Torteval Irish Wolfhounds

Fingal was born on 29 July 2005, and lives with Jeff and Kay Baker in Tweed Heads on the Queensland/ New South Wales border.

Fingal's companion is Rip, a wolfhound/labrador cross that Jeff and Kay rescued nine years ago. Although getting on in years, Rip is still top dog and very set in his ways. He loves to swim, is ball-retrieving mad and a fantastic watchdog (when he's awake, that is). Although arthritis is slowing him down he is very active for his age and has all his faculties. He is very tough on the neighbourhood pups and other dogs, buthas a few good canine friends that he gets along well with.

Jeff and Kay were concerned how he would react to Fingal, but the cranky old man was soon won over by the new pup and even plays with him at times.

Fin swims happily in the ocean and both dogs love the water nearly as much as the air conditioning. They both have their favourite spots to lie right under the airflow and look up at the A/C unit when it isn't on with a definite expression of turn it on NOW, I'm hot.

At night, Fingal can't be left outside by himself even for a moment due to cane toads which squirt a toxic substance when touched or chased, but he sometimes doesn't want to come in. However, the fridge cheese compartment has a squeaky door and the moment he hears the noise . . . . he is straight inside!

September 2006

"Fingal has developed into a healthy, happy boy who really enjoys life. He has fitted into our house and hearts so well. We turn a blind eye to the chewed things and the hoard of treasures he loves to bring inside. It is amazing how he seems like the normal size for a dog and all the others look so small.

He has a superb howl and joins in with the local dogs and dingoes for the afternoon howl through the valley! He sings the bass part while Rip is more of an alto tenor. The dingoes are sopranos and the girls next door are the mezzo sopranos, quite a chorus.

Latest trick, while having his afternoon run next door (he loves the ridgeback bitch next door), is to leap into the dam through the water lilies and then look confused that they have given way and he is in the water. So he scrambles out and does it again.

It is the season here when the weeds all go to seed and he ran head first into a burr bush the other day while playing. It took nearly two hours while he was asleep to tease them out of his fur, as there were literally hundreds of them.

Life is fun with a wolfhound!! Kay has developed a method of cooking with her elbows out to repel the nose from the bench top, very funny to watch."