Tauranga City Councillor and former Deputy Mayor Larry Baldock doesn't tend to take much time off for a break, but he found himself ‘as happy as Larry' due to the medical help he received after a spectacular break on Friday. And he's now on another break.

'I haven't felt this high since 1975,” says Larry.

The first break was his leg, thanks to his dog Kasey giving him a 'ruff' time. The second break is going to be a few months working from home while he fully recovers.

Larry took to social media on Saturday to tell the tale of his ‘dog-tastrophe', although looking at the bantering responses, some have commented that they'd prefer to hear the dog's side of the story which is 'the leashed she could do'.

'I'm never going to teach that dog to write or talk,” says Larry. 'The dog's version could be quite different.”

While some think there could be better ways to get a break from Council while the observers are in town checking out councillors and the mayor's behaviour, Larry now has a 'pawsible' yet classic ‘the dog ate my homework' excuse to stay away.

His excuse begins with saying it's a bit of a long tale - not his dog Kasey's tail - but his own story of what happened. Anyway, he believes if he tells it all now, then he won't have to repeat it over the next few months of recovery.

'Yesterday morning started off with me taking over the routine from Barb of taking our dog for a walk down into the horse paddock,” says Larry.

His wife Barb had only just returned to work on Thursday after nearly five months of recovery and rehab after being thrown from their horse on May 1 resulting in 14 vertebrae fractures. But we digress….

'Kasey is our latest pet addition, a two-year-old German Shepherd who we picked up from a Hawkes Bay farmer about six weeks ago,” says Larry.

'Our home is her third home in her short life and so she has some issues that we are working on with great training. However, she follows Barb everywhere, the grandkids love her and she even obeys me most of the time.”

Larry says Kasey is 'lovely and friendly but of course very energetic and playful.

'Unfortunately, she is still not to be trusted around cats and other dogs that might come too close to her property.”

Larry and Barb's own cat has had a huff since Kasey arrived, disowned them and moved next door to their daughter Sarah's house.

'Because of this we walk her mostly on a long lead. Once in the safe paddock and off the lead Kasey loves fetching everything anyone throws for her, and she dutifully sprints off and brings it back for another go.”

On Friday however, on his way with Kasey through the wide, open paddock, something 'un-fur-tunate' and disastrous happened.

'I throw the object for fetching a little ahead of me but usually not too far so she doesn't hit the end of the lead,” says Larry.

'Problem is she runs around you a bit and you get a bit twisted up in the lead from time to time.

'On this occasion, I had been circled once and as I go to throw the rubber ring, it is a bit slippery and so I throw it just a bit further than planned and the lead is of course a little shorter now because it's around me once.”

He takes pains to explain this in detail 'in the hope of some reputational recovery for this normally strategic and very spatially aware, city councillor.

'Anyway Kasey raced off to get the rubber ring, hit the end of the lead, spun me around like a top and snap, crackle and pop!” says Larry, caught up again in the telling of the doggy mishap.

'Well, snap anyway. Both my tibia and fibula separated from my ankle and moved sideways with great speed.”

Larry immediately went down, hitting the ground, but managed to retain some presence of mind.

'I kept hold of the lead and Kasey is of course all over me, licking me, showing concern, and wondering who is going to take over playing fetch for the rest of the morning,” says Larry.

'Immediately, I think I have left my phone at home and so I spent a few minutes trying to call for help from the neighbours or anyone nearby.”

The 'A' team arrives. Photo: Supplied

He managed to crawl about 15 metres to a nearby post.

'I tied the lead to it to secure Kasey and then I crawled back again to get away from her.”

He realised he could feel something in his back pocket.

'Hallelujah it's my cell phone. I had brought after all! I called daughter Sarah who thinks I am joking when I say I am sure I have broken my leg and I think it is sticking out my leg. She tells me to call the ambulance which I do while she races home.

'By now I am starting to shiver and shake because I am soaking wet, cold and starting to feel some pain.”

His other daughter Rachael called from Brisbane.

'She heard about it from Sarah and she starts telling me I should concentrate my mind to going to my happy place as this can help reduce the shock and pain.

'She suggests I think about the best LSD trip I ever had back in the 70s or something like that. I am always encouraged by how spiritual and yet practical my children have turned out!”

Sarah soon arrived at the paddock.

'She assures us both that no bones have broken through and I crawl onto a tarp and she covers me in little saddle blanket until the ambulance arrives.”

He was surprised to hear a familiar voice as the ambulance pulled up.

'I hear, ‘Larry, what are you doing on the ground, mate?' The first person out of the ambulance is Pat, a volunteer ambulance driver I have known for a while. Lovely guy. ‘Hi Pat' I say. ‘When I asked God to send me someone to help, I wasn't meaning you Pat!'”

He and the ambulance driver managed to have a bit of laugh about the situation.

'Pat and Guy begin to do their thing with amazing skill and care. Next thing we are at the hospital and in due course the X-ray reveals the extent of the break.”

Larry, after medical staff had treated him.

Larry says the nurses and doctors then gave him 'some strong drugs to put me to sleep for about 15 -20 mins so they could set the bones back in place and put the cast on to spare me the pain”.

He says he was actually awake during the whole procedure but felt nothing.

'Perhaps only those who experimented with psychedelics in the wild 60s and 70s may understand. I am ‘as happy as Larry' again, though not that happy as reality sets in, but still as ‘happy as Larry' as I have been all my life!”

Larry says he just can't say enough about how wonderful all the staff, nurses and doctors were while he was in hospital. He is now recovering back at home.

'I have to wait till the swelling goes down and they can then operate to put in plates and screws to begin what looks like being about two to three months of recovery and rehab.”

He's quick to point out that this particular type of rehab he is talking about is entirely different from what some may assume from his life in the 60s and 70s.

'I think most people know that I got into drugs back then.

'Maybe I can take time now while recovering to start writing a book, learn Te Reo more, and watch all the Mitre 10 rugby.”

Those who know his capacity for work know he will be still doing as much as he can for his constituents, and available for his council duties via Zoom, emails and phone calls.

Tauranga City Councillor Larry Baldock at home on Sunday afternoon with Kasey, who feels so popular right now, that she's practising posing while waiting for the pup-arazzi to show up.

After reading Larry's detailed written tale of woe, over 200 friends and acquaintances responded, with many encouraging him to explore writing as a hobby. There was plenty of banter too.

'Hope you were extra loving and kind to Barbara when she was injured coz now it's your turn to be looked after lol,” wrote one friend.

'There are better ways to get a break from council Larry than doing this,” one of his friends commented.

We asked Kasey the dog if Larry's story was a bit far-fetched because it looks like he threw the ball too far, but so far she hasn't offered up her ‘tail' or even an account yet of what happened. She's not keen on being hounded by the press. No-one at council live-streamed it on Youtube and a LGOIMA request will probably not help, so we are left to mull over Larry's account, which hopefully won't be spun into a conspiracy theory, dogma or ‘fake news'.

All the best for your recovery Larry and hope you continue to enjoy life's highs!