Happy Birthday Bowie!

May 26, 2026

In December 2025, Bowie and I relocated to Piket-Bo-Berg from the Namaqualand plaas. Snippets of his first six months are in all my Substack stories, with a photographic summary here.

Lord Bowie of Namaqualand celebrated his 12-month birthday on 26 May 2026.

Bowie was a wonderful companion from the start, possibly even the first time that I saw him at two weeks. His mother, Lily, is a wonderful dog and Bowie has inherited many of her traits.

Bowie and I go everywhere together, though sometimes I have to leave him in the car for a while. Not easy, walking away from the car, but supermarkets and doctors are not keen on 4-paw visitors. Often when I get back to the car, Bowie will be sitting in the front seat, watching the tannies walk past and waiting for my return.

Once we’ve had a catch-up cuddle, he’ll move to the left seat for a while, where the seatbelt alarm will go off these days. He’s got some spare change on the ribs. Once we’re on the road, he’ll go to the back, where he’s got more space to have a snooze.

Once or twice, while still smaller, Bowie would climb onto the back window ledge, lying there like the lion king.

Bowie’s a very gentle dog, making friends with everyone. When we meet someone, I’ll ask Bowie to say “Hello”. Tail wagging, he’ll approach people with a big doggy grin. Sometimes, like here on the farm, we’ll see someone some distance away. “Bowie, go say Hello”, and I’ll point in their direction. Off he goes, has a little snuggle and then comes running back. “Dad, did you see that?”

Dogs, rabbits, horses, pigs and even cats, though he doesn’t understand the latter. Who does?

Some exceptions: sheep, guinea fowl and chickens, which he wants to corral. However, he doesn’t know what to do next as I haven’t trained him to herd animals. With sheep, I can walk away and he’ll run after me. Chickens and guinea fowl are exceptions, they run or fly away, which confuses him.

Bowie loves horses, which probably stems from our time with Oruna on the Namaqualand farm. Be it Melkbosstrand, Kruistementsvlei or the Willowston plaas, Bowie will approach the horses. They seem to sense his good-natured intentions and let him approach without neighing or kicking out.

After having left behind the Namaqualand farm and the lovely animals there, here in Piket-Bo-Berg Bowie is big buddies with Toby, though Toby is getting old and his hips are frail. We go for short walks together, and I take Bowie on longer walks. No toys or food near these two, Bowie can get troublesome.

In Moorreesburg, there’s Bagel at the bakery, in Durbanville we’ve got Mimi, in Lamberts Bay Ravi and in Willowston Biscuit and Tintin.

Bowie’s a real water baby, jumping in water whenever he can and playing in the mud. I have to keep a close eye, though, as Bowie did jump in a pool in Durbanville and then couldn’t get out on his own (no steps). That was quite a shock for both Bowie and Dad.

Not only dams, but also the sea, though he’s still wary of the waves. Bowie will go lie in a pool or run up and down the beach, having fun. Such a joy to watch.

Who can forget the lovely drawings that we got from @MarketDriveUK, a fan on Twitter?

Cuddle and snooze time is a big favourite with Bowie, who now sleeps on the bed. Usually close to Dad, unless he’s a bit grumpy and pissed off with Dad. Then he’ll find someone else for a while, though returning in good time.

Bowie’s very sensitive and empathetic, feels the vibe. Sometimes, he overthinks. Like the time that I stumbled in the kitchen and my knee hit his head. Or when I wore a woolly hat. Then Bowie stays close but out of reach, a painful expression in his eyes. It may take a few hours, maybe even a day or two to get him back to his normal self.