mita

What bill? The OP-quoted newspaper article refers to a petition. A petition can set out what the petitioners would like a bill to say, but it's their creative writing. It'd become a proposed bill only if a draft is prepared under the direction of the relevant Minister. And Qld , in recent times, has set up a representative working party to do that. It's included Dogs Qld.

don't forget outside our local shopping centre as well....husky x Great Dane pups Also puppy farmers sell puppies from suburban houses as if they're 'home produced', without it being revealed where they actually come from. Then there's via the internet, with websites full of spin that mask fact it's a puppy farmer. On the bright side, in recent times, any proposed new legislation re domestic pets in Q'ld has been shaped via a widely-representative working party. That was how pet greyhounds got a fairer deal in law. One of our DOLers, who represented GAP, worked for & got that. So I'd be hoping that a similar working party would sort the details & bring knowledge and experience re all the lurks and quirks. Registered breeders are in a strong position in this state because of the highly positive results from a uni study concerning the socialisation of their puppies & their being far less likely to produce unwanted litters. (Just heard on ABC Radio that the Qld government has accepted an appeal from Dogs Q'ld that Amstaffs should not be labelled a banned breed.) Last February, RSPCA Qld advised the general public to go directly to good breeders and/or to ethical rescues including their shelters, to get pet puppies & dogs. That cuts out the dreaded puppy farmers and introduces screening/matching of new owners. So I'm hoping for a best case scenario, if concern about sale of puppies gets to a working party stage.

My thoughts are with you, Anne, on your loss of a truly special girl. Faith by name & faith by nature. Your years together were pure gold. And so is her memory. Huge hugs.

VICTORIA Animal Blessing and Holy Communion Trinity College Chapel, The University of Melbourne Animal Blessing and Holy Communion to mark St Francis' Day, Tuesday, 5 October, 5.30pm on the College Green at Trinity College, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3055. Guest speaker: Father Michael Elligate, Parish Priest of St Carthage's Roman Catholic University Parish, Parkville. All are welcome, with and without animals. For further information contact Philip Nicholls, Chaplaincy Administrator, on: (03) 9348 7495, or visit: http://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/chapel.

I've had dealings with the 4Paws Animal Rescue people at Nambour on a number of occasions. These people are tops. They do a brilliant & highly ethical job for both dogs & cats. I'd urge dog (& cat) lovers to support their fund-raising walk.

Bless the Salvation Army for recognising how important the dog is, to the family. Maybe suggest to the Salvos that they check if a media program will highlight the need? Or does that state's university vet clinic have a fund that allows for charity cases? When our elderly dog died, our memorial to her was to donate money to a university's vet clinic's charity fund. I guess they're not in Qld. Otherwise the AWL Qld Vet Clinic might help. They've done so before, in cases like this. PMing to find out how dinosaurs who send Money Orders can donate.

I agree with KnuckleBuster that dogs can suffer terribly from grief. Our elderly tibbie girl, Angel, had never had an ill or unhappy day in her life. Her younger tibbie 'sister', Gracie, was her idol. Then Gracie suddenly died after a medication reaction for a non-life- threatening condition. Angel was so worried about where Gracie had 'gone'. She'd lie at the door or side gates, waiting for Gracie to come back. After a couple of weeks I took her to a vet. Even as I spoke to the vet in the examination room, Angel lay looking under the door, waiting for Gracie to come in, too. The vet said in her experience it took dogs about 3 weeks of missing their 'pal' to get over it. Not Angel. The penny seemed to drop that Gracie wasn't going to come back thro' the doors & gates. Then Angel just cried, if no member of the family were with her. It wasn't a bark or a whine....but a sad little howl of loneliness. Nothing could stop her mourning. Not even another tibbie girl coming to live with her (Gracie's grand-daughter). Over the years, this little dog never picked up again, but literally faded away. No one had any doubt she died of a broken heart.

That would've been a great experience, Tapua. It'd be great written up in an article or a book. Hint, hint.

