A young cheeky Rummy at two years

Rummy was just the sweetest devil. He had a big nose and big cauliflower ears that made him look a little like "Mickey Mouse" from front on.

He was a big gentle male who came to the Boomajaril property in 2004. He would have been about two to three years old when he arrived. He wasn't the most intelligent of the bunch which made him all the more infectious. But in saying that, he wasn't all that stupid either.

Rummy or Rum are nicknames for his real name Rummin, which is Tasmanian slang which means "a real character" or "a naughty person" depending on who you talk to. We choose "a real character" as the meaning as it sums up Rum perfectly.

He was a real poser and seemed to love attention particularly when we were filming or taking photos. He totally trusted us and felt safe around the Boomajaril Property, he knew he wouldn't be harmed. He would sleep on the front verandah and laze around the yard. He would walk straight up to you to check you out and scare the living daylights out of you because you wouldn't hear him coming he would just be at your feet.

As soon as he would see you he would let out a bark as if to say hello and then many more barks which seemed like he was asking a question. Rum was extremely gentle when taking food from your hand, he would never snatch. We never saw him fight, he wasn't one for confrontation and used to ward off attacks from other devils by using his rump. Only on occasions would he defend himself.

An old Rum at 5 years old.

We were blessed to have Rummy visiting the Boomajaril Property regularly after his long travels for two years. He would come maybe once every two weeks and stay for two or three days before going off again.

Rummy started off as a bright eyed young devil and we watched him age and we eventually started calling him the old man, as he looked so old with all his whiskers and he was becoming very clumsy and rather dithery. Rum stopped coming to the Property mid 2006. He would have been at least 5 years old and we believe he died of old age.

Rummy is certainly one of our all time favourites and he taught us how sensitive, gentle and lovable Devils can be. We miss him dearly.