Tao

This is Tao - one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. He lives with the gorgeous Sal and spends many of his days at Salawi, a fantastic Fair Trade shop/gallery/cafe in Newcastle. He is very attentive, and enjoys chasing his tennis ball around the shop. I would always schedule meetings to take place in Salawi just so I could spend more time with Tao - those meetings were always the least productive though! The first time I met Tao was when I was crossing at the lights directly in front of Salawi. I saw this stunning young dog standing in the doorway looking at me, and I wondered why he was so drawn to me... When I crossed the road I realised he was actually staring at his tennis ball that had rolled into the gutter, but he couldn't collect it himself because he knew he wasn't allowed to leave the shop. So I scooped it up for him, which caused him to give me a huge grin, and I returned it to him... and we've been the best of friends since!

Here Tao is patiently waiting for me to throw his ball. Much of his time at Salawi is spent on the ground, waiting! One day I offered to take Tao for a walk, so Sal fixed me a makeshift lead of rope and off we went! We ran through Civic Park and he chased his ball through the grass and leaves and bark... the only problem was that I had failed to realise how dirty the ground was due to the recent rain, so by the time we'd finished playing, nearly all of Tao's white fur was brown and filthy... I hung my head in shame as I returned him to Sal, the remnants of our putrid fun showing all over him - and found out that he had only been bathed that morning! Tsk tsk tsk. Let's just say I never took Tao for another walk...


Tao would often follow me to the door when I left, ball in mouth, hoping for more fun. He would drop his ball, and wait for me to turn around and throw it again. So many times I would cross the road and walk back to the office, and whenever I turned back I would see Tao standing in the doorway watching me walk back to work. So sweet!

I miss Tao very much, and when I'm back in Newcastle I'll be dropping in to Salawi to spend some time with him. I highly recommend you drop in to this great shop/gallery/cafe whenever you can - fantastic coffee, wonderful items for sale, lovely owner, and one of the most amazing dogs you will ever meet.