mita

I agree greys are an option for the elderly. Man next door loves his own greyhounds. In his public service job, he had to call at the home of an elderly lady. When she opened the door, standing next to her was a huge greyhound. Seems it was a similar situation to what you described. Elderly lady's family had contacts in greyhound racing & had arranged for the adoption (& were more than willing responsible back-ups). The grey was a happy couch potato (a young person came by to give it a daily walk) and was a prop to hold on to. Our neighbour also said just the sight of a large dog standing beside her might also put off someone who'd come to her door for no good purposes (& who didn't know too much about how unaggressive it really was) It's all about matching person & circumstances & preferences to a dog. In some cases, a sweet little bloke like Tigger might be preferred for various reasons. (Ah, Tigs you have my heart & a few more, too. :) ) Or another type of small dog.

I'd say the police officer who made up the joke, wasn't part of the dog unit.... & didn't happen to know that Peach was a girl. Who could blame him, most police dogs seem to be blokes with names like Thunder or Thor. I still say he should get a promotion. So funny! Apart from Peach being an 'unusual' name for a police dog, what about her sister 'Petal'. Imagine being a police dog handler & having to say to a hardened cirminal, 'Stop or I'll release Petal!'

I hope your dog is fine. Good idea just to check with the vet. And you might happen to come upon someone in the waiting room with an injured puss. But joking aside (& its no joking matter), good on you for having concern for the cat, too (even tho' it was out of its territory). There was a ginger puss in this area that drove dog owners crazy by driving their dogs crazy. It knew how to intimidate and annoy dogs, but stay safe. One day it came trotting thro' our garden past our Himalayan Persian cat. Rosie, who looked like a pile of beautiful cream fairy dust. But she had the heart of an assassin. Rosie ripped into the ginger cat & was pummeling it into the ground mercilessly. A dog owner next door who loathed the ginger cat came flying over the fence to save it! He said he couldn't even see his worst enemy being turned into compost before his eyes. Ginger puss never visited again... and even stayed away from the adjoining yards.

I can't speak for the rescue that Tigger's with .... but usually a dog is adopted to an elderly person with the condition that a family member will take responsibility for the dog if anything happens to the person. And also help out with vet visits etc. An 89 yr old retired doctor I know of, adopted a failed guide dog labrador, as his daughter & son-in-law have stepped up to be the responsible people (in fact, they helped arrange the adoption).

Seems Peach is a girl. I did some googling. Back in 2011, a litter of 9 puppies was born in the Midlands Police Dog Training unit. Police officers took them to visit the Grade 1 children at a local primary school. The children had the job of picking names. GIRLS: Pixie, Peach, Pippa, Petal, Pepper BOYS: Paddy, Punk, Phoenix, Pharaoh. Pic & story: http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/np/coventry/news/newsitem.asp?id=3779 Peach is the middle puppy in the pic.

It's brilliantly funny. The prosecutors have made fools of themselves for showing no sense of humour at all. I'd give the police officer who did it ... and Peach ... a promotion. Sergeant Peach sounds good.

I utter the magic words, 'The cat will eat it.'

I've been loving Tigger from afar. He looks like a tiny senior baby fox (which doesn't make sense at all!) :)

There's a dear little toilet trained 9 yr old gentleman called Tigger with Rescued with Love. Loves cuddles & a quiet life. http://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/214918

Me, too, mantis. All our most recent dogs have been older retired showgirls. When people remark on how sensible, sociable and good they are, I say, 'They came like that!' But even when it comes to getting a puppy, I've just put someone on to a registered breeder who has his tibbie puppies already confident around people and a home environment.... & toilet-trained. Tho' a new owner would have to lead the pup thro' the routine in their new home. Nothing like an early training start in life IMO. :)

But I love footy as well, I even buy doggy membership for Cougar, as I used to for Kenny. OK, I am nuts. Yes, but their point was people who loved their dogs too much. Not just people who love dogs. So it's fine there are people who love football .... but what about those who care too much? As in 'over the top'.

