This is Bondi (pronounced bon-DIE, after the beach in Australia).
An 18-month-old Australian cattle dog, she is shown reclining on a couch that she has, uh, customized to her liking.
The little misadventure earned her first place in Pet Supplies Plus’ New Year’s Pet Resolution Contest. The online competition had pet owners post photos of what their animals promised not to do in the new year. Bondi’s victory was worth a cool $1,000 Pet Supplies Plus gift certificate.
Amy Parker, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Pet Supplies Plus, says there were about 4,000 entries. That’s a lot of bad dogs. And cats. And even birds.
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“There were a lot of pets that like trash, apparently,” Parker says, summing up what the judges had to sort through. “Cats seem to be in love with toilet paper.”
Messy, but not as bad as one dog, which “ate the back of this woman’s Lexus SUV.”
So Chicago’s very own Bondi overcame some ferocious competition.
Her owner is Diana Nagle. She was not exactly infuriated by her pup’s shenanigans. Heck, it wasn’t even her couch. It was at her daughter’s home.
“I brought her to Chicago in October,” said Nagle, who had recently retired to Florida. “She had to fly in a plane, in cargo. It was a big deal for her. After we got here I had to go back to Florida. That’s when the couch incident occurred.”
“Incident” sounds so much better than “horrible, terrible disaster.” But it fits.
“It was an old couch that was going to the garbage anyway,” Nagle said. “They had it in the mudroom for the dog.”
(The couch, interestingly, is still Bondi’s bed. She has it just how she likes it, apparently.)
Nagle says her daughter got Bondi for her off Craigslist, thinking she could use some companionship. And it has worked.
“She was really good for me to have because I got a lot of exercise, lost 10 pounds, I’m sleeping better,” Nagle says.
“She’s very playful, lots of energy… . And at times she’s a lap dog.”
As for the prize, that $1,000 could buy a nifty rhinestone-studded muzzle.
“Or one of those really cool couch covers,” Parker says. “Maybe chew toys. Something from Kong that’s pretty much indestructible.”
Nagle, though, says she has a bird feeder that needs to be refilled often, and another daughter has three cats. “I have plenty to spend it on.”
Bondi hasn’t taken on any big projects lately, Nagle says. That’s not to say she’s perfect.
“You have to be careful if you leave your shoes and socks around. It’s better not to.”