for our notorious recalcitrant - and all the phone calls and messages to say he’d just been spotted going past -I let slip his time was up.

 

The universal relief when I later said there'd been a change of plan and the truant was being given a final - and I did mean final - chance, was extraordinary.

 

So Badger spent two nights and one and a bit days locked up while we figured out the best option to secure the fences even more than they already were. And in the doing of that forensic scrutiny found two of his possible escape routes. Who knew beagles could squeeze and wriggle their way out of a space that looked way too small? Shows how determined Badger was to hit the open road.

 

Needless to say the Boy wasn't happy to be so thoroughly restricted and supervised. He was only allowed out briefly for his usual walks, and intermittent ‘comfort’ breaks - while  always on a lead. So far, so good.


John's done an amazing job securing the fence line even more with rolls of wire specifically designed to keep a dog contained. Fort Knox has nothing on this section of the property. Badger is puzzled. He cannot understand how his bid for freedom has been curtailed.

 

But fingers crossed he will now accept his lot, (which compared to so many dogs is pretty damn good!) and be satisfied with a couple of good walks a day. If not . . . .


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Strange and Marvellous Things

By Anne Layton-Bennett • October 27, 2025
Well done to the north-west Tasmania branch of Fellowship of Australian Writers . Once again their editorial team led by Allan Jamieson have produced an excellent anthology, with the intriguing title – as above – and an undeniably quirky cover. The rather wonderful octopus is just one of the creatures on it, indicating a watery theme until your eyes pick out the morose-looking frog, sporting what appears to be a death-cap toadstool hat, and a moustachioed chap apparently hitching a ride to work on a magpie. They all suggest an intriguing mix of writing to be explored within. I appreciate I’m a little biased in promoting this collection of stories, memoirs, poems, anecdotes and travelogues of far-flung places, since I've got work included, but after my copies arrived in the post last week, and from dipping into the book already, it really does look like another interesting and eclectic read – as FAWNW’s previous anthologies have proved to be. Tasmania is definitely not short of some talented writers, even if all of them don't necessarily have a published book to their name. Neither do I as yet, but with my magnum opus finally completed, and currently being strategically submitted to publishers that are ones most likely to be interested going on their previous publications, my fingers are firmly crossed. For a first-time author I knew this part would be difficult, as well as time-consuming given the lengthy delays before possibly receiving that much anticipated email or phone call - or not if the six- eight- or ten-week deadline is reached with no news at all - but hoping that with Dr Bob Brown on-side and putting in a good word when and where he is able to do so, my submission will be plucked from the pile sent by other hopefuls. Then it will be a case of hoping it will spark enough interest to ask for a publisher asking to see the full manuscript. Strange and Marvellous Things (edited by Allan Jamieson, FAWNW) 2025 is available online or at good bookshops. RRP $25.00

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By Anne Layton-Bennett • October 12, 2025
Tasmania's wild and windy weather has been more severe than usual this October, making dog walking more of a challenge, and less pleasurable than usual.

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By Anne Layton-Bennett • October 2, 2025
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