tdierikx

I wouldn't be pussy footing around trying to get her to take the tablet willingly... just open her mouth and push the tablet to the back of the throat - the close and hold her mouth and gently blow near her nose and she will involuntarily swallow. If she has some sort of infection, you need those antibiotics in her asap. My guess woud be something wrong with a back tooth on that side... that could explain the eye swelling AND the refusal to eat. T.

The first foster is always the hardest... both of you are learning on the fly... and you want so much to "get it right", yes? I thought I did pretty well to have my first "failure" with foster number 45... lol! And the second "failure" some hundred foster pups after that. I'm at my magic number of "keepers" now with 4 large dogs - but fostering is not completely out of the future picture either... Oh - and my fostering "specialty" is very young puppies... too darned cute for words most of them... *grin* T.

Those pangs mean you are doing it RIGHT koalathebear... *grin*... shed a tear and know you will miss her, but also know that you have given her the best possible start on her latest chapter in her life story... T.

I'm not convinced that intact dogs have a propensity to bite more often than desexed dogs - more like the people who do not train or socialise their dogs may be more likely to not bother with desexing either. The rest of the items are interesting though... and do show that there is very much a correlation to dog bites more likely happening when a dog hasn't been socialised properly. T.

It's amazing how adaptable dogs are when we just let them work it out for themselves... I've had a couple of nervous/shy fosters and didn't have too much trouble once I let them do their own thing and get their bearings in the new environment... T.

Neko is a camera tart, isn't she? I'm sure she does all these cute things because she knows that you are going to take lots of photos and post them here for all of her fans to enjoy... *grin* T.

Awww... how gorgeous does she look? Red truly suits her... *grin* T.

If I were to see a tiger in a zoo in the condition of those Indonesion tigers, I'd probably be arrested for my response/actions. I showed the photos of them to a couple of male workmates, and they teared up with me... and these are "tough" guys... No animal deserves that... T.

My Pickles still walks pretty much like she did when she came to our rescue... She is 3 years old now, and lives in my 4 dog household (she is the smallest dog). She runs a lot better than she walks by the way... As I noted in a previous post, we could have used her for all sorts of fundraising if we were inclined that way - she always gets plenty of attention when out and about. But that's not what rescuing her was about for us. Pickles is a "normal" dog in all other respects - she just walks funny because she has a scar in her brain from an unknown cause that happend some time before she came to us. We could speculate all sorts of reasons for her disability, but I really can't see the point myself - she's just one of my dogs to me. She gets no special treatment except occasional help to get up onto the couch when she's in a lazy mood and can't be arsed making the 3 attempts it usually takes to get up herself. A lot of people would have euthed Pickles as a pup... but that probably would have been hasty thinking, now that I know that her disability isn't one for her - it's just normal, and she certainly doesn't think she's any different to my other 3 larger able-bodied dogs... and she's an awesome foster puppy raising helper to boot! T.

My friend's long hair would willingly get into the bathtub himself when it was his bath time... I'm pretty sure his purring was due to the fact that his owner was very gentle, and he truly enjoyed the one-on-one time with her alone. He was a weird cat... *grin* T.

For me, Labs and Rotties are "normal" sized... and pretty much anything under 30kg is "small"... T.

This is how a happy and healthy tiger in captivity should look... 23-11-2013-symbio 374 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and how a well set up enclosure should look... 23-11-2013-symbio 404 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

I had a friend that had 2 cats - the DSH washed herself fastidiously, and was thus a very clean cat... the longhaired boy, on the other hand, couldn't be arsed to clean himself (lazy bugger he was) - so he would get a bath every few weeks by his owner. He had been like that from the day she brought him home as a kitten, so had gotten used to sitting in the tub and being bathed... and I think he actually enjoyed the attention - he would actually purr while being bathed. T.

I don't think there'd be that may BYB's that would breed a dog with no hind legs either... it doesn't matter that the bitch is genetically sound and lost her legs due to a physical accident - but to intentionally breed from her? Not a good look for breeders... and we all know that stories like that tar ALL registered breeders with the same brush... grrr! Did they seriously not think what the outcome would be when they posted those pics online? T.

The eyes tell the story in the photos I've seen on Facebook... How can anyone keep such a beautiful animal in such revolting conditions - and charge people to view it in that state? How can ayone think this is right? T.

My 14 year old is a senile delinquent... *grin* T.

Now that is seriously WRONG on so many levels... Aaahhh... but therein lies the rub... think how much the rescue can get in donations by parading Duncan about and posting his "progress" online... My girl Pickles was on TV once as a part of a short doco about our rescue - but she played only a small role, and didn't get any more airtime than the other dogs we had filmed on the day. We could easily have focused on her mobility issues and how much we spent on her rehab, etc... but that just didn't sit right with our group - what was shown was her playing nicely with other dogs of all shapes and sizes, her friendly nature, and things like that... no focus on the fact that she walked funny or needed anything more than a normal home life and family of her own - just like every other rescue dog we had in our care. I have taken Pickles out to Doggie Days, and every time she simply loved all of the attention she got - I just use that as an excuse to talk about rescue dogs in general, and how much joy they can bring to our lives. Focusing on the hard and gory stuff tends to put some people off the idea of rescue, and can reinforce the belief that rescue dogs are "damaged goods" - which just isn't true in the majority of cases. We don't wear any advertising material alerting anyone to the fact that she is a rescue either, just go to have a fun doggy day out. T.

I always thought Fritz was the name of a cat... *grin* T.

Some dogs have that amazing zest for life... and don't realize that they are different at all. Personally I couldn't take on a dog with Duncan's issues, but there will be someone out there who will do so happily. I tend to wonder what sort of person would knowingly adopt a dog with extreme disability - so much so that when my foster girl with mobility issues was ready for adoption, I actually chose to adopt her myself... because I was completely aware of those issues and had been living with them for some months already. Never underestimate the joy that a dog with disabilities can bring... but you also have to remember that when the novelty value wears off, you will still have a disabled dog. T.

Fumo - spear, in Swahili T.

I likes!! Good thinking! T.

Fame, Fable, Felix, Finn, Floyd, Fido, Fudd, Fonzie, Farnsworth, Fluffy... *grin* T.

My Lab is nearly 8 - and is still crazy... lol! T.

Yeah - but it'a amazing when chatting to people on their way through the gates and asking which animals they especially want to see - they invariably reply "tigers and lions"... Well - on the upside - maybe Symbio will get more people through their gates to see their tigers... *grin* I must say that I'm especially enamoured of the tigers - at both zoos I visit regularly - but Taronga does have a HUGE selection of other animals to get to know too. Mary the Sun Bear is a complete crack-up, the Chimps are always good value, the Elephants are fun when they get playing (and you can see them getting their baths up close too), not to mention all of the Australian wildlife, the bird and seal shows, the farmyard animals you can actually pet, etc... way too many things going on to fit into one day really... *grin* I'm still trying to find out when the bloody Platypus at Taronga tends to make himself available for photos... maybe if I spent less time at the big cats, I might find and photograph him? T.

I'm sure there must be a rescue or a foster carer up your way that would love the crate Lhok... T.