Santa Paws Photos ~ The Wishbone Foundation

Santa Paws Photos

94 Williamson St

Bendigo

10am-2pm

The Wishbone Foundation is a registered Australian charity founded in 2002 to provide free pet care to elderly and disabled pet owners living at home, and pets as therapy to assisted living facilities and hospitals . Wishbone currently delivers foundation services in metropolitan Melbourne and some areas of country Victoria. Wishbone is based in the beautiful Pyrenees region of country Victoria, producing an Australian owned and made range of cruelty-free botanical pet care products. 100% of profits from every product sold supports the foundation. Wishbone also offers training, walking and holiday care to pet owners in north-east Victoria on a fee-for-service basis, from which 100% of profits also support the foundation.

Check out some of these cute Santa photos below, including Gypsy giving Santa a big kiss!

www.thewishbonefoundation.org

Oscar's Law Book Launch

13 December 2012

5:30pm

Polly Bar

401 Brunswick St

Fitzroy

Oscar's Law are so excited to announce their beautiful new book "I Want Oscar's Law Because' 112 pages of creative stunning portraits demonstrating the bond we have for our pets, and over 100 reasons why we need Oscar's Law!

"I want Oscar's Law because I don't want to ever see any dogs treated poorly, ever.  Many dogs have brought tremendous joy to my life over the past 30 years and as far as I'm concerned they deserve to live as free as possible" 

Bondi lifeguard Reidy with his dog Mugsy

www.oscarslaw.org

Cafe Sweethearts Encore & Gasworks Farmers Market.....

263 Coventry St 

South Melbourne, 3205

(03) 9690 6752

Sometimes we just can't resist revisiting our favourite cafes. Whilst there are many fabulous cafes on Coventry St, it is hard to go past Cafe Sweethearts. Today we combine  our visit with a post-brunch stroll to the Gasworks Farmers Market.

We're baaaaaack!

When we wrote our last blog post about Cafe Sweethearts, we were clearly going through our 'porridge phase'. The pugs would've been disappointed, as they are usually so excited to get a subtle slip of bacon or roesti!

please can I have a roesti?! please please please!

pick me! pick me! please & thank you! Whatever it takes!

You may have trouble deciding what to order, not because of lack of variety, but due to the ample, delicious brunch items available. There are pages alone dedicated to eggs. We have also been known to cross town for Sweetheart's herb polenta. Feeling hungry?  

My mouth is watering......

mmmm nom nom nom......

Eggs Mexican with a Roesti

Scrambled Eggs with Rocket & Parmesan & Roesti

Coffee is always superb here, we were originally recommended this cafe for their Genovese coffee way back in 2006. Whilst it has changed owners since then, we are pleased that the standard of coffee is still high and much of the original menu remains. Alongside the coffee, the extensive egg menu is what Cafe Sweethearts is well-known for! 

Our first blog post about Cafe Sweethearts can be viewed via this link:

http://www.gypsyju.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/cafe-sweethearts-scoutabout.html

Gasworks Farmers Market received the Outstanding Farmers Market Award at the 2012 Delicious Produce Awards. The annual award ceremony was held at Stokehouse, Brisbane and was hosted by culinary critic Matt Preston. The awards highlight small and artisan producers and a growing interest in sustainability, with nominations doubling this year to 2000.

The Gasworks Farmers Market is held at Gasworks Arts Park from 8:30-1pm on the third Saturday of each month. The remaining Farmers Market dates for 2012 can be found below:

Saturday 21 July

Saturday 18 August
Saturday 15 September
Saturday 20 October 
Saturday 17 November
Saturday 15 December

The market is plastic bag free and all packaging is as environmental responsible as possible so please bring your own trolleys, baskets or green bags :)

The Boathouse & Maribyrnong River Trail

7 The Blvd

Moonee Ponds 3039

ph (03) 9375 2456

Perched on the banks of the Maribyrnong River is The Boathouse; a haven for dog lovers and those who love the great outdoors.  

'The Boathouse is a collaboration between Gary Mehigan judge and co-host of Channel Ten’s hugely successful MasterChef series and partner Steve Bogdani with a vision to share life’s simple pleasures done really well.

