Little Gifts

Ams used to dry chicken necks and breasts for the pei but she had some fancy looking thing that looked like a desktop filing cabinet with shelves that slid in and out. I think it was around $100 and it wasn't from Aldi's. I don't think she's on DOL anymore to comment but I remember once she mentioned problems with the necks rotting quicker than she could dry them out with the machine. It may have been related to our summer heat at that time. I know she did successfully dry a lot on a ongoing basis. I'm thinking once you dry meat though you probably don't want to use the same set up to dry fruit.

I had a customer at work who is a dog trainer who also fosters working dogs. I told her about this thread and your work because I think what you do is just so amazing! I'm sure she's been lurking through your thread!

Did you get rid of your boat that you had on the trip over? I hope you have an interesting trip - looking forward to the pics as I did a similar trip many moons ago so will be interested to see what it looks like now.

This story was just on the news. Tears.

I agree that the RSPCA should not be naming and shaming - they should be focussed on saving any at risk animals and letting the prosecution process occur. There are also 6 sides to every story and hopefully Heather gets to tell hers where it counts most, in the courts. But I also come at these cases from a position of working in statutory child protection for many years. It was not uncommon for parents to neglect or abuse a specific child. But does that mean there wasn't a risk to all the other children in that household? If there is a vulnerable party and evidence of an abuser/neglector I'd rather err on the side of caution and protect all the vulnerable. I've also experienced plenty of cases where matters were either unsubstantiated, not as bad as first considered or quickly rectified with support. Perhaps that is what is lacking in cases such as this too - a willingness to accept things are not going well and to address them so the animals can be returned? I still don't see anything reported from Heather about how she was physically capable of caring for the needs of 82 animals every day. This is my main issue with puppy farmers and back yard breeders. If you can appropriately care for animals en masse because of the set up you have and number of staff on hand every single day of the year then fine, but we see time and time again that corners are cut and it is the animals who pay the price for it. We wouldn't accept an invalided patient being confined to a bed containing their own urine and faeces. We wouldn't accept a child being fed and having to sleep in their cot surrounded by their waste either. We wouldn't accept a filthy child covered in sores and with matted hair. The reason we don't accept these things is because they are easily fixable by anyone. They don't require a special skill and they don't take a lot of time if attended to as they happen. Some of them wont even exist if you find time within even a 24 hour time period to catch up on what you couldn't do immediately. The absence of them being done is neglect. If you can't attend to basic needs because the load is too great then the onus is on you to rectify that situation. If repeated complaints about the same issue were made over a period of time then that is evidence that no self-rectification was going to come. We humans bring these animals into the world and we owe it to them to do so responsibly. All the excuses in the world mean nothing when the harm has already been caused. Companion animals die because of this stuff, particularly if they end up in the RSPCAs sticky fingers.

These two statements disturb me: "....about 30 dogs were left behind." "Her statement says there have been no adverse reports from prior inspections and no prior breaches of the Prevention to Cruelty to Animals Act." There is something wrong with our legislation when 52 animals are seized but 30 are left. If you are capable of neglecting 52 then you are capable of neglecting the other 30 under the duress of a seizure and hiding it from authorities better. Not that I want these poor animals ending up in the hands of the RSPCA but this concept of leaving the less neglected behind just makes no sense. And the second statement - well just because you haven't gotten caught before doesn't mean you haven't done anything wrong. I am with Melzawelza - if you don't have an appropriate staff to animal ratio then it is simply not possible to adequately care for that many animals on your own, with your partner or with part time helpers. Even if you only give each animal 1/2 an hour of interaction and care per day that is 41 hours bare minimum per day needed for all the companion animals on that property. Simple reality.

Greg there are also several vet clinics in Beenleigh, which is the next big suburb north of Ormeau. I've used Beenleigh Vet Hospital (3287 2599) for decades (Sidney or Renate are both wonderful). If you get caught out on Sundays Anvet Beenleigh is open 7 days (I don't use them but at least they are there) and our closest after hours vet is at Springwood, about half an hour north from Ormeau. I think your vet needs are pretty well covered for your holiday.

They look a bit like the classic dad, mum and child pics not siblings!

Mita are you supporting them? Do they know about Team Bart To The Rescue? I'm always looking for new groups to put forward for Team Bart support. We have a FB page and website under that name.

We have an XL sized Dingo Food Storage Bin. Had it for a few years now. It keeps the food fresh, never had any mice or cockroaches get in and certainly no dog break ins either. Also really easy to wipe out. Stores a 20kg bag of kibble with space on top for measuring cups and any open bags of dog treats. Because of the shape it takes up less room in our laundry than a round container. http://www.petshopdirect.com.au/shop/item/dingo-food-storage-bin-large

I refer to mine as an SBT and a pei but since both are rescues I seriously doubt they are pure. I've never let that stop me from enjoying the forum! If you want to stay and enjoy the interaction then stay.

