Round of A-Paws for Banjo! with the Constables
He may seem sheepish for a Kelpie, but as Helen Flanagan found out, Banjo has a pawsome family to live up to.
Sounding very Australian indeed, Banjo the cheeky Kelpie, has oodles of personality and a wicked sense of humour! The breed is highly intelligent, alert with an exceptionally high IQ, but a versatile working dog? Not Banjo. He’s fanatical about the beach and hopelessly devoted to the Constables: Anna and Josh, and sons Jet and Jive. The Constable’s passion for a dog was ignited following the visit of a smart Kelpie during the summer holidays. The family loved the experience and Josh related the story to his hairdresser Andy, whose wife is a vet.
“They were super stoked we were in the market for a dog and introduced us to a client who trained Kelpies on her farm,” Josh recalls.
Soon after, the family hot-footed it to the farm at Kenilworth, met Pickles the one-year-old, who had never been in a house, a car or been given a bath. Despite all that they loved almost everything about him – except the name. They waltzed around the Aussie lexicon and before you could say ‘Castaways Beach’, he was renamed Banjo. The kennel owners said being a country dog, he would never chase a ball or go into the ocean.
“But hang on, we live 30-seconds from Castaways Beach and proof awaits,” recalls Josh. “First time on the beach he would crouch down, concentrating hard on the impossible, aka mustering dogs on a beach. Of course, he completely embraced the beach lifestyle, is obsessed with chasing a ball, going for swims, and when the family is in the water, he quietly assumes guard dog duty.”
It’s an extra special day too for devoted Banjo when he can ‘assist’ licensed recreational pilot Jet who flies or glides the model aircraft he’s built at home, on the beach. Similarly, to be part of the school run when Anna collects younger son Jive. At night, Banjo has an access-all-areas pass in the house except for sofas and beds. He usually sleeps on the floor on Anna’s side of the bed and checks on everyone through the night.
His healthy diet consists of raw mince, rice and cooked vegetables. A change from the farm when he had to compete with other dogs for his share. Banjo is a serious cruiser who loves lazing around the house, hangin’ down the beach, also hopping in the truck to Josh’s Creative Army Surfboards outlet where he can talk ruff and wax lyrical with other four-footers who accompany their best mates to work.
Josh won the ASP longboard world title two decades ago, he met tandem surf star Anna Shisler at the first Noosa Festival of Surfing, and they became the world’s most famous tandem duo. Jet and Jive have inherited their parent’s serious surfing genes, but what about Banjo? Paw-lease give the 2.5-year-old a break!
