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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Megan Doherty

Jules' Red Dog and carved kennel is a roadside sensation

You've heard of The Dog on the Tucker Box five miles from Gundagai, how about The Dog on the Pine Stump a little bit north of Bunyan?

It's become a roadside sensation on the Monaro Highway between Cooma and Canberra.

When a towering pine tree in the front yard of Hazel Walker's home on the highway was threatening to topple over, her son Jules arranged for it to be cut down.

And he didn't leave the large stump that was left behind to lie idle.

He got out his chainsaw and set to work creating a masterpiece in wood.

Jules Walker's Red Dog monument outside his home at Bunyan south of Canberra. Picture by Megan Doherty

It's a homage to both working dogs and the comforts of home.

Mum Hazel, now 88, had bought a statue of the famous kelpie-cross Red Dog, who wandered the Pilbara region of Western Australia, so Jules set to work making a home for him from the remnant pine.

The result was a handsome kennel atop the stump, with Red Dog keeping an eye on the property. The stump also features a water bowl for the dog, also carved from wood, and a little water tank and tap to keep it filled.

Jules, who moved back to Bunyan from Queensland to look after his mother, has also carved into the stump the words, "No Place Like Home", testament to his love of the region at the gateway to the Snowys.

Jules and his mum Hazel with the carved masterpiece. Picture by Megan Doherty

The carved stump, in the pretty front garden of the home shared by Hazel and Jules, attracts plenty of attention from people travelling up and down the Monaro. Some solar-powered lights mean it's also a beacon at night.

At Christmas time, the dog and kennel get adorned with Christmas lights.

"People are pulling up all the time, taking photos," Jules said.

"An ambulance pulled up here one day. All you seen was the side door open and this hand with a photo camera come out, took a photo and went back in and the side door of the ambulance closed and it continued back into Cooma."

Red Dog even has a water tank for his bowl. Picture by Megan Doherty

Hazel has lived on the property for almost 70 years. Her husband Percy was a prisoner-of-war working on the Burma Railway during World War Two.

He lost his leg due to diabetes, his health affected by his wartime service, and died in 1992, aged 75.

So Jules came back from Queensland for his mum - and the "no place like home" message on the tree trunk means a lot to him. And her.

"Jules put that into the pine, cut it in, and said 'No Place Like Home' because he apparently likes being here and calls it home and that's it," Hazel said.

"And it's great to have him here, because he does all the gardens and that for me. I'm just getting a bit old for that."

Red Dog is not the only canine in the Walkers' pretty front garden on the Monaro Highway between Cooma and Canberra. Picture by Megan Doherty

Hazel said her home meant a lot to her, especially when she and her husband ran a market garden there.

"People used to come from Cooma and everywhere to get the fresh vegetables and, of course, when he passed away, it just got too much for me, so we've kept this just as a home and flower gardens."

She loves sculpture too.

"The comments have been absolutely fantastic," Hazel said. "People just can't believe it's a dog on a pine stump."

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