tdierikx

Even I'm not game to try to take on Tranter... *grin* T.

I voted No - but depending on circumstances, I could probably swing to a Yes... In this case, I would probably give the dog back to the original owner. They didn't even appear to know the dog was missing until they got back from holidays, and are quite distraught at the turn of events that occurred while they were away. The dog was obviously worth the save by the RSPCA (the home of the dreaded "temperament test") - many other dogs would have been long dead in the timeframes we are talking about here... I know that I'd be completely feral about getting my own dog back under these circumstances... but I also know as someone who has regularly been trusted to care for friends' pets while they are away, I'd have been frantically searching every pound, shelter, vet, clinic, street, alley, lane, park, bush, etc, to find a dog that went missing under my watch... just sayin'... Someone does need a sharp kick to the backside for this... and I'd be looking squarely at the "carer"... T.

Tragic accidents can happen too... what if Bella had a stumble somehow and smacked her jaw on the concrete? Just sayin'... T.

She is one of the most stunning little dogs ever Kirislin... T.

The first 48 hours after bloat/torsion surgery are the critical ones - sounds like all is going to plan so far, so fingers crossed he is good to go home tomorrow. In a couple of weeks, you will only have the scary memories, OK? Funnily enough, Harry probably won't... *grin* Hang in there, Harry is in good hands and will be home soon... T.

That's the funniest series of pics yet... lol! Love the dirty nose... T.

Am I right in assuming that cage dryers are used so that the groomer is freed up to start working on another dog rather than spending the time required to dry the current dog manually - thus increasing turnover in the number of dogs that can be groomed in a particular timeframe? The fact that 3 dogs (that we know of) have been injured at 2 establishments owned by the same person is telling, isn't it? T.

Parvo can incubate and become deadly within 48 hours... I have seen it first hand. I have also seen pups with vaccinosis present similarly to parvo and test positive for parvo (a false positive can occur if the pup has been vaccinated with a modified live virus vaccine within a week previous to testing) - but they haven't necessarily actually had parvo at all. Parvo or vaccinosis - the treatment is the same - the dog is put on a drip and supported while it heals itself. How old is your pup, and when did it have it's last vaccination shot? Was it wormed recently also? Sometimes a combination of vaccination and worming on the same day (especially if wormed with Drontal) can make small pups sick. The breeder has stepped up by refunding the purchase price, but this doesn't mean that they have admitted any fault for your pup being ill - they may well have taken every precaution and indeed sold you a healthy pup that just happened to manage to come into contact with parvo around the time you picked her up. No-one can be "blamed" for this happening - sometimes it just happens regardless how careful all parties have been. The good news is that your little one seems to be coming good relatively quickly. T.

Linda K - would you believe that the swooping bird shot actually came from using the Sports preset on my 60D - and as I shoot in JPG, the only post I did to it was a small amount of cropping and a little contrast adjustment... Cameras today are getting very good at doing all the hard stuff for us... lol! Basically all I tend to do is track the subject and make sure I have focus, and let the camera do the rest. I figure if it interests me when I'm looking through the viewfnder, then the resulting pic may be of interest to others also... *grin* So Alkhe - are you going to post some more pics... at least the Cotton-Top Tamarin one... it's really good! T.

I have a true blue Aussie Camp Dog here (literally born in an Aboriginal camp)... makes a Heinz 57 look purebred... lol! When people ask what breed she is, I say "take your pick, it's probably in there somewhere"... When we chipped her, it was a nightmare picking from only 2 breed selection boxes for her cross/mix - we picked ACD and Greyhound from memory, 'cos that's what she looked most like (although she's more Whippet sized now). There was no selection for Unknown in either box on the chip website when she was done... grrr! Mongrel and Mutt are taken as derogatory terms - and usually delivered as such by those using them to describe someone else's dog. Bitsa or Crossbreed are much more user friendly terms IMHO, and are a lot less likely to get you a negative reaction from the person whose dog you are describing... The fascination with labelling certain crossbreeds is because the average Joe would like to think that their expensive new dog is a particular "breed", as opposed to the mixed bag it may actually be... and the unscrupulous "breeders" of same will happily keep perpetuating the myth that their crossed pups are something special, and keep charging big bucks from the gullible buyers for them. T.

Thanks Pattycake... I was going for the cute baby shots there... *grin* T.

Because the dog was a GSD and not a "pitbull"? T.

