Bess The Wonderdog 
(Jan 1st 1995 - Dec 8th 2010)
In her 16 long years, Bess lived on two continents, chased countless beasts of all shapes and sizes, swam in the great rivers of the USA and Australia and  ate everything from 4 foot long emu leg drumstick  to T-Bone steak. 

She  was one of life's great dogs. This is her story.

Bess was born in Two  Wells , a town just north of Adelaide, in South Australia.
She was 6 weeks old when we brought her home.  

A few puppy photos and young dog photos 

Move to the BIG SMOKE (NYC)

Bess traveled to America in the cargo hold of a United Airlines 747. She was in the crate she had been sleeping in at Bruce's family's home in Sydney. They were both in Australia, waiting for  the advanced party (me) to find an apartment, (preferably with an outdoor area) and have it vaguely  habitable . When they finally took the flight, there was the scheduled stopover in LA. This being the first port of entry, and Bess being a dog of note, she was required to leave the plane and pass muster with the Department of Agriculture representative. 

Fresh out of rabbits and kangaroos to chase , she soon came to realize that the most interesting inhabitants of Manhattan scurried about in tree tops, occasionally  landing on the groups, in an effort to incite all full blooded canines. From then on, she spent a lot of time craning her neck ever upward, in hope of spotting 'Public Enemy Number One'. 

Fortunately our first apartment sported a backyard in which Bess could continue her life long game of pretending to be a lion in the jungle. Despite this she was still able to be held in the gripping power of Bruce Eggins and his famous scissor hold .

 Cover in the jungle seemed to strangely disappear in the winter. This never happened in Australia. 

As a life long stick lover, Bess soon began sampling the local offerings.

Bess clearly had something to smile about; receiving her first ever winter coat for Christmas .

Early on she showed that you can take the dog out of the bush, but you cannot take the bush out of the dog.

Never on for crowds, Bess showed minimal interest in the whole 'dog run' concept. She much preferred to play  with humans. Other animals were of most fun when one was in pursuit of them. 

Bess was fortunate to have many local holidays as well as ones further afield.