We never knew dogs could climb trees, until we saw a photo of a staffy named Khan.
Khan's owner Helen said he "fell back down" quite a few times before finding his feet. The muscly fella is determined.
"He jumped and he jumped and he jumped until he got up there," she said.
Helen said the dog "must have been in that tree for 15 minutes".
She also confirmed that her dog is actually named after Genghis Khan. Her son chose the name, as he's a military history buff.
Apparently Genghis did have a connection to dogs. Legend has it that his Mongol army had huge dogs that went to battles. These Mongolian guard dogs, of the 13th century, were ancestors of Tibetan mastiffs.
History suggests they were involved in charges at the enemy and used to carry messages. Some were apparently used as sentries. Stories also abound that Khan's dogs were fed the slain bodies of enemies.
As for Khan the staffy, he's happy enough with Chum.
Dog Poo In Tree
Meanwhile, at Redhead Beach it's dog poo bags that somehow manage to climb trees.
A Topics spy spotted a doggy doo bag perched on the branch of a eucalypt at the entry to a beach access path.
"At least some of them are being picked up by owners on their return walks, but I see the same thing along the Nobbys breakwall," our spy said.
"On the other hand the people down at Redhead are very friendly, saying 'hello' unprompted, very unlike town."
Street Racing
The history of drag racing at Kooragang Island came up recently in a new film, More Than Hoons: 100 Years of Newcastle Motorsport.
We were chatting to Rod Baker, a former NSW Highway Patrol officer, about how police approached illegal racing activity on the island. Rod also shared a story about street racing.
"One night I was in a marked Valiant Charger. They were white with the blue highway patrol words across the bonnet.
"I was coming out of Charlestown Road, turning left onto City Road to go into town. There were two kids in a couple of hotted-up cars. They took off from the lights in front of me. The one on the inside saw me, so he backed off instantly. But his mate kept going.
"I pulled out of Charlestown Road and sat in his blind spot and went with him. We went past Northcott Drive. As we were going down the hill, I just nudged forward."
The boys in the car were "laughing their heads off".
"The passenger looked across and all he saw was the big blue highway patrol sticker. You should have seen the look on his face. It was absolute horror.
"As he turned round to talk to his mate, I flicked the lights on and pulled them over. Those street racing incidents were pretty rare, but that was one I'll never forget."
