Louie might be the fittest dog in town.
Despite being born with a major heart murmur and deemed unsaleable by his breeder, who gifted him to the Shaw family, this energetic border collie-mini poodle cross seems to have had a point to prove.
He once ran 40km by his owner Stuart Shaw’s side.
“And he still didn’t want to get in the ute,” Mr Shaw said.
Heart murmur? Yes. Weak heart? Absolutely not.
Of course, a murmur doesn’t necessarily indicate a diseased or abnormal valve; it can be due to healthy heart exertion during exercise.
But as a younger dog — he will turn three in October — Louie would pass out in his family’s arms after signalling his loss of consciousness was imminent with a cough.
It was a new experience to get used to for the family of five, including three teenage daughters, as was having a dog at all.
Mr Shaw owned dogs growing up, but Louie was the first the Shaw family had welcomed together.
His daughter Kiera said having a dog made life less boring.
Even though the friendly little canine, who loves to chase magpies and cats about, gets a fair share of love from all family members, Louie chose Mr Shaw as his master.
Maybe it was because he takes him for regular runs — 5km every morning, but up to that whopping 40km occasionally — or perhaps it’s a kind of brotherhood, with the pair being the only males in the household.
Mr Shaw’s wife Laura also takes Louie along on her runs, while someone in the family always ensures he gets a couple of kilometres of walking in the afternoons, too.
He is currently the only pet in the household after the family’s blue-tongued lizard, Charlie, moved to the school Mr Shaw teaches at.
Louie also used to share his space with chickens, who he would at times chase and at other times be chased by them.
Disciplined in more ways than one, the clever pooch can sit and roll on command (for treats), and showed off his strength of mind resisting a treat placed on his paw until he heard the magic word giving him permission to eat it: “Go!”.
If there’s one thing he can’t help himself do though, it’s steal socks.
“He has a sock fetish,” Mr Shaw said.
“If one drops off the line, he’ll take it and bury it.”
Mr Shaw once had a favourite pair of arm warmers for running drying on the line when one was unluckily dangling like a carrot within Louie’s reach.
Needless to say, when Mr Shaw returned home after work, it was gone.
Its final resting place is still a mystery to this day.
Louie’s other unique quirks include making a bed upon bark in a garden bed rather than sleeping in his actual bed.
And while he hates baths, he still likes being near water, just not in it.
Mr Shaw said when anyone was in the pool, Louie carried on excitedly and loudly about it.
Without being able to translate dog language, it’s difficult to know exactly what Louie’s favourite things are, but with two teachers and three students as his housemates, high on the list has to be school holidays when everyone is home.
We wish Louie all the best as he navigates the lonely weeks between the winter and the spring school holidays.
But with his morning runs, afternoon walks and magpie season just around the corner, we’re sure his inclination to chase them will keep him entertained enough.