You should have just replied ... 'You mean like people who care too much about football?'

Well said.

Yes, it's about risk assessment. Then acting accordingly. Even before I get up to safety (& stress on the dog), first thing on my checklist is that my dogs are small, very attractive & people friendly. Adds up to being very attractive & easy to steal. I'm not willing to take that risk. So I don't go any further. Our dogs are never left unattended in public.

And a fair one, pebbles, in some circumstances. Some dogs are content if their owner is somewhere nearby... they don't have to see the person. Others not. I recently read in a veterinary article that there are gradations in what dogs with tendency to separation anxiety will endure. Some are frantic for direct physical presence .... & a 'separating' door would be their enemy as you said. From jelly's own description & video evidence, Roo seemed fine 'knowing' she was on the other side of the door. But it'd need to be tested.... for how long? Not that I'm telling jelly what to do. She makes her own decisions like all of us. FOUND; This was the article from web.com Vet Medicine: What classifies as a "separation"? This varies greatly between animals: some must have "their person" within their line of sight, other pets are fine as long as the owner is within a comfortable distance (i.e. somewhere else in the house), and still others are fine until the owner leaves. Even finer distinctions would be animals that are fine for a certain period of time after their owner leaves, but then start to show signs of anxiousness some time later. Just like the variance in what stresses out each individual, the signs of separation anxiety vary greatly as well.

People can be technically & ethically good at rescue.... but were behind the door when tact & communication skills were given out. You sure weren't, muttrus. Well done. I think any manual or course or advice for people involved in rescue, should also cover learning the communication skills to go with the work. (Off Topic, but also including dealing with difficult people & difficult circumstances which would test the best!.)

Very first thing that the UQ vet behaviorist said to me when I lobbed in with our soft furnishing-ripping sheltie, was... "To change her behaviour, we need to work on how you will now behave.' And in the list of things was to cut back on attention...

She can smell you. Dogs have an amazing capacity to scent. And you're not leaving via an air-tight door. Recently, I heard a tip about SA that ties in to this scenario. The owner should hang something from the outside door knob that strongly has the scent of the owner on it. Dog constantly smells the scent thro' the door cracks .... & thinks, 'Momma, you're there!'

Follow the evidence. Good on you Gertrude for looking for actual information. For those who received the letter from NARGA, you had the start of a track to follow. A person signed it. So there was a name to follow & that can be googled to find a profile. And in there, are the groups the person is associated with. One is a kind-hearted & very well organised rescue in a country area (& rightly respected in their locality). Caring, decent people who make considerable effort on behalf of companion animals. But this motto appears on their page: [Don't breed or buy while homeless pets die. Familiar? That's the animal rights-oriented, generalised anti-breeder sentiment. Naive, because it overlooks evidence that all breeding does not lead to dumping. The 'belief' from which NARGA proceeds is towards animal rights. Kind-hearted towards animals, but ideological. So its view of 'rescue' is in that context. Rescues have to ask themselves if that's what they want to sign up to? The animal rights approach can put a wedge between rescue & registered breeders. Which, in a more-informed context, shouldn't exist. The efforts of 'good' registered breeders prevent dumping of dogs... & there are breed rescues, as well as cooperation among good breeders and many rescue groups. Rescues also have another issue. With the name of the organisation suggesting a national representation of rescue groups... those who don't subscribe to its approach would need to differentiate themselves. Easiest solution would be if NARGA put on its website & ID material, the list of rescues that are members. So it's clear just who they say they're speaking on behalf of, when they speak on 'rescue' matters. And it wouldn't be every rescue in this nation. But with an association that doesn't put the names of their steering committee on their website (yet), I wouldn't hold my breath. But they might. Kind hearted, decent, well-intentioned, but naive. I agree with Aphra (whose post was a breath of fresh air), more sophistication & wider representation are required to represent the pointy end of rescue. But the choice is up to individual rescuers ... I'm not their mother or their maid. Find the information & make up your own mind to join or not. Easy for me.... I dip out at the start. Wouldn't join a non-democratically formed group to represent 'my' views. Little Gifts, excellent post!