Blessing of the Animals Sunday October 3 at 9.15am. St Peter's Palmyra (details on Anglican Parish of Fremantle website below). They say all animals & their carers welcome (a past guest was a kangaroo). Refreshments for animals & people after the service. http://anglicanparishoffremantle.com/?p=494

Found one in NSW. In Mosman. But not until 24 October. Environmental Fair & Blessing of the Animals Sunday 24 October 2010 Time12:00pm - 4:00pm Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Cardinal Street Bring your pets to a Blessing of the Animals at the Environmental Fair, from 12pm on Sunday 24 October at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. There will be fabulous stalls, pony rides, shows and activities for the kids such as Mickey the Magic Horse and Insektus, the wonderful Bug Show. Free entry. Enquiries: (02) 8969 3200. http://www.mosman.nsw.gov.au/events/2286/e...-of-the-animals

World Animal Day is on October 4, which is the Feast of St Francis, patron saint of animals. Blessings of the Pets events are usually held on the day or the nearest Sunday. Two so far planned in SE Qld. 1. Blessing of the Pets Sunday October 3 at 3pm In the grounds of All Saints Anglican Church, Cobbity Crescent, Arana Hills, Brisbane. 4054 (Opposite Arana Hills Library). All sorts of pets & owners invited. You don't have to be an Anglican (we're not & always go.) Nor do your pets. Our tibetan spaniels are Buddhist! Just roll up. They put on a sausage sizzle afterwards (& usually ice-creams for the children), out of the goodness of their hearts. (Story from a last year's blessing. Little girl arrived with fish to be blessed. Kind vicar asked its name. "Daddy calls him Sushi", she replied.) 2. Blessing of the AWL Qld Animals Sunday October 3 from 5pm. AWL Qld Education & Rehoming Centre, Shelter Rd, Coombabah. It's the AWL animal residents that will be blessed at this event, by local Buddhist monks. Following this, there'll be canapes, drinks and live entertainment. Bookings are essential to attend at a cost of $40. 07 5509 9033 or [email protected]

I like the sound of this, because what's needed is to work backwards from a code of practice that's mandatory in order to stay a member of a designated reputable organisation.... an organisation which is largely concerned with conformation, health and welfare standards. Not primarily commercial goals. Only thing missing is how to test the extent that a member conforms with that code. I'm sure someone could come up with a way.

Martin Clunes' dog program must be educating people. This morning, a neighbour who doesn't own dogs himself, greeted our 2 little tibetan spaniels, 'Good morning, wolves!'

In some of them the faces are blanked out so it makes me wonder why (a) any person gives permission to a film crew to film them under these circumstances and (b) why some people seem to be filmed without them giving permission. Yes, to a & b. There's so many people who appear full-face in these programs, where they're suspected, at the least, of doing something 'off'. Hard to believe they'd be so hungry for 5 minutes of 'shame' on TV, that they'd give permission. Or is it a case, they're not routinely asked by the film crews. And only blanked out, if they make the request themselves.

I've often wondered about the privacy/permission issues re the reality TV programs that involve some kind of authority dealing with the public. There's lots of such programs now, involving police, customs, animal welfare etc.

Depends which RSPCA you're talking about. RSPCA Qld directs people to good registered breeders if they want a purebred puppy (see their February newsletter). Not surprising, because University of Qld research has demonstrated that registered breeders beat unregistered breeders hands down in 2 areas: 1. they socialised young puppies far better, which means they will have less behavioral problems later on, with less chance of being dumped; 2. they had far less numbers of accidental litters. In other words, registered breeders know what they're doing & are well organised . The University of Qld Vet School clinic will be moving onto the same new campus as RSPCA Qld and they intend to work together re many issues. There'd be no way purebred dogs would be regarded as something to be 'wiped' out, in Qld. The research is clear, in this State. The registered breeders of purebreds have emerged as those doing the best thing by the puppies they produce. In addition, they cooperate with University of Qld research in other studies to bring about improvements in dog health. For example, the Australian Cattle Dog Club of Qld has been involved in world-standard research about deafness. Findings which will flow on to advancing human health, as well.