He looked like he was always on the go and in the thick of the action! What a dog! Rest easy now big boy and keep the vermin down over the bridge!

Saw him on FB. Very pretty boy and yes, no pooping on the couch Bear! It's for snuggling on!

I'm so sorry Kirty. An OES girl was the first dog I ever got to choose for myself and she was all mine. She was rather odd and undog like and did some crazy stuff which only endeared her to me more. I never met anyone who didn't adore her from the first meeting too. It took me a long time to get over losing her as well. Live on in your mum's heart Rupert. XXX

Just the best news! And yes, as hard a discussion as it is your vet needs to come to the party on their error. Things like medication dosage is important and not an error that can be shrugged off as an accident, particularly when this seems to be a common drug and it can be a fatal error.

Please don't tell me there are puppy farmers with 350 fertile females at any one time? I can't even fathom how easy it would be to neglect and ruin for life that many dogs. I hope they have the resources to support these new laws. I do like the bit about foster carers!

So happy for you all! Amazing news!!!!!!!

Gosh imagine how scary this is for the dogs themselves to behave like that. It is sounding more and more like the underlying cause. I guess time will soon tell. Hope you are coping ok Teekay.

Bloody hell! I hope it is the meds! Would a blood test pick up the toxicity or just indicate something wrong with the liver? Without Shoelaces post it might've taken days and several intrusive tests to even consider this the issue! Poor Mya - sending her lots of strength to recover fully and quickly.

Stussy just makes a 'cack' sound and there you have it - instant vom bom regardless of the time or place. And thank you for the link - they sound like very entertaining dogs to live with!

See from the stand point of someone who used to write for parliament and court I can see why they didn't want to deal with this situation. Councillor Mills clearly has skills and experience of his own enough to assess what has happened in this situation but he is making far too many claims and his points are diluted. He refers to the tv program too many times - that might be the reason they removed the koalas but it is not grounds for discipline or charging. The fact they removed healthy animals and didn't go on to care for them adequately is. He should've focussed on that. He should've also shown more than one case to support his demand for their powers as a whole to be removed. I think he should've also pushed his point about there not being anyone to complain to outside of that organisation only if he can provide details of specific cases where their complaints process was tainted. It is normal for an internal investigation to be done by independant officers in nearly all local, state and federal government departments. They can contract an external agency to do the job if they think it is in everyone's best interests but unless it can be proven that an internal investigation has been done and was biased then he has no basis to complain it is an unacceptable practise when it is actually very widespread. I can see where he is coming from and with some fine tuning this would've had some teeth they couldn't ignore. Sometimes when the concerns are so broad/large you have to pick the biggest issue with the most evidence and community impact and push it. As it stands this looks to be all about only 2 officers, 2 koalas and 1 case and it is not big enough for parliament to get involved in. I hope someone, somewhere out there can get a sharp stick into the RSPCA and poke some arses till they bleed. I find it hard to believe that some of their staff are not animal lovers also seeking change but when our national animal protection agency with millions of dollars in their bank accounts kill more animals than they save and take years to take so few cases with successful outcomes to court something is very wrong. They should be the power house of animal welfare and reform that we all look up to.

I want RSPCA to be held accountable but I think the reasons are much broader than that petition. And sadly there are so many grammatical and spelling errors it just isn't succinct and professional enough for me to support.

I know we shouldn't anthropomorphise our dogs but last night, first time in ages my sister and I went out together for a couple of hours and my SBT heart girl Stussy decided to get the upchucks and runs in the short time we were gone. Instead of being upset I realised that she is prone to an upset tummy just like her mum. As we lay in bed together I rubbed her favourite spot to soothe her I started thinking about the ways we are similar. I am not black and white and my hair is wavier and longer but I do have short little legs! I think that is where the physical similarities end! But behaviour wise I can see a lot of similarities! She is very social, a little bit naughty, inquisitive and likes a lot of close body contact. Does silly stuff just to amuse herself but also likes to hold centre stage every now and then. She'll take a sleep in and a late brunch over an early morning start any day. If she is not well she prefers to take to bed and be comforted, not fussed over, but just someone there to watch over her. She gets anxious if she thinks people important to her are upset with her. For no reason her tummy can get out of sorts (probably to do with being anxious). She can sleep on anything. Loves going out in the car for random drives. Has her favourite spots in and out of the house (but will share if she has to). Happy to share her toys, leashes and clothes as long as you look after them. Not into sharing her favourite food (will eat quicker if you try) and bites her nails. Can get obsessed about small and slightly meaningless stuff (like the mouse she can't catch because she follows it in the wrong direction). This is all me to a tee. So go on, have some fun and tell me how is your dog like you, physically or behaviourally?

Imagine how terrifying that would be for a puppy. Gosh some of them could tell us some stories! Glad she was picked up by the right kind of person.

I can't believe no-one wants their own Rocky Raccoon!