Go do the research to track the background... & you'll find the ideology from which 'we' (only identity given on their website) works. Explains why it's not a democratically set up association. 'We' already has the answer.... as it progresses from a distinct position. One clue contained in what Aphra squirreled out.

Not one name can I find on their website. Just talks about 'we' .... 'like minds' who got heads together to start the association, followed by all the things 'we' intend to do. Now, as this is not a democratically organised association, that 'we' will remain 'we'.... & not 'you', the members. I did some googling based on the letter sent around. And found some groups behind the name, very local in character. Once again, no evidence of breadth and extent of experienced, knowledgeable rescuers being connected with the inception of the group.

It's a matter of requiring the kind of information that would show this association has arisen from experienced, knowledgeable representatives of the rescue community & all they stand for. Presently there's not yet one jot of evidence that's been the case. Either in disclosing identities on the founding committee.... or transparent track records in rescue. Why people who work in rescue would sign up to an association that aims to give them a 'voice'... when it's not a democratically founded organisation .... surprises me. Means members have no 'voice' in who supplies the 'voice' ... and, hence, in what they say or publish. And, as Aphra has squirreled out, some of what they've already piublished would not sit well with the beliefs of rescuers. Aphra fits the profile of an experienced, knowledgeable rescuer.

In Q'ld the laws about prevention of cruelty say that people can report to the RSPCA or the police. I saw a dog in a parked car (full sun, Brisbane summer) at our local shopping mall. An RSPCA Inspector has to cover the entire northside of the city.... but there was a Police Beat office inside the mall. So I went there to tell the police. The two officers just snatched up their caps & hurried straight out to deal with it.

I wouldn't say I've been 'hard' on them. I've already acknowledged that at least someone is trying to do something. It's the construction of the group that I've remarked on. The aim is to be a 'voice' .... and support.... for rescue & rescuers. Associations with such aims usually arise from experienced people working in whatever field needs a 'voice'. So the identity and track record of founding office-bearers & committee are central to its inception (& conception). That's a bottom-up organisation.... taking the 'voice' up to a committee and office-bearers. If that bears resemblance to democracy, you wouldn't be wrong. So identity and track record of founding people & the means by which those officers will be determined, are important to me. That's not being 'hard', it's just needing information & stating a preference. Another issue is set-up for handling moneys (that could be well in place & I just haven't read about it yet... so benefit of the doubt there).

I've had experience with older dogs ageing pretty well until the very last, and one who had an ailment that deteriorated with time. I agree with showdog that whatever it is, you just deal with it, trying to ensure the best care & best quality of life possible. Our p/b sheltie had no illness until her 14th year when she developed some arthritis in her back legs. Despite all treatments, she became progressively weak in the back legs, until she'd fall & not be able to get up. She had panic & fear in her eyes that had never been there before. By the time she was 15 yrs, both we & the vet decided it was best for her to go to doggie heaven ... as nothing could fix her problem. Our rescue sheltie, by 12 yrs, had a deteriorating eye condition that couldn't be stopped. He was soon blind. But we were able to adjust his life for that ... & he could live happily. But he'd always had immune-system related problems & now these increased, showing up in skin conditions. By the time he was 13 yrs old, his degree of discomfort was getting too hard for him. Our little mixed-breed rescue dog lived until she was nearly 23 yrs old. By age 19 yrs, she'd never had illness in her entire life (we'd had her since she was a puppy). Then she needed some dental surgery. After that, there was deterioration in her liver which required a diet low in protein. As she got closer to 22 yrs, there were signs of age-related doggie dementia. Then it was agreed things were going to get too much for her, & she was helped to doggie heaven. Our current oldie is p/b tibbie, aged 13 yrs, who's also never had any illness in her life. Still hasn't anything .... at last vet check 2 weeks ago (even her teeth were passed as 'excellent')'. She comes from the same bloodline as another tibbie girl owned by a friend. This girl is 18 yrs .... & doesn't show her age either.