Loving my Oldies

:D I clicked onto the Photos Section in the link. The individual suffering is incomprehensible. The photos of the animals swimming or stranded are just heartbreaking.

That is definitely worth a celebration, Spottychick and a truly wonderful rebirthing. Someone on DOL calls it "Gotcha Day". My latest foster goes to her new home today too, so I guess you can call it her rebirthing day as well. Thank god she rehomed quickly - any longer and the Moocher Tribe might have increased. What a wonderful little tribe you now have, SC. Sometimes it seemed impossible that there would be a breakthrough and now look at what you have achieved. Loved the bit where you had to loosen Tango's harness. :D

Cosmolo, that might sound okay, but it is only tinkering at the edges. The only way to start to solve the problem of puppy (and kitten) farming and backyard breeding is to stop their easy access to pet shops. Over the years, asking a mild question here and there, I have always been given the same sort of answer: Oh we know where all our puppies come from, we know the breeders, they are lovely lovely people, they love their dogs, the dogs are brought up in their home, yada yada yada :D . When it is illegal to sell puppies and kittens in pet shops, or from car boots, or at markets, there will be another avenue these ghastly places will pursue and then that will have to be dealt with, but hopefully without this easy access, people will get out of the business. The cruel, greedy and unscrupulous will always be amongst us and it is up to those who care to keep fighting.

I've been out and about and driving home, listening to the radio, the largest earners in the world in the sport of golf were announced. :D. All I could think of was this thread and wonder what one person could do with all the money they make. A golfer I'd never heard of (not that I am interested in Golf but you can't avoid hearing about sports when you listen to the news) earned $14million; Greg Norman who hasn't one a major tournament for years (I think he won something recently) still earned $30million and of course Tiger Woods is doing it really tough and dropped from $110million to $70million. Just a few of them together could revolutionise the education system of a small country. It makes me want to throw up.

Well there are plenty with the money and the time (just hire someone), but it is the big heart for animals that is missing.

With my dogs, it is just for walks that I have to arrange things. I take Myrtie on her own first to work off some of her energy, then I double back to pick up Danny, Jeune and Tamar and take those four, with Myrtie still wanting to go like a Mack Truck . Then I drop them home and take Mufti out on his own. He used to go around the block, but doesn't go that far often. For him, the main thing is to give him the interest of getting out into other smells and sights. For the past few weeks, I've had a tiny little Pomeranian and once she was out of quarantine, I would take her with Mufti.

Be Prepared Butt Bling looks fun. ;) ;)

Sadly, there doesn't seem to be the benefactor mentality that exists in America. I know in terms of populations they can't be compared and our philanthropic ideals are constantly being compared extremely unfavourably with those of Americans. From my time spent working as a secretary to "top end" venture capilatists, it seems to me that here in Australia benefaction seems to be aimed where people can have their names on a plaque or in an artist events program, etc etc etc. Or have State funerals The only organisation I can think of which has aimed their philanthropic dollar towards animals is the Sherman family who started Voiceless, but they originally came from South Africa and have long held beliefs as to the rights of animals. Are you asking for any particular reason, turkishdelight? Are you interested to start something, or donate to such an organisation? If we knew a little more as to what has prompted the question, we might be able to give some more ideas. There are sanctuaries in NSW and Victoria for farm animals such as Edgar's Mission and the Donkey Sanctuary. There would be more, and others on DOL would be able to add to these names.

How exciting.

I used to love fireworks, before I became associated with pounds and shelters http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/...1229-19a5n.html Pet owners warned about firework dangers December 29, 2010 - 8:26PM .Most of us will enjoy the New Year's Eve fireworks, but it's quite likely our pets won't. The RSPCA is bracing for a 400 per cent increase in the number of animals arriving at its shelters nationwide in the first three days of the new year, as pets go missing or are injured amid fireworks celebrations. Dogs and horses are particularly terrified by the noise of fireworks, but cats, rabbits, birds and cattle can also suffer. Advertisement: Story continues below "We receive hundreds of calls in the days following New Year's Eve," RSPCA NSW call centre manager Nicole Louise said on Wednesday. "It's devastating to hear how many animals go missing or are badly injured as a result of fireworks." Leaving pets in the backyard is not enough to protect them from the effects of fireworks, the RSPCA has warned. Dogs in particular have been known to jump fences or dig holes in a panicked attempt to escape the noise, and are then in danger of being knocked down by cars. Instead, dogs should be exercised and fed before the fireworks begin and kept inside for the night with some of their favourite toys and bones. Cats, rabbits and other animals should be brought inside or secured in their cages in the garage, while horses should be stabled.

