Little Gifts

I have stuff like this come up from him on my FB profile pretty much every single week. It seems far more common that we realise. I don't personally understand the need to kill stuff but if it is for food or over population and it is done humanely then I put my big girl pants on and deal with it. But for sport? And killing endangered animals? It's not on and I'm happy to see them publicly shamed by someone with media clout.

But she's still beautiful! I love looking back at their different sized collars and realising how teeny they once were!

I had an old dog who sometimes dragged her toes and hurt them. I bought baby socks with the grip stuff on them. She didn't like them but it resolved the issue for that last year of her life.

Yep, I too appreciate the insight. It's certainly not run the way I always thought it was and I could never understand why there were so many operational differences between facilities either.

You have to wonder what circumstances led to that poor girl even needing rescue. She looks beautiful, has a beautiful nature and someone seems to have spent money on her. What went so terribly wrong? It's like her owner died or couldn't find her. I love her name!

Stussy is like that on cold mornings. It's usually my sister up first and she opens the back door for everyone, sits outside herself till she is awake and then she goes in to get them breakfast. Often Stussy's food is on her mat and she has to be called numerous times to get out from under the doona with me before she will go to it. Then of course she can't concentrate on her food because she really needs a wee but she is not allowed out there while Temp is eating.

Wow, I thought they were much more inter-dependant than that. Their administrative overheads are going to be excessively high too with such a heirachical structure. It makes me understand now how/why we have some very dodgy RSPCA's and some where great staff are doing good work. I love learning new stuff from DOL!

I remember the RSPCA had an adoption day where all private rescues could come together and people could come and look at a range of dogs. Back when Peiradise was operating we were there one year and I had a lady with her two kids and a leash in her hand who would not leave. She had done a meet and greet with a pei she liked in a closed off area. The dog showed absolutely no interest in her or her kids. The dog was a bit of a runner and had some prey drive and this lady had no fences and kept chickens in her back yard. She just would not accept that the dog was not going home with her.

I was referring to the RSPCA as a whole (rather than just the ACT), including the identified need to run educational programs to turn the situation around. I didn't realise ACT weren't being financially buffered by the larger entity - I thought they would all get an allocation from centrally managed funds, although I appreciate they would still need to prove they are viable and necessary as I doubt any national organisation is willing to throw money away. I'm really glad the new CEO there is making a difference and I hope the organisation as a whole is willing and able to disperse funds where they are most needed otherwise what is the point?

The main issue for me is still that some people who might be good owners don't even get past the initial email phase or maybe the application phase as something they have written gets them a cross rather than a tick. They are then discouraged because they don't really understand why they are being rejected. They assume another rescue group will just do the same so they go elsewhere. Not everyone is savvy to rescue's expectations and rescue doesn't have the time to educate on the why behind their expectations. Some of these people will go on to buying a pet from a pet shop or BYBer because they feel they are ready for a dog in their lives and these dogs will lead perfectly good pet lives. Don't get me wrong, I do understand the need to rely on standard written apps and enquiry emails given most rescuers need to fit rescue into busy lives and I absolutely agree that finding the right home for each and every dog is the main goal, but I think it is at the one size fits all front end of the process we are losing potentially good adopters. To those of you who are flexible in their approach do you do the majority of your vetting at the enquiry or application stage or do more happen after meet and greets or home checks? I'm just curious to see if it fits my theory.

So why aren't they already spending some of their money on education? They are well and truly in the black as an organisation so where are their tv ads or print media campaigns? Why didn't they devote a segment on all their tv shows to responsible pet ownership advice? And there are a couple of very basic spelling errors in that story. What the hell ABC?

My sister spent the day with the Dalai Lama and she was telling me how he yearns to be able to return to Tibet but will be shot the minute he re-enters the country. Then she pulled out some Tibetan/Buddhist chimes she bought today and this metal bowl that she tapped with a metal handle thing to make it resonate. Tempeh (a shar pei) was fast asleep on the lounge while she was talking and while she clinked the chimes but the minute she touched the bowl Temp jumped up, ran over and did the deepest growl right at it. I know China and Tibet have a long history of conflict and shar pei were bred as protectors but who knew Comrade Tempeh was such a hard core traditionalist? I guess the bowl will have to become a high shelf dust catcher (or suffer the consequences of our own Imperial Guard).

