Little Gifts

My SBT girl is the same. She's only caught three in 16 years but having your skull ripped from your head cannot be a nice way to die. She has perfect response to the leave command but it always happens when we are not home.

I never felt I would be a good parent so consciously never had children. I've always loved dogs so always owned one (or three). But I have never considered them replacement children. Having no children has just meant I can make different choices as an adult because I am not devoting time, money and space to raising any.

Don't get me wrong, Jessie is a lovely dog too but Jonah! I always just find him so stunning beside that red earth backdrop!

Coogie my sister is like this. If it fits it goes on the body. If it is the first leash she puts her hand touches that's what gets clipped on. Those named poo bag holders mean nothing! I lose minutes from my life every time I see what the dogs come home wearing from an outing with her!

But what you have all failed to discuss in this thread is what this concoction is actually for? Some of us have no clue but are getting the sense it is for joints and arthritis? Is it supposed to reduce pain or inflammation or just help with maintaining mobility? We have an oldie here on Sacha's Blend for arthritis. She's a big, furry dog so what's a bet she ends up smelling like pee!?

Where is that like button!

Do people also buy numerous dog tags so they can have the correct coloured one with each outfit? I'm guilty!

He's all growd up in the body department but the brain still thinks like a puppy! "Uncle Smoke stole our toooooooooy!"

Yep and our poo bag holders and collapsible drinking bowls and treat bags have to match as well! Tempeh has purple or red. Stussy has hot pink or red and Wolf has gold. I don't think that is necessarily her colour but just what my sister chose for her! Even the coats I make for my two smallest follow the colour guidelines! Tempeh can also wear muted tones but Stussy needs loud colours (to match her personality)!

I didn't think about the smell! I guess that bucket would need to be a loooooong way from the house!

So what do you all do with your worms? I used to get so many of them from just my normal compost that I never got a farm. We watched this show about people living off the land a while back and one couple used to catch guppies from their ponds as a protein source for their chooks and they also had this plastic bucket with holes in it that they would put road kill or leftovers from fresh meat butcherings in, which would get infested with maggots and the maggots would drop from the holey bucket, again to be fed to the chooks as a protein source. If I ever get chooks again I'm going to try those ideas.

Yes I adore her - even her extreme naughtiness! Here is a pic of her with her first foster bro Clancy. He was so scared when he arrived that we had to keep a thin leash on him for the first three days so if we wanted to get close we'd have to stand on it to catch him. But this is him with Stussy in like the first week. She was his shadow, always reminding him he was ok, often sitting up guarding him while he slept in case he woke up in a panic. And when potential adopters came to meet any of these foster dogs she never got in the way or tried to protect the fosters from strangers or steal any limelight herself. Totally different to who she normally is (wanting everyone to love her the most). Fostering brought out a remarkable side to her - I think it is/was her calling! I've also got video footage of her teaching another foster bro to play tug. I don't think he'd ever owned a toy in his life and he certainly didn't have much experience with other dogs. But she kept throwing the tug in his face till he grabbed the end (usually running off with it) and she'd gently tug on the loose end till he got the idea it was a game they could play together. Makes me cry every time I watch it.

Pheebs, Best Friends Rescue have a Private Adoptions section on their webpage where they help people needing to rehome their dogs (see link below). They have a huge FB following now so I'm assuming their webpage also gets lots of looks. It might be worth getting a post up on their webpage to spread the word wider? Also as I am in Brissie with lots of other dog loving local friends, do you want me to put something up on my FB page and ask Brissie friends to share it? The only issue is I would need some contact info in the post in case anyone was interested. http://www.bestfriendsrescue.com/dogP.html

My pride in Stussy has been for different reasons. She is very loving and in tune with us humans, comforting when she thinks we are sad or unwell. But when we were fostering I saw a whole different side of her that made my heart swell and bought tears to my eyes. She was just the most loving and nurturing dog to other dogs too. We had a couple of very fearful fosters and ones who were broken souls. It took a while for them to trust us humans but as soon as they arrived I could literally see Stussy showing them around the house and yard giving them the low down - "this is how we let her know we want to go outside" "this is where our toys live" "if you want a treat you have to sit" "this is your crate". She would sit up and guard them while they slept. She shared beds with them to keep them warm. She taught some who had never had toys how to play tug. When we did formal training she was there showing them what the commands meant so they could follow but she never tried to get the treats. She encouraged them to keep moving when we went walking and they got scared. She was never pushy or demanding or irritated with them, even the ones who didn't seem to speak dog. She never got jealous or needy with sharing me either. And it didn't matter what age or sex they were. She really seemed to enjoy having a job and when one left she never mourned but welcomed the next one with equal enthusiasm. She really surprised me as she provided something to the rehabilitation of these dogs that I never could. We never know what our dogs are capable of till we put them in a new situation!