Thanks piper... it took a lot of practice tracking her to finally capture that photo... *grin* T.

The report I heard on the radio said the child was bitten once... hardly a "mauling" - but it does go to show that a single bite can have the most tragic consequences. My heart goes out to the family who have lost both their child and their family pet after one horrible moment. T.

Simple rule - if it says "made in China" and is edible for pets - just don't take the chance... T.

Thanks Roova... I'm glad you are enjoying viewing my photos as much as I'm enjoying taking them... *grin* T.

I had a look at your Flickr photos Alkhe... why don't you post the pretty Cotton-Top Tamarin photo? It's lovely! T.

The Cotton-Top Tamarins always photograph very nicely - when they sit still for 5 seconds... lol! Busy little tykes they are... ... and yes - I get in free at Symbio... but I always give them a usb stick full of photos to use in any way they see fit every time I visit. It's my way of giving something back for all of their amazing work to provide a place that is just so nice to visit. T.

Here are Sunday's Taronga photos... 27-10-2013-taronga 062 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 562 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 593 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 627 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 767 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 087 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 808 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 1074 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 116 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and I've saved my best for last... 27-10-2013-taronga 858-dixie2 by tdierikx, on Flickr I'm absolutely chuffed at how Dixie the Whistling Kite came out - tracking a bird zooming about with 2kg of camera handheld is hard work! More photos here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ T.

Some more recent photos from Symbio... 16-10-2013-symbio 063 by tdierikx, on Flickr 16-10-2013-symbio 251 by tdierikx, on Flickr 16-10-2013-symbio 459 by tdierikx, on Flickr 19-10-2013-symbio 035 by tdierikx, on Flickr 19-10-2013-symbio 162 by tdierikx, on Flickr 19-10-2013-symbio 717 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 275 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 544 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 634 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 565 by tdierikx, on Flickr You can see more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ T.

Yes - we've had a couple - but it's pretty rare... unfortunately. In most bitches that have been desexed, you can feel the scar tissue under the skin if you know what you are looking for - but a caesar scar feels pretty much exactly the same, so you can't be 100% sure until you open them up for a quick look. As for males with nothing in their sacs - we've had a few that were simply undescended... and still can make babies. If we are not completely sure we will get the vet to have a really good feel around, and occasionally will get an ultrasound to see if there is actually something that needs removing. T.

It's amazing how many calls our rescue gets on Christmas Eve wanting a last minute gift for their kid... *sigh* We just advise that we are all sold out and leave it at that. T.

Try being the only one there when 2 nearly 30kg dogs decide to go at it to the death... trust me, the wheelbarrow does work to minimise the damage being done by the aggressor... and if you get the back legs up high enough, there is virtually no chance of the dog biting you before you can throw it as far from you as you can.... There is no way on this planet I'm going anywhere near the bitey bits to stop a dog fight - I've gotten used to having 10 fingers that all work properly. T.

I tend to tell the vets NOT to tattoo after a desex - some can be a bit heavy handed and that makes it's own set of issues that I don't want to deal with... none of my dogs are tattooed, even though they are definitely desexed... *grin* An ultrasound may show the existence (or not) of a uterus - but even better would be the previous owner giving you the name or number of the vet they used for her, then contact them and ask if they have a record of the dog being speyed... the best would be a desex certificate from either the old owner or reprinted from their vet clinic. T.

Very nice!! I think you've done just fine with your first zoo outing - that tiger pic is to die for! It's not always easy to get good zoo pics if you don't visit often and have no real idea of which animals are likely to be doing something at what times. I'm sure you have a lot of really nice photos - but like a lot of us, you might be your own worst critic... *grin* Yesterday, I was going through my most recent Taronga pics, and even though there are lots of good photos (practice increases the odds), there is one photo that I actually squealed at when I saw it on the big computer screen - out of just over 1000 photos taken on the day... I've been tryng to get a decently focused shot of the Whistling Kite (her name is Dixie) in flight at the Bird Show for a couple of months - only coming close a couple of times - but on Sunday I think I finally nailed it. I've taken probably around 500 photos of this bird over the past couple of months before I got this one that I really like. It definitely helped that I have a good idea of her flight patterns and speed by now... lol! 27-10-2013-taronga 858-dixie2 by tdierikx, on Flickr Original photo was 5184x3456 pixels - and I had to crop to 3032x1839 to get the end result - but there has been very little adjustment (a bit of contrast applied) otherwise. T.