The neighbour next door did exactly that yesterday. He was alerted when his little tibbie, Lily, did her 'Something's Wrong!' bark. He came out to find 2 blue tongue lizards getting stuck into each other. With Lily a few feet away telling them off. He used garden gloves to get them into a box & he released them nearby in bushland. Trouble is, it's started Lily on a roll. His wife heard Lily giving the same bark this morning & raced out expecting more wildlife. But, this time, she had bailed up a tiny common lizard. And was 'calling' for her 'dad' to come do something about it! Seems like Lily's starting a new career as a Lizard Alerter.

I know I'm going over old ground, but the whole notion that a 'ranger' can legally make a life/death decision, based on what he/she decides a dog is 'likely' to do, astounds me. That means a totally subjective judgment is made. Silentchild is correct, a breed/size of dog that has all sorts of prejudices around it, wouldn't stand a chance. Some time back, I was with 2 other women from the local library who went out of our way to coax into our care a straying Rottie...a magnificent big boy. Not only did we want him to be safe off the road, but we agreed that someone with a dose of paranoia about big Rotties, could start screaming for a police officer with a gun, or something else extreme. That dog was as much at danger for being wrongly judged, as he was for being hit by a car. Won't surprise anyone to know, he turned out to be a big affectionate teddy bear who happily trotted to me, when I called him, 'Darling!" By the way, I think that anyone whose job entails determining the life or death of a sentient being, should first be subjected to psychological assessment.

Sorry, I guess that shows my level of interest in politics Hockey, Helper, they are all interchangeable When Victorian dog legislation got talked about on DOL way back, Victorians mentioned Joe Helper, as the Minister. Well....I though 'Helper' must be a sarcastic nickname. Like, meaning he was no help at all. Took me quite a while to wake up that 'Helper' actually is his name.

Good on you for posting this. The tide is turning against puppy-farming & all its sneaky ways. And crowds of people turning out for this event will really count.

I'd hope there'd be recommendations about the criteria for homing these puppies. I'd like to see them make it to suitable homes and thrive. As any puppies of any breed do, when suitably matched. As I said before, if these puppies should finish up being PTS as a result of intervention, it'd be a bloody disgrace. Someone (sorry, can't remember who) has referred to their mixed-breed status as 'mutts'. Technically, yes, but from a humane perspective, just little puppies (who didn't generate themselves) that need suitable homes (as any dogs of any breed do).

You're not wrong there! They even think it's the right place to go. Like the way you go to specialty stores for all sorts of other things. Little do they know, there's no specialist knowledge about dog breeds to be found there. The people with that, are the ethical, experienced registered breeders.

Interesting information from Dutch Shepherd breeder, in DOL's own Breed Forum. Says they adapt well to family life (tho' could overwhelm young children) and being energetic & quick, not suitable for first time dog owners. Those specifications could apply to other breeds of similar type. Seems matching with a suitable home is the critical question (as it is with any breed of dog). Matching requires depth of knowledge about a breed & also getting accurate information about a prospective home. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=195710

Thanks for this heads up. Are there other breeds that would also be described as 'high drive hard working dogs'? Isn't that why the police & military use German & Belgian Shepherds so extensively? So wouldn't there be other dogs that shouldn't be sold to unsuspecting, inexperienced families??? The man who does our gardening bought a German Shepherd from a pet store. Seems to add up to one of the main reasons why all breeds of dogs should be bought directly from registered breeders who know the attributes and needs well. The welfare of these puppies at the centre of this furore should take one pride of place. I don't agree with the statement that they would have been better off put to sleep. Steps should be taken to ensure they're homed appropriately...as should be the case for other dogs of this type. German & Belgian Shepherds. I think I read, on the other thread, that those trying to sort things had also offered to take them in & do so. If so, that's decent, sensible and humane. Should the puppies finish up being PTS as a result of this intervention, it'd be a disgrace.

Couldn't be a better person to help put the Tasmanian RSPCA on a true welfare path. I think it also needs good people, with the right attitudes, working as a team behind a CEO. And good leadership can inspire good people to step up to the plate & put in the hard yards.