The Boathouse is dog-friendly in the sense that it caters for dogs by providing an area to leash them, but they are not permitted in the actual alfresco area. We usually have the dogs right at our feet, so even though we sat on the seats right near the leashed area, I would've felt more comfortable if they were right with us as per our normal cafe experiences. Many people always approach our dogs wanting to meet them and as responsible pet owners, we want to facilitate that meeting so the dogs (or humans in some cases!) socialise appropriately. I found myself continually leaving the table, weaving under the balcony and to the leash area for this. When they weren't meeting and greeting new humans and dogs, the girls were happy rummaging through the sticks and leaves ;)

Gypsy's lead is attached to a long wire which she can move up and down on right in front of our table.

We met one lovely reader of our blog who approached the dogs and she was as excited to meet the dogs as they were to meet her ;) It is always lovely to meet people who appreciate our blog. We love sharing dog-friendly places with families with dogs and importantly, we feel a strong passion for spreading awareness about animal welfare issues also. 

Back to the Boathouse brunch.....

River Run Breakfast

Breakfast Pizza

Brunch at the Boathouse finishes at 11:30am on Sunday, so don't sleep in then venture out for a 'Lazy Sunday' brunch, expecting to be served eggs later in the day here! It is not unlike us to be venturing to brunch closer to 'lunch' on Sundays, so fortunately we made an earlier start on this particular day, and were able to be served eggs in the form of poached on the 'Breakfast Pizza' and scrambled on the 'River Run Breakfast' plate ;)

After brunch, we ventured along the Maribyrnong River Trail near the Boathouse. We walked a lovely circuit along both sides of the river, alongside many other dogs ;) Gypsy loved springing like a rabbit in and out of the river reeds along the bank and Poppet of course, was walking close by us on the pathway ;) 

If you don't like leaving your dogs leashed up, opt for a take away coffee @ The Boathouse and enjoy the river trail with your dog. Alternatively, we did see others leave The Boathouse with fresh muffins to eat on their bench seats overlooking the river ;) 

The Boathouse is pinned. We followed the Maribyrnong River up to Riverside Park where there is a walking bridge to cross to the other side. We then followed the River all the way up to Raleigh Rd.

The Age Run Melbourne 2012

Sunday 15 July 

Join RSPCA staff, volunteers, family and friends in Team RSPCA and run for a great cause that will not only keep you fit but help the RSPCA care for animals in desperate need.

There is something for everyone, with 5km, 10km and 21km walk and runs to choose from, anyone can go the distance! If you would like to get involved but running or walking is simply not your thing, why not donate the dollar instead!

The registration fee covers the event costs, so every dollar we can raise as RSPCA fundraisers will go along way to help RSPCA Victoria continue its vital work in animal welfare! 

1	Head to the 2012 Run Melbourne registration page: http://www.runmelbourne.com.au/start.php?linkid=173
2	Click 'New Entry'.
3	Under Fundraising Information – please select 'I wish to fundraise – as part of a team'
4	Under entry details please select your distance and nominate team ‘Team RSPCA' as your selected team.
5	Complete registration and payment.
6	To become a fundraiser visit our ‘Team RSPCA’ Melbourne fundraising page.
7	Select to join a team.
8	Register yourself with your own user name and password and join 'Team RSPCA’ with the password rspca123.
9	Once you have registered with Run Melbourne and joined 'Team RSPCA,' send the fundraising link to your family and friends to sponsor your amazing running efforts and support ‘all creatures great and small’!

Cupcake Day for the RSPCA

 

Monday 20 August 2012 

RSPCA is calling for your baking expertise and enthusiasm to help raise much needed funds for all creatures great and small. By registering, baking and fundraising for Cupcake Day for the RSPCA, you will be part of an exceptional group of supporters who understand the importance of pets in our lives. Your cupcakes will help give a surrendered puppy a home, rescue a neglected pony, provide emergency surgery to an injured kitten and save thousands of lives.

The RSPCA would love to beat lasts year’s total funds raised of $1.1M  ;)

Follow this link to register in Melbourne (Victoria)

http://www.fundraise.rspcacupcakeday.com.au/registrations/list/334

Gypsy and Poppet found some of the best looking cupcakes ~ check them out for inspiration!

For further information, visit the official webpage. The official Cupcake Day website has all the information you need in regards to setting up your own fundraising page, becoming a host, creating a team and of course how you can support this tasty event! ;)

http://www.rspcacupcakeday.com.au/

So what are you waiting for? Grab your favourite recipe, dust off your chef’s hat and get baking to celebrate Cupcake Day for the RSPCA!