As I started reading this thread, espinay2, they were the exact words running through my head. I agree. In other countries, people like IFAW, and private rescue organisations would be going in to rescue the animals, but here.... oh they're just animals, too bad. "starve to death if they don't drown" and possibly worse if the animals are on medications to control medical conditions. I just don't get it. No matter what sorts of arguments are put up by the authorities as per koalathebear's post.

As all my dogs are rescued from various pounds, I get a discount. I might take another dog in to show them the progress they have made and ask the vet something about him/her, I don't get charged, even if they do end up running their hands and stethoscope over them. I have never asked and don't expect this sort of consideration, but it helps and is very much appreciated.

Congratulations, Jed. Contacts like that help to ameliorate some of the not to good things that have happened lately. I am having lunch today with people who adopted little dogs from me, one family last year and the other this year and both adopted two dogs together, so two happy families and four happy dogs. Although naturally I didn't breed these dogs (LOL), it is great to know that people and puppies are happy.

And so you should be . I read again where you said "he did nothing". But, in fact he did :p . He showed you (and us) yet again how amazingly intelligent dogs can be, how intuitive they are and how they can discriminate between the accidental and the intentional, the large and the small, the vulnerability of babies, etc etc.

Well ! I've cancelled my order. My teacup sledders didn't arrive and I had to suffer the ignominy of driving down Pennant Hills Road in a -- gasp gasp -- CAR Instead of streaming magnificently in the wind, my tinsel antlers were hitting the roof of the car and bending over. NOT the look I was aiming for. My Christmas was rooned and next year, I will be looking elsewhere for speciality pups to pull my sled. I've heard of a place called: You Draw 'Em, We'll Produce 'Em. Sounds perfect.

That photo of Mollie is very very funny. :D It looks as though she decided to investigate her food bowl, decided she was just too tired and flopped where she was.

I have three exits, but house is quite shallow; if it had gone up in flames when the metre board exploded, I would have had time to get the dogs out. I don't know what you do when you wake up to find the place in flames as you did, Jed. PM box freed up.

Many years ago, I used to be a morning jogger, but to fit it in before work, I had to get up at 5.15am. I had moved to a new suburb and because I didn't feel safe, running in the dark, I let my routine fall away. Time went by and I tried to get back into my jogging routine. It must have been the second or third morning that I'd started jogging again, it was quite misty and I was thinking about the little Maltese Puppies I'd put my name down for when they were born. Out of the mist came a woman running gracefully and effortlessly and by her side were two German Shepherds. I thought to myself: no one is going to mess with her; I wonder if I should rethink my breed of choice

I kept on wondering what I'd done wrong, because of this bright red print across the top .... and then I read it. Even though he keeps giving me totally unjustified warnings , I am a DOL tragic too. Merry Christmas to everyone, don't confuse Christmas with Santa and may 2011 bring many blessings to us all. ;)

Yes indeed. Too often we hear/read in the media of someone who has been injured in a fire or an accident and then that's it. We rarely hear about the long road back to health, the pain and suffering of that person and those around her or him and the support of family and community. Jed and others like her has suffered more pain and suffering this year, both physical and emotional, that most of others will ever experience. I often wish I had recourse to Harmonie's magic wand of the "virtual waiting room" established when Jed was still in hospital.

Just the smallest bite and the stupid man will be wearing the scars forever - hopefully scared s***less for the rest of his life, too. True, but I still hope he got a really good full mouth bite just to make sure the bloke remembers! Oh, I do too

Just the smallest bite and the stupid man will be wearing the scars forever - hopefully scared s***less for the rest of his life, too.

Great work doggy. p_stampy, I know you are joking, but I would imagine your natural fear would transmit very quickly to your dog and all her instincts regarding the source of that fear would come into play. Hopefully . . . . . . :D

Gosh, Deshonko will need to watch out - you'll def be getting lots of orders for them.

Dear me, you'd never be lonely