That's a hard one given it is early spring here and temps are already in the 30s! I'd say I would walk up to 28 degrees if we had a breeze and if it was early or late in the day. We can have a bearable hot and a stinking hot and humid. We also have shaded and minimal concrete/bitumen walk options which helps. Then there are places where water is readily available if anyone is getting too hot or even short walk options. I figure if I'm sweaty and struggling then the dogs have to be too. Oh and we also have a big furry beast (as well as the pei and SBT). Heat is no deterrant to them if they think something exciting is happening.

He's looking so purdy! You must be very proud of him!

Goodbye beautiful girl. There'll be lots to do again over the bridge.

We rearranged our laundry and bought a double cupboard to store all the coats, blankies, treats and miscellaneous items in. That's just practical! Then we bought a coffee table with sliding doors on it so their toys could hide inside one side. There is also a crate in the shed containing doggy dress up gear (mostly Stussy's and mostly for Christmas). The number of beds though - well they are hard to find hiding spaces for (on top of the ones already spread throughout the house). I make a lot of their gear though so don't really spend much money. And I am a firm believer in colour coordination. The collars, harnesses, tags, leads, poo bag holders, collapsible bowls AND treats pouches must match for each dog or we are simply not leaving the house!

But how do people like this change if they don't learn something different? I don't want people like this to own animals again either unless they learn how to attend to their basic needs. He's a young bloke who probably thought the dog would just heal by itself. How will he learn otherwise? I suspect he'd use the same approach to raising a child too because he knows no better. He was probably bought up the same. I think there are quite a few neglect cases out there that happen for the same reasons - a failure to understand the needs of another living thing. Some relate to mental health issues and I do believe some offenders could treat animals differently in the future with education. I'm basing this on my experiences in statutory child protection. Some people can and do change. Some people just have no clue how to care for another (and are also quite limited in how they care for themselves), particularly younger people. I've also seen what the prison system can do to young men and women who go in for minor offences (like traffic offences). They are changed by the crime and violence that exists within that environment to the point they become a further community risk once they are released. There is no deterrent and no personal growth. It is a really sad cycle. But this young guy was already heading down the violence and crime path on his own so he is where he should be. I'm glad Buster has a brighter future.

Um if they care about animals why not provide practical assistance to this man so he can provide better care to his puppy? Animals can be very important to some homeless people. They are all they have in this world to love them and to care about.

I don't mind cutesy adverts but this one is far too long and I don't like using abuse details to tug at people's heart strings. I think they could explain a dogs background to give an overall picture of where it is at right now and if the rescuer needs to share more with potential adopters privately then so be it. A dog should have value on its own merits, not because of its tragic past.

People have known I love all creatures great and small for quite some time. They are part of my life but not my entire life so I always find a solution to meet their needs and my own. I've been lucky to have friends and family and workplaces who either share my love of animals or who make space for it so it has never been an issue. Everyone cares about something or someone and prioritises it when it needs to be prioritised. I don't have kids either but the three furry living things that I share my house with are dependant on me in the same way children would be so why wouldn't they need to be my top priority every now and then, like when they are unwell? For the past couple of months our dogs have not been our top priority (elderly parent issues). They still get fed at the times they expect it and play and cuddle time is now at night, while outings have all but halted. They are ok because we are still spending that quality time with them at night (which is also re-energising for us). It doesn't need to be a contest.

People may not agree with me on this but I don't think imprisonment is the answer to some crimes against animals, particularly one off neglect cases. What is a person going to learn about caring for an animal in prison? I'd prefer they were forced to take animal care courses or undertake volunteer work at a refuge. I'd also prefer they were not able to legally own or care for an animal in their own home until they had done some rehabilitative work or study. I am more than happy for puppy farmers to go straight to prison as they do the same thing over and over and over again for money (not one off neglect) and will just find ways to work around the system if they remain in our communities. As for the guy above I suspect he got prison time for his other offences more than the harm to Buster. They are taking him off the streets so he is not a threat to human beings, not other dogs. Oh and he should be made to pay back the money spent on caring for, rehabbing and rehoming Buster. make the sentence mean something for Buster.

Stussy has had loads of fun this week pulling apart the doona we are all trying to sleep under. I haven't had time to remove it so every night I just pick up the floating stuffing and we all crawl in. The large holes in it are affecting its ability to hold heat and Tempeh did get her head stuck through one of the holes last night. But why remove it and spoil Stussy's fun?

Mine never get people food or scraps from our plates or the table but that doesn't stop them sitting with their heads in our laps giving us desperate eyes from under the table while we are trying to eat. Stussy is probably the worst. She has a very long tongue and if I am eating at the computer table (which is lower) I will sometimes see (out of the corner of my eye) her lizard tongue trying to drag the plate closer to the edge or trying to connect with something tasty on the side of my plate. And you don't ever want to walk with a sandwich in your hand and accidentally drop that sandwich filled hand to your side. She considers that at her level and fair game. Usually the item is swallowed in one big gulp so even though she is excellent at the 'leave' command there is nothing but crumbs.