Stan’s the man
Stanley the mini dachshund is the state’s cutest pet.
That’s according to the 1143 votes the Endeavour Hills pooch received in the Petbarn’s Puppy and Kitten of the Year competition, landing him in first place ahead of more than 5300 other fur babies.
Owner Molly Cacopardo, 20, received a $200 gift voucher for the pet store on Stanley’s behalf.
“I got him when he was two months and he’s seven months old now,” she said.
“I’ve just loved dachshunds for so long. I went to look at him and he was just so small and cute.”
She spotted another competition entrant on Facebook and thought Stanley had it in the bag.
“I couldn’t believe how many votes he got so quickly,” Molly said.
“I think it’s just his cute little face, his cute chubby paws.
“He’s so stuck up now. He’s such a show-off.
“Whenever I take him walking he just expects everyone to stop and pat him.”
Spring into action
Comedian Diana Nguyen is shooting a web series in Springvale.
“It is really happening! The first Vietnamese Australian web series starring actors from all over Australia with a cast of diverse actors,” she said.
“A Melbourne International Comedy Festival dream is now a web series film dream, and we have talented people on hand to support the shoot next week.
“If you see us shooting in between Monday 11 to Sunday 17 December, give us a toot or tag us
#phiandmewebseries.
“We can’t wait to say ACTION!”
Ripe to build a base
Dandenong’s former Bunnings site will become a giant grocery store.
German-based Kaufland confirmed it bought the Princes Highway site, “an important milestone on our way to entering the Australian market”.
“We are pleased about the high level of interest that Kaufland’s first property purchases in Australia have created,” a spokesperson said.
“With regards to the next steps, we cannot make any specific statements at this point in time.”
The Kaufland grocery chain can stock up to 60,000 product lines.
It operates more than 1230 stores in Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia.
Damp squib
The floods predicted for the first weekend in December were a bit of a fizzer in Greater Dandenong.
The Greater Dandenong SES received only 30 callouts from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 December, unit controller Shane Bolton said.
He said the absence of wind with the rain significantly reduced the damage inflicted.
“It resulted for us as moderate,” he said.
“We were fortunate.”
His crews responded mainly to leaking roofs and collapsed ceilings, and turned out to some flooding reports.