How disappointing! It was such a great act that surely people behind the scenes knew at least three dogs were on set with her and their names could've been included - Jules, Matisse and friends? It could've all been avoided. In other news there is a link to another BTG act called Old Men Grooving which is hilarious!

They buried it? What the hell were they thinking?

Very interesting. I think there are some intrinsic problems. Most private rescues are operating under the steam of volunteers and the dogs are not in a central shelter location. Most of the initial screening is done by email or written applications (for convenience reasons) and you get a restricted sense of who the people behind the application are in relation to the dog they are interested in. People can and do lie on applications (for whatever reason), while others don't even understand the need for all the questions but in person I think you get a different understanding of who they are, their strengths and weaknesses as pet owners. I think a good home check can also reveal some interesting and important information but an applicant has to get to that stage in the process. I know plenty of average people knocked back by private rescues who managed to fairly easily get a dog from the RSPCA, which of course to them seems irrational.

I'm lucky to have a double basin in the laundry, which is next to the kitchen. Our kitchen tidy has lived in the spare sink there since Miss Stussy arrived some 7 odd years ago and started raids on it. And I still never leave tissues, jars of Vaseline (for the lips), or lip balms on anything lower than kitchen bench height. The poor love has so many weaknesses.

Bloody hell! Stussy remains a doona eater and also destroyed a six by six foot corner lounge over time when she was a teenager but if I came home to that I'd probably just turn around and go straight back out the door again!

After I fed the dogs last night I put some music on and got into a beading project in the lounge room. I went in to the top part of the house once and discovered all three dogs on my bed, which is kind of strange at that time of night but I just left them to it. At one stage I thought I heard Stussy scratching in the laundry (which she does if a piece of stray kibble appears). I yelled out to her to quit it and she did. I decided to make my own dinner about an hour and a half later only to discover the fridge door wide open and a trail of packaging leading to my bedroom. All three of them had pretty much emptied the fridge of all proteins (limp vegies rejected) but I'm pretty sure it was Stussy who led the attack. There wasn't a lot in there and luckily nothing that is harmful to dogs. I don't know whether I left the fridge door open accidentally or one of them has learnt some tricks from Stan. It was hard to chastise them for something already done so I just picked up the packages and Tupperware and left them to sleep off their binge on my bed. I think it is the first time we've had group naughtiness too. Note to self - if it is too quiet or they are acting strange you just know they are up to mischief! Hit me with your stories so I don't feel so bad!

Hello beautiful!

Are you for real? You started a public pissing contest over a case of mistaken identity and make a bullshit statement about why people go around trying to destroy others when that is exactly what you were doing? I hope you have personally apologised to Kylie directly and I think you should also add an apology and explanation in the other thread so everyone is clear. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that stopped the council and ranger from wanting to work with rescue in the first place. Imagine if they had read these threads and pulled the plug on the idea for being too much of a hassle. You may not agree with everything Kylie and her group might do at Cowra pound but she deserves your respect for being the only one to achieve something positive for the dogs out there.

Where's the like button!

Well these are cool! Are you also waiting for your adult colouring book to arrive?

I'm another really excited to see a rescue group with a sound history now able to work with this council. It's all about the animals and already there are dogs benefitting from the new relationship. Obviously GDR/SAS has been working behind the scenes during the recent social media campaign and they deserve a pat on the back for achieving (discreetly) what no-one else has. Lets not eff it up for Kylie and GDR/SAS with he said she said stuff because it will be the animals who suffer when council closes the pound door in everyone's faces again. I suspect this is going to be a very transparent operation anyway and concerns can be raised constructively and responded to with facts. The changes might be small and hard fought right now but over time hopefully a good working relationship can be embedded so working with rescue is never again a dirty word at this pound and council.

Hey, cute AND warm is what I'm all about!

YAY! I'm so very, very happy with this news!