Dogs Make Great Pets. The Adventures of Sassie The Super Dog and The Five Salmon

Some of my readers are eagerly awaiting this story so here it is. Hope you like your photos Jazz (chihuahua) .

Dogs make great pets and some, like Sassie (Cocker Spaniel/King Charles cross), think they are more than just a dog. On one particular adventure, Sassie thought she might be able to do a spot of fishing, or at least have some fish for breakfast.

A Christmas holiday break had allowed me more time to take Sassie for walks, great for my fitness and hers! One exceptionally beautiful morning just before Christmas we ventured out on our usual walk down to the river. The weather was just perfect, a slight breeze, bright blue sky and it just starting to warm up. Being on holiday meant we left home around 8am, about an hour earlier than usual and so along the way we noticed our walking route was more crowded.

Our local council had recently completed a pontoon/mooring down at the boat ramp and this particular morning it was quite busy. The car park was full of cars, trailers and people waiting to put their boats into the river. We greeted everyone whilst we walked past, I would have loved to join some of them on their boats, it was a perfect day to be on the river.

As we kept walking we met up with Jazz and her owner whom we talk to regularly. The nice thing about walking a dog is how many lovely people you become friends with, I have met so many people in the 10 years I have been walking, and more so now that I walk with Sassie. Previously people would just greet me with a good morning or a smile, now dog owners stop and chat, which is so pleasant. Certainly makes for a more interesting walk.

Jazz is a Chihuahua with a big personality and one of the few dogs that Sassie gets along with as she has a nervous disposition and is generally suspicious of most dogs. I fell in love with Jazz instantly the first time she came bounding down the hill to greet us about a year ago. She has a beautiful little face and is so friendly we couldn't help but become friends with her (and her owner). I don't normally like little dogs but Jazz is too cute so both Sassie and I are pleased to see her during our walks.

So whenever we meet up, we spend some time together. This particular morning, whilst Sassie and Jazz played we chatted and kept walking, meeting more owners and dogs along the way. It really was a busy morning!

Eventually, we arrived at the boat ramp again and saw an astonishing site. Three young men had placed 5 large salmon on the footpath, they had caught them in the harbour earlier in the morning. I had never seen so many big fish laid out (except in a fish store of course) but it was Sassie's reaction that was interesting. I should point out that Sassie loves food, even when she's fed she hangs around in our kitchen hoping for scraps.

At first Sassie was cautious and curiously sniffed the fish. There was blood on the path as the boys had started gutting them. Jazz was also cautious but didn't seem as interested in the salmon as Sassie was.

We continued chatting to the boys about their fishing expedition and how surprised they were to catch such large fish in Sydney Harbour. Many years ago fishing in the Parramatta River and Sydney Harbour was prohibited in some areas because of pollution and contamination.

Councils governing the River and Sydney Harbour now have programs in place such as stormwater management plans and gross pollutant traps, which prevent stormwater entering the bays, making for cleaner waterways which has resulted in the return of native fish. There are strict laws in place on polluting our waterways, hence the fish numbers have risen and many parts of the river and harbour are now opened up to fishing and swimming.

Both Sassie and Jazz were patiently lying down waiting for us to start walking again with Sassie lying quite close to the salmon. She had a determined look on her face, you could almost see her thinking "mine, mine, all mine!". After chatting for a little while longer we called our dogs and went our respective ways home. I thought Sassie started to follow me so I just kept walking. It wasn't until I was at the other side of the ramp I realised she was still over with the fish. As I called her she stubbornly looked over to me then went back to watching what the boys were doing. This was highly unusual as Sassie didn't usually disobey an order from me, but no matter how often I called her, she just stayed put.

I had no choice but to go back to the other side of the ramp. When I arrived there the boys were completing the gruesome task of cleaning the fish (I guess its necessary to clean them but not something I would relish doing). There was quite a lot of blood on the path and the boys said Sassie had licked some of it, "I think she thinks these guys are going to be her breakfast," laughed one of the boys.

They were right too because Sassie wouldn't move and just kept eyeing the fish with a famished look on her face. So Sassie kept watching intently as the boys loaded the salmon into their boat and proceeded to clean up the path. No matter how many times I called her she didn't leave until the boys drove away with their boat (and what Sassie thought was going to be her breakfast). The boys were very pleased with their morning of fishing and told me the salmon were going to be barbecued on Christmas Day. Hmmm, now that's my idea of a good Christmas meal.

Another passion of mine is cooking so I thought I'd share one of my favourite fish dishes with you. Baking fish seems easy but if you're not careful the fish can be easily over cooked and become dry and tasteless.

This recipe helps the fish to stay moist - Baked Snapper with Olive and Tomato.

You will need:

1 fresh snapper, cleaned and scaled. I buy one big enough for 4 people
Kalamata olives (black Greek ones). The amount will depend on size of fish, usually 6-12.
1 ripe tomato (Cherry tomatoes can be used if preferred), sliced.
Garlic cloves (the amount you use will be to your taste). I only use one or two.
Fresh basil (if in season), otherwise thyme.
1/2 glass White wine (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil.
Salt and pepper.

Utensils:

1 baking dish large enough to fit the snapper comfortably. Spray with olive oil or use a little extra virgin oil and coat the inside of dish. You will need foil to cover fish for the early stage of baking.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (325 F).

I like to coat the snapper with cooking salt or sea salt. Add pepper to your taste. I use cracked black pepper but not too much as it can be quite strong and overpower the flavour of the fish.

Place snapper in dish, add garlic, olives and place tomatoes on top and inside the cavity. Add basil (or thyme) and then pour a little olive oil over the fish. Add wine now if you are using it. Cover with foil and place into oven raising the temperature to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

Now this next part is the most important. Let the fish cook for 15 minutes, take dish out of the oven then remove foil and carefully turn the fish over. Replace dish into the oven, without foil and let it cook for another 15 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on size of the fish.

If you like you can grill the skin by turning the oven grill on for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on the fish whilst crisper is on, you don't want burnt skin.

When the fish is ready the olives will have wrinkled and the tomato will have cooked with a light sauce coating the bottom of the dish. There will be more of the sauce if you have used the white wine.

I like to serve the snapper with a fresh garden salad, home made chips (none of the frozen chips for my family) and a chilled white Australian wine.

This is a healthy, light meal and great on a hot summer's day.