A gem of a dog

By John Tadigiri

Seven-year-old little foxy Ruby is a great apartment dog, according to her owners Bob and Beata Bell. 

Docklands News met the trio at dusk on Monday, May 31 amid Victoria’s latest COVID-19 lockdowns as they were out for a stroll along Victoria Harbour.

While the promenade is among her favourite walking routes, so too is a trip to the Port Phillip Ferries café next to Cow Up a Tree to sit around while Bob and Beata enjoy their coffees.

According to her owners, Ruby is also very fond of the beach and is delighted that Port Melbourne beach still falls within her five-kilometre radius during lockdowns.

“Even though she is small, she is very tough. She can walk up there [Port Melbourne beach] and back without any problem,” Beata said. 

When asked if Ruby liked the water at the beach, Beata laughed and said, “no, she is afraid of water, she will dig holes in the sand, but she’ll not go anywhere near the water!”

A “quiet dog” well suited to living in Docklands, her fear of the water is consistent with her love for the comfort of the apartment lifestyle.

According to her owners, while she may be afraid of some things, she was very protective of her owners when it came to potential threats such as other dogs, as well as window cleaners!

“Ruby is great living with us in the apartment,” Beata said. “She sits on the couch with us and loves it. She doesn’t watch much TV, only a little bit and barks the other dogs and horses that come up on the TV screen.”

“She is very protective of us; she barks at the other dogs in the courtyard. At other times, she is usually very quiet.”

“She loves people more than dogs. She may bark at dogs but not at people ... except the window cleaners, who may sometimes suddenly appear outside the window; because she thinks they are trying to break in!” •