Little Gifts

One of them is definately a type of wandering jew. It is going to be painful to remove but it must go! The others seem to be ok. I did image searches for common ferns, creepers and ground covers in Australia and found the names and looked them up that way. I actually have a lot of jade plants in my back garden and never knew they were poisonous! I've never had a tree/shrub chewer though so I'm not going to worry. And I have a native I know as an inch plant that I thought was ok but see that the wandering jew plant family are also known as inch plants. Mine are more like long grasses with little red flowers on the ends. I might go to the nursery and get the proper name and search that as well. I have always put fresh aloe juice straight from the plant on dog sores and itches believing it was non-poisonous if they licked it but nope, according to the ASPCA I could be killing them! Plus I have spots of rye grass in my lawn which must be yanked up too! A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!

Just found this link - YAY! http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants.aspx?style=User&url=http://www.aspca.org/toxicplants/M01831.htm&page=1

I'll see what I can do - the areas are kind of dark as I have large trees overhead so I'm worried pics wont come out well. Plus I've found some plants that I never put there so I guess birds may have carried the seed? I might pull them out just in case, but the creeper/ground cover thingy is going to be a pain. It is all green and it reminds me a bit of the leaves of a moses in a basket plant (but smaller and all green). The moses plant is bad so I'm thinking this creeper/ground cover is not good either and I can see little bits of it everywhere along the back fence.

While doing a yard clean up I've noticed that my new neighbours to the back and side have planted loads of new stuff that now seems to be growing through to my side of the fence. There are now ferns and creeper type things on my side of the fence. I have a pied SBT and she gets itchy on her underside at times so I try to be careful of what I put in the garden. I know there are very long lists of toxic plants out there (like the ASPCA one) but I am yet to find one online that has pics that will help me check whether what is now in my garden is dangerous or safe. Has anyone found any sites that might help me with images as there are about 5 plants all up. I've done a DOL search but haven't come up with links to pics - just lists of names, which wont work for me at present. I think there is nothing more awful for a dog than to be continually itchy. Thank you!

Magic!

All these puppies have made me melt so badly I went in to a pet shop that sells puppies today (gulp) just to look at this poor little pei boy who was all alone in the window. The lady quickly whipped him out and handed him to me. Apparently pure bred (doubtful based on body) and only $900! He was born 29/11 and was far too young to be alone and for sale. He keep making all those little grunty noises tired puppies do while I held him. I can see how people get sucked in because I didn't want to put him back in that cage all alone and just a baby. It was terrible! If I could run fast I may have just absconded with him. But anyway I blame all of you with beautiful puppies for making me temporarily lose my mind today!!!!! I feel like I set back the cause even going in there and gushing like I did, let alone holding one of the dogs and chatting with an evil puppy seller! She probably expects to see me back with my credit card. Oh the shame...

Yes Please! We can never get enough Julie What about a donated dog coat - do you still want already knitted items for auctions too? If so where do I send it?

I like to think it was Jake telling you all is ok in his new world and that he wants all to be normal and ok back here for you. There are lots of stories of people who say a lost loved one has visited them while they are in bed while they are grieving, as if to tell them they were ok. For me it has more been like a feeling that Ricky is just still here, somewhere in the house waiting for me to trip over her

I've also been knitting some funky dog coats for rescue and I'd be happy to donate one for your silent auction if you were doing this again this year? I didn't have the knitting bug when you started this unfortunately!

I actually had a wierd dream about a DOLer and her new pup only last night! I dreamed I simply turned up at K9Angel's place for a brief holiday. Her relationship with her new pup Takoda was amazing to see - that dog was so focussed on her! She fed me a very nice stew (the weather was cold) and I hung out with her two boys and was there when a neighbour dropped off a wandering dog for her to look after while the owner was found (she does that kind of thing). I remember thinking her house was smaller in my dream than I expected and I was thinking "oh that is where she had her xmas tree but she has already taken it down". Her boys were just gorgeous and happy confident little men. I was dissappointed not to be able to go outside and see the other dogs in their runs (I think she keeps some in runs?)as it was already night time. She didn't seem at all concerned about me dropping in and expecting to stay! Oh and in my dream her house was 2 storeys but I think it is really only 1 storey in RL. And in my dream it was like I was just visiting DOLers I respect from the rescue threads - I think Mother Moocher or tdierikx were next on my list. Is this borderline stalking????

Wow, that was so quick! They were a beautiful and healthy litter though so I'm sure that helped them get some extra attention.

That is fantastic news!!!!

