Pet’s corner

Shelby and Ned, an unlikely duo

Meet Shelby the 10-year-old mastiff Rhodesian ridgeback great dane and her compatriot Ned, a seven-year-old Kelpie cross who both prove opposites can attract.

Samantha Gold, the carer of the two city-based dogs, describes them as a “funny pair” with Ned’s intelligence perhaps compensating for the clumsiness of Shelby’s great dane DNA, all resulting to create a functioning friendship.

Although Samantha assures Southbank Local News that if the pair does share one trait in common it is a fear of the common cat, one of which has been providing the allies with significant trauma of late by stalking them from beneath the stairs at Samantha’s home.

However, with Ned considered the smarter of the two, Samantha shares an anecdote suggesting that Shelby might not be as slow as she leads some to believe.

“We were waiting at the lights once shoulder to shoulder with 200 pedestrians and a man beside me smiles at me and asks ‘what are you doing?’ I look down and Shelby is licking his hand so the bloke thought I was fiddling with his hand,” she says.

“He just got picked up by a great dane!” she laughs.

Samantha enjoys walking the pair everyday and reveals that they are quite renowned by locals for their well-mannered personalities, helping bring out the best in everyone from the area.