tdierikx

*evil stares at Kirislin who won't drive an hour each way to get us first puppy eyes photos* T.

The dog in the second link looks like a GSD... There is no mention of breed in the first article. T.

I would like to see harsher penalties handed down to owners in the courts when a dog does serious damage to another animal or human - especially if the dog in question has a history of menacing or the like. T.

MUP sends the following message from her hospital bed... " Please tell them all thank you very much and the pain meds have me all happy and doped up " She's still in good spirits and has had dinner... T.

No diarrhoea - so most likely not Parvo either... *grin* T.

Latest news sounds like they still don't know what's going on, but MUP is still in good spirits even after a day of poking, prodding, and scanning... I hope they've given her something to eat... she was about to eat her blanket this morning - until she realised that she didn't have any BBQ Sauce... lol! T.

Well done... no excuses or "he's never done that before" stuff... kudos to the owner for taking some responsibility, even though it's after an horrific incident. T.

Awww... he knows he's now completely safe, doesn't he? Looking much more relaxed... T.

We have real ones in our Zoo... but it might cost a little bit more to see them... lol! DPP_0031 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

Blood tests have come back normal, and they've ruled out heart issues... so far so good... T.

Hi all... MUP has managed to land herself in hospital, and her phone won't let her access DOL. She has Facebook access, so if any of you know her there, feel free to message her get well wishes. Any rescue related stuff can be PM'd to me and I'll pass it on to her, OK? PM is best because I can get the notifications on my phone and get them through to MUP faster. Last night it looked like she had a bad chest infection, but now they aren't so sure, so she'll be having more tests today to find the problem - and hopefully fix her up and send her home soon. She sounds in good spirits this morning - complaining they haven't given her any breakfast... lol! T.

Hi guys - MUP has managed to land herself in hospital with a chest infection, but has asked me to say that Kongs will be well received by the pounds out that way. T.

We get a lot of requests for "non-sedding" in rescue... until we explain that "non-shedding" has grooming requirements that "shedders" don't tend to have. Really - it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other... shedders mean that you need to vacuum more often, and non-shedders need brushing and/or clipping at regular intervals... I know which appeals more to my lazy bum... *grin* T.

I'm one who is allergic to cat saliva... I break out in hives on contact... not pleasant on top of the hayfever it also sets off. Dog slobber doesn't bother me at all thank dog! I have a friend who is specifically allergic to Rotti saliva... best way to find out if a dog has Rotti in it is to let it lick her... lol! Then hand her the antihistimines. It's a godsend for one who works in rescue... *giggle* As for "non-shedding" - it seems to be one of those terms that people are picking up from the advertising of breeders of those designer breed types... lots of claims of "non-shedding" there... *sigh* I could definitely do without the amount of fur a couple of my "short haired" dogs shed all year around - and my Lab also drops coat at least once a year which is a complete nightmare - but I care not... a bit of dog hair won't kill me. T.

Funny moment today at work... I was saying "only 2 sleeps until Saturday", when my boss turned around and asked why. I told him I was going to the zoo again on the weekend, and my co-workers let him in on the fact that I'd been going to the zoo every weekend for the past few weeks with my camera to take photos of the animals... and the boss looked at me with a confused look on his face... ... then I opened my Flickr page and showed him some of the pics I've taken... *grin* I now have his permission to print them on our big colour laser printer if I want to... lol! (I've been tempted, but hadn't gotten around to asking if I could) I might take a few of the original sized ones to work with me tomorrow on a nerd stick and see how they print up... T.

That we humans are encroaching upon their habitat at such a rate is kinda forgotten here... and then we get all hyped when our pets interact unfavourably with the wildlife that WE have displaced... *sigh* Seriously though, it's not really that hard to contain your dogs to inside at night if there is an issue with wandering night-oriented wildlife... T.

I think it would be a wise move to advise owners of missing dogs to visit their local pounds to make sure their dogs aren't there BEFORE jumping to the conclusion that they have been stolen for any reason. All this hype may actually lead people to not even think that their dog might just have escaped and is waiting for them to collect from the pound... T.

They usually do the dropoff at the McDonalds at Prestons - near the M5/M7 - on Saturdays. T.

Casey Council have also been very enthusiastic about enforcing the recent "it looks like a pitbull, and must be dangerous" laws too... Why am I not surprised that they'd expand their repertoire to registered breeders' facilities? T.

Interesting that the RSPCA haven't put in their own dibs on this case... all charges are being brought by Council... T.

It's a bit cool here still for our orangutans to be out all day - so they spend a lot of their time in their day room under warm covers... come summer, we'll see them out a lot more I think. I hear you about grotty glass piper... what's the go with people lifting their kids up to the glass straight after giving them a sticky ice cream anyways? And half the time, the kid is scared witless by the big scary thing on the other side of the glass and screams blue murder... *sigh* One thing I can't get my head around is how many people bring their babies (under 1 year old) to the Zoo - in a huge stroller/pram contraption no less - and then proceed to park said sleeping or squalling baby in places that make it impossible to manoeuver around - or have to smash you in the legs with the prams as they decide to move somewhere else. Can't they see that a 6 month old baby cares very little about what's on offer at the Zoo? I hate prams with a passion... grrr! T.

Yay for Smudgie!!! T.

Funny thing is that after 3 weekends of going to the Zoo, I've become adept at helping others find certain exhibits and the best times to see them doing something interesting... lol! A couple of the regular vollies will give me a happy hello when they see me now too... and we'll sometimes stand about and chat about who has gotten up to what recently (animals of course). Funny one was the lovely vollie that I had a good chat with while she was tasked with counting how many times the Snow Leopards mated - then the next week she was tasked with watching the male Tiger because he'd apparently been pacing a bit too much... and the bugger slept for her whole shift! ... and I think some of the apes are starting to recognise me too... a couple of the Chimps (Shikamoo, Shabali, and Kuma I think they are) will stop and pose for me nicely now, when they never used to even look in my direction... and I think I had a moment with the 2 Gorillas that are staying at the Zoo (Kibali and Kimya) last weekend... I think Kibali likes me - he gives me cheeky sideways smiles... and Kimya will pose for me without her hands over her ears if I talk to her... My aim is to be able to identify all of the chimps by sight... and then I'll try to learn the lions and tigers names and how to tell them apart too... then I'll learn everyone else... lol! T.

I love how you have bonded with being a frequent flyer at Taronga, T! You know if the poor parvo pups hadn't happened then perhaps your zoo trips would not have been possible time wise? Maybe you could ask to become a zoo volunteer or even guide too until you can go back to being a foster mummy???? I think I was probably well overdue a break from rescue by the time the Parvo kids came to me - and combined with my own recent medical dramas, I really needed to find another "hobby" to throw myself into for a while. Ya think I picked a good hobby? It still involves animals... *grin* T.

What happened to the female Binturong? When I was there she was pregnant. And the female Red Panda? She had some babies when I was there too. I don't know - I'll have to ask the keepers. There are 3 male Binturong - one is kept near the lions and tigers in his own enclosure because he worked out how to escape the other one... *grin* There are 2 Red Pandas - father and son. The problem that the Zoo have with finding suitable females for the boys is that prior to coming to Australia, most of those 2 breeds came from Singapore, and they didn't keep track of who bred with who - thus making it very hard to know that a potential female will not be closely related to our current boys... They are looking for suitable girls though... *grin* T.