I'm so very sorry Loraine. Having lost my girl this year and knowing so many others have lost beloved pets recently too, I hope it is some comfort that there are a lot of wonderful dogs waiting at the bridge to welcome Zedley. He wont be alone on his journey.

Farewell Maggie. What an amazing dog you were!

I love Stussy despite her being the naughtiest dog I've ever owned and because she is my first ever heart dog. I hope she never loses her inquisitiveness, ability to live in the moment or stops giving cuddles and kisses. Through her I have learnt that the simplest things are the ones that matter most and feel the best. Eat, Play, Love. It's all you really need.

Kyoto looks like she's got some brindle patches becoming more dominant. Perhaps the poor girl wasn't sure which breed to look like so she's trying to appeal to a larger cross section of families by offering a bit more variety?

My sister used to work in weapons with the QLD Police Service. She said that strict records were kept regarding the discharging of pepper spray. Making formal enquiries with Vic Police about the incident might also be useful for the owner as an incident report would have to have been recorded for the call out and use of the spray. The first (and normal) step for anyone is always asking for a verbal explanation on what happened. If that isn't forthcoming then write to the head of the organisation and formally request an explanation. If that doesn't work submitting a Right to Information request is the way to go when true bureacracy strikes. There is legislaton around RTI and there is no way info should take this long to be released if it is going to be. Even if it isn't then they should still have a letter saying it is refused and why (it could be because they moved quickly to legal action). Having worked for local and state govt my experience is that everything that can be shared with clients about their personal business and the decision making processes behind decisions that are made is shared with the clients verbally and in writing. Unfortunately sometimes the information retained on files is sketchy, staff have left or someone simply can't remember. Even worse is when due process wasn't followed (and a situation simply can't be reversed) or the process is so bureacratic that the client can't understand what is explained to them. From my experience this is often why people take legal or tribunal action. Unfortunately if the information isn't there it simply isn't there and nothing can bring a dog back from the dead. It will be interesting to see what else comes out of this case, but as it is reported now the council has been unusually tight lipped which is never a good sign if you ask me. All it does is increase frustration and let imaginations (like mine!) run wild.

I feel some extra puppy love forming for Miss Maddie!

Gussy's Mum someone is clearly giving you the evils over being forced to dress as Santa's Elf!

Someone gave me a newspaper article from the UK yesterday full of assistance puppies for returned soldiers, all lined up and looking cute. Pfffft I thought - we can do much better than that right here on DOL!

Perhaps I'm reading the story wrong or missing something but it sounded to me like the dog died at the pound. You would hope/assume that the rangers or dog catchers have some training in how to catch animals in a variety of situations and that the training includes subduing aggressive animals and recognising animals who are reacting under stress. If an animal was showing signs of fear and stress I guess the best thing to do after catching the animal would be to let it settle so it could be handled safely. With an aggressive animal I assume the best option would be to get it somewhere secure as quickly as possible. In both instances wouldn't the back of the van a dog got picked up in be the best place for it to calm down and not attack anything? Even if it was aggressive wouldn't you let it settle and strategise on the best way of moving it to a pound pen? So how the hell does a dog end up covered in pepper spray and dead in the actual pound? I wouldn't be surprised if it was sprayed to get it into the van and that it was dead before it got back to the pound because if it was showing signs of stress to the point of death the next stop for the van should have been a vet, not the pound. And it is not that common a breed so if someone had already reported it missing, even if they hadn't checked for a chip due to agression I don't think a quick match would've been that hard. AND if the police were involved and the dog was a real public threat then I suspect the council would be wanting to find the owner pretty quickly so they could be charged. So if there is nothing to hide why don't they simply tell the owner what happened? Sorry but there is something fishy here with the council whether the dog was loose or aggressive. If it was my dog, my property, I would be livid.

I feel like this year in particular has been a really bad one for losses. Maybe I just feel for everyone more because I'm in the same boat, but honestly it seems every time I've logged on there has been another heart broken. And it doesn't matter if it was from old age or accident or a pure bred or bitsa, dog or goat, it just feels all so unfair that we get to spend so few years with these amazing animals. They give so much, which is why I guess their absence from our day to day lives is so hard to accept. Where ever they all are, I hope they know they are still loved and thought of with tears and smiles.

They really are a very cute litter of pups. I can't even pick a favourite! I'm a bit jealous really (but not of Darren). As soon as I came into the thread I started singing to myself "Super Pooper" (previously the ABBA song Super Trooper).

Oh dear I am laughing - Darren you got ripped off terribly! I hate to think how many dad's those pups had. I've noticed lab and GSD and now in Ebony I see SBT!

I probably shouldn't be laughing, but?????