The Devonport Flagstaff Page 3
July 24 2015
Bruno: new dog, old tricks Another Bruno the dog is making a name for himself around Devonport streets. As well as daytime ramblings, Bruno of Cheltenham has been spotted at the pub and even taking a date to the movies. Until his death in 2009, Bruno the Stanley Bay Jack Russell terrier was one of Devonportโs better-known characters. He had been found on a Navy frigate, and had caught ferries to the city and buses around Devonport. In 2002, he was featured in an award-winning Flagstaff feature and he was mourned with a page of memories when he died. This month we found Bruno of Cheltenham trotting down Wynyard St. We brought him to the Flagstaff office and called his owner, Garth Cumberland, who had a few stories to tell about the fox terrier. Garth and Vivienne Cumberland moved to Cheltenham two years ago with Bruno. โSince then, he has once got himself onto the Waiheke Ferry after lining up with people. Fullers only noticed he was without an owner after he was on the boat,โ says Garth. One night the Cumberlands put Bruno to bed and found him there asleep in the morning. โBut we had a message on our phone from a guy with an Irish accent at the Patriot, who had called during the night. He said Bruno was at the pub. We have no idea how he got back. Itโs still a mystery,โ Garth says. Bruno loves North Head, the nearby beaches and Devonport village. Cumberland regularly gets calls from people who find him around town. โThey often ask whether he is the famous Bruno from years ago. They always say what a lovely dog he is and assure me that he is no trouble. Once a four-year-old bawled his eyes out when he had to give him back,โ he says. Bruno follows in the footsteps of his namesake and can escape from gardens and offices alike. โI am working and one minute he is lying at my feet, the next minute he is gone,โ Cumberland says. As well as breaking out, Bruno is practised at breaking in. Twice he broke through a bulletproof fence at Cheltenham to meet up with a female Siberian husky called Sasha. The second time he slipped out of his collar to flee his home,
Hard to keep a good dog downโฆ Bruno, with owner Garth Cumberland burrowed under Sashaโs fence and made it into the house through a cat door. Another time, when his owners were away, he slipped out of home and again picked up Sasha, and the two dogs were later spotted outside the Victoria Theatre, on what looked like a date. While out on walks, Bruno also likes to take himself off. โHe is a very noble and honest dog but he knows I can only keep up with him when he is zigzagging and smelling things. When he is on a canter, he is quite fast,โ Cumberland says. Bruno grew up on a farm along a no-exit country road in Whitford, where he worked cattle and ran behind the quad bike for many kilometres most days. โHis pest control services are exemplary. He caught rats, possums, stoats,
hedgehogs, rabbits, hares and once he even caught a pheasant,โ says Cumberland. Now eight years old, Bruno finds the maritime suburb of Devonport an ideal retirement habitat. โHe is an extremely sociable dog and in that regard Devonport is very much to his liking,โ says Cumberland, who with Vivienne takes Bruno out for long walks on North Head and Cheltenham Beach every morning. โHe has polished off three rats up there so far.โ
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Making a getawayโฆ Bruno out on the streets
Contact: Rev Charmaine Braatvedt 445-0378 vicar@holytrinity.gen.nz
Full groom Bath & blow dry Puppy introduction to grooming
Prices depend on breed, size and coat Please call Barbara 021 141 0331 Local in Devonport, but happy to travel around the Shore. Short Bark and Sides NZ Barbarashortbarkandsides@gmail.com