Little Gifts

I just got even madder - I've just seen independent rescue groups in Tassie are also taking on some of the dogs and the cost for veterinary and other work. RSPCA don't tell the public that though do they and they certainly wont be moving any funds over to these rescue groups to help them with the costs they will incur. So people will be donating for work the RSPCA will not even be doing.

They are missing an obvious one. An ethical breeder asks questions to determine which of their pups might be a good match for you and your family. A puppy farmer shows you pics of the pups and just asks which one you want, like you are buying a product off a shelf (that comes in different colours).

Makes my blood boil. Not only that this huge puppy farmer business took so long to be shut down (with no financial penalty) but because the RSPCA didn't have any clear plans on how to manage the incoming number of dogs within their own humungous organisation? Also they have their own vets who would be on a salary so why are they including potential vet costs as a reason to seek more money to do what they already get funded to do? Why don't they use the sales from all those pending adoptions to cover it? Instead of this being a good news story about dogs now free from being breeding machines they are using it to be lazy money grubbers, blaming the law that they couldn't do more. Zero respect for them as an organisation.

I do it, but only with dogs who indicate they are struggling to keep themselves warm. I don't think foster boy Albert had ever worn a coat before and to be honest he seems to have a thick enough coat, but he's quite unsettled when he is cold. He started with a single layer one, and currently a double layer one. It was 0 degrees with very high winds last week and he wore his coat solidly for 3 days. If I tried to remove it he growled at me! So I monitor the weather and him and respond accordingly!

What a fantastic idea! I've had one with CCD (passed just shy of 17) and one with Sundowners (passed at 15.5). Both were staffords and very engaged in life right until their time came. I never thought of starting new challenges with either and was all about just maintaining things at a comfortable level for them, so I'm keen to do things differently next time based on this.

Getting his exercise in today! He's got another meet and greet tomorrow. Bit scary because she is from Canberra and he'd be a long way away if the adoption trial didn't work out. If he sabotages this meeting I think my sister and I will be having the serious conversation about foster failing him. He's been here so long now, even though we are not a perfect match I can't imagine him not being here. It's just getting harder for all of us I think.

Time for an Albert update. He's been here 4 months now and has had numerous meet and greets. These meetings started out well but as time goes on he doesn't connect with anyone and show his loving self to them - just all manic energy to drive them off! As time goes on I think it will get harder for him, and my sister and I will have to have a serious conversation about whether he stays here permanently. It's not that we don't love him but his fear of other animals and young age mean we've got years of isolation from all the things we love (fostering, having a house full of dogs, pei catch ups for instance). He's also very strong with high energy and still pulling, despite the halti. Both my sister and I have gummy wrists and are getting older and there have been a couple of instances of being pulled over (but not losing control of him). So not ideal but obviously we love him and love all the other stuff he brings to our lives. The rescue thinks/hopes the right person will still come along and he will be his best self for the person he wants to impress (have seen it before multiple times with the breed). But I'm starting to think he has made his choice whether we like it or not. So we wait....

Interesting info about that council, T. Could be wrong but I would like to think their cat containment by-laws are another strategy to reduce cat ownership issues in their LGA. They probably had no idea how many pet cats were even out there until they started the free program. Containment has been law for decades up where I live but still there are deceased cats on roads and stray/lost ones ending up in the pound, so it never fully fixes a problem. Few people register their cats up here (unlike dogs) and the cost of desexing remains a factor in people ensuring that cute kitten they got off someone for cheap doesn't have kittens of its own. I also feel the cost of living crisis is really impacting not only people keeping their pets, but the number of foster carers and adopters that are out there for all these animals. We have to humanely reduce the numbers needing assistance in the first place.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-cut-stray-cat-numbers-in-a-way-that-works-better-for-everyone-229291?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR22IsPbHxiL0O9mzfteKcfSxQHN7tmMvCmoIuqJGU5GoJ9K7lDLscS6nhM_aem_Afp5jjKMTkccLmKNGvPVjVM9il0l0B435xpaVVA43JE4owBhE3yMhDVl4bpFm5Ki8Cw5KtCfz-P1Qn4zMaFJt5Rg

I've had a few grass eaters and they only eat specific grass and it has to be tall and whispy stuff, not the mowed lawn type. I've seen them snuffle around looking for the type they are after.

I had a stafford who was bullet proof but then developed anxiety when her hearing suddenly went. Her eyesight was also diminishing with age and she went from a dog who liked to be loved kind of roughly to one who didn't want to be touched for fear of being hurt. Then she developed Sundowners too. It was a lot for her and us to deal with. Our interactions with her changed as soon as we realised - very gentle touch and cuddles. She went on Antinol Rapid (which helped her joint discomfort) and we minimised her ability to hurt herself jumping up and down off furniture (I ended up with a ramp at the end of my bed and a baby rail down one side so she had to use it. We also started making and giving her Golden Paste, which I feel also assisted. We developed big gestures to get her attention in the yard (still had an issue with alarming her to wake her). We tried an adaptil plug in the wall and then a collar but ended up using Vetalogica calming chews which worked best for her. It helped the wandering and panting reduce in the early evening. The other thing we did (recommended for doggy dementia) was get a blue light for the base of the ramp at our bed. It stayed on all night (didn't have any worries sleeping with it on) and it helped keep her settled at night. These are just some basic changes we made that worked for us. We've got a great vet so had they recommended something (medication) I would have tried that too. The doggy dementia FB page I found was really helpful too. It must be hard for them when everything starts changing and they don't know how to tell us.

I know when Jonah's dad took him on his outback adventures he had a tracker on him. Imagine trying to find a red dog amongst the red earth. PS DW's photo, not mine.

Well that's another kick in the guts or that industry.

I'm on a couple of Simple Savers type pages and pet care is a big topic right now. The good news is many people are telling others that cheap dog food is false economy because of the potential health effects (and then vet costs) but also because you have to feed your dog more for them to feel full and then they poop most of it out anyway. They been offering other ideas for making your own and having a good balance for your dogs. Same with people food. People are encouraging others to find ways to still have a balanced food intake rather than eating cheap and nasty carb laden diets. So many people who have never struggled before suddenly finding their income no longer covers everything. I'm glad I've still been living like a pauper.

Last night it was cold again and Albert was in a coat with a blankie over him. He totally melted into a Cold Coma and first his legs and then his bum fell off the chair. I tried to push them back up but it was dead weight. Took this funny photo of him suspended in limbo by his coma. Took the blanket off and it roused him back up on the chair again. He's such a weirdo! But still very cute. And still waiting for his forever home.