Little Gifts

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?????

Oh my dog they look like a whole lotta trouble! Although you are already used to that T! I just hope you don't have any poo players.

I'm so very sorry Ruffles. We just don't get to keep them for long enough. XXX

Now T,don't go holding out on us with any puppy pics if any of these cuters come your way!

It must be the day for thinking about our doggies, which is why I started a thread in the hope that others like me might want to add a message and picture and kind of share the grief and loss as a collective. It seems to have been a big year for losing oldies in particular. I was also at the vet this afternoon and there was a tough tattooed guy outside with dark sunnies on just standing there with an old SBT. So I asked him how old he was and he told me he was 16 and he was there to put him to sleep as he was urinating blood and gone in the back legs. He told me he thought it was the right thing to do by him. I wanted to hug that tough guy and go in with him while he said goodbye to his mate but I had a kitten and several other people with me on a hot day. Instead I gave his boy lots of kisses and cuddles and told the guy that it was hard but that he was doing the right thing and that not everyone was lucky enough to have a dog for so many years. So tonight I'm sad that another oldie has been added to the list. The Rainbow Bridge must be full of them. Big hugs to you Emma's mum. Alyson XXX

Stussy likes to frock up for special occassions like Christmas. Unfortunately the fantastic xmas tree dress I bought her was too small so I bought some bits and pieces and made her up a little something for the big day. Usually she loves her outfits but she is not looking so excited about wearing something 'handmade' this year.

There have been so many precious pets lost this year I wanted to start a thread honouring them all as we see out this year and move in to the next. For those that celebrate the event it will be our first Christmas without a present under the tree for our lost one and those 'firsts' are always a little hard. So to those of you who are like me this year, with a little hole still in their hearts, this thread is for you and the animals you loved and lost. Please feel free to add your fur or feather babies to it. My girl Ricky (10/08/1994 - 28/05/2011) - there are still memories of you everywhere old girl. You are never far from our thoughts.

But You Is A CRAZY WOMAN!

My sister lives here with her large breed dog. From time to time she goes away for a week so and I would look after my two dogs (although I am now down to one) and her dog. I had no problems caring for all three or financially meeting their needs but it was impossible for me to take all three out in the car or for a walk because they all had different needs due to their ages and temperaments. The thing that made keepng them all happy easy was they also have different attention needs and are very routine orientated. One is my heart girl who loves to play and loves to be touched and one (who is now deceased) didn't like to be fussed over and my sister's dog liked contact in small doses and preferred her play to be with my heart dog so I felt I had enough time to give them all the attention they liked/needed without any jealousy or competition. If you had three dogs all requiring personal attention, grooming and training at the same level of intensity I could imagine that would be difficult, let alone coordinating outings and exercise. If one required more of your time could you give it without it impacting on one of the other dogs? We have also had four dogs here for about 6 months. The fourth dog came with an owner who worked long shifts. Everything was manageable except for outings and play time. We needed at least 2 people for that because the extra dog was teensy but liked to play rough and noisy. We'd also take two cars if we went out after squashing fears. Some nights having four dogs doing zoomies inside the house was more than my nerves could bare.

I had one of these and he simply needed to be with people. I once saw him hang by his hips from my back deck, between the metal bars, then he used his back toenails to push his hips bit by bit through the bars until he dropped to the ground. After I saw that I realised all my yard reinforcement efforts were futile. We lived on small acreage so I spoke to my neighbours and not one of them had an issue with him visiting while I was at work. He usually just sat on their front verandahs watching the world go by and then went and sat in the middle of the intersection waiting for me to come home from work late in the afternoon. I never knew that at the time of course - apparently all the neighbours were just fine driving around him! When I moved in to the suburbs my yard here is escape proof as he was a destroyer rather than a climber or digger. He was older by then and more content to lounge around with our other dog. Plus he actually seemed more comfortable in a smaller yard. But he injued himself trying to get out through the metal garage door a couple of times when storms were coming so after that I'd either have to come home and take him back to work with me or mum would come over and sit with him. If you have money to spend on trying fence overhangs then do it. If not then I'd probably just keep him inside. It sounds like visiting and wandering are just in his nature even though you have a perfectly good yard to play in!

I think I might be in love with Angus and his smiley face and big ears!

A couple of years ago I was told to discipline my girl who was causing fights by making her sleep outside for the night - like ostracising her from the pack. She carried on like a pork chop but since I sleep with ear plugs I still managed to nod off. In the early hours of the morning though there she was on my bed. In my daze I thought one of the neighbours must've had enough and unlocked my back door and let her in. In the morning I discovered she had crawled right under the house and managed to find a vent that is under our 3 lounge room stairs. She busted through some steel mesh, gyprock and the metal vent itself to break back in to the house. Very clever!