Little Gifts

I sign quite a few Change.org petitions but this one had me shaking my head. I certainly don't condone animal cruelty but oh the stupidity of owners who think their failure to meet local by-laws that are designed to keep dogs and other animals/people safe don't apply if you have a friendly dog! There are a lot of animal hating nutters out there and this is yet another risk you place on the head of your beloved pet when you knowingly let them wander. The other thing that really truly bugs me is when people take children and teens on discovery jaunts that have the potential to end with some kind of bad news. They don't need to see their parent scream or the family dog dead or even be part of a confrontation with a dog hating neighbour. Be an adult and protect the child by leaving it at home (just as you should've done with your pet). I wish their was an option on the petition site to 'unlike' or comment how I really feel. She facilitated the death of her own dog and now wants justice for it but is not prepared to look at the part she played in putting Dutch in harm's way. Oh if people only had to sit a test before they could own a dog! https://www.change.org/p/rspca-tony-abbott-jail-time-for-people-killing-someone-else-s-pet?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=234066&alert_id=KYSNMKDGpm_kWtLMnyzi4ryBhAcrjjYRrozvGPu2vEBh7nz%2BJ%2FNH0s%3D

Beenleigh Veterinary Hospital. Vets are Renata and Sydney. Both are amazing - Renata is German and sort of old school while Sydney is younger and of Asian descent and up with all the new stuff. 3287 2599 (know that number off by heart!) Good luck with poor Juno. We were just back in there this week with another emergency - found mammary tumours on the old girl who had the pyo late last year. They were all cancerous and have come up so quick. Sydney kept the clinic open as he wanted to talk to us in depth about what he found during surgery and show us xrays, etc. Took us out the back and everything. Did some extra stuff he didn't charge us for too.

I have never owned or even fostered a ball lover. Perhaps it is me who is broken? I don't have very good ball chasing legs!

How are things progressing????

If you want to message me your email addy I have several resources from the Dreadlocked Dog Whisperer that we have used for our dogs successfully. As a kid he lived with wild and stray dogs in Ireland for a number of years and he has only learnt to read and write as an adult here in Australia in the past couple of years so a lot of his work is through drawings rather than text. I have two of his books but he has also emailed me a lot of his other resource material over the years as he is just that kind of man who likes to give back. He does not mind his information being shared either. I also have some great visual charts on doggy language and reactivity (and maybe another?) drawn by Lili Chen I can also send you by email.

I didn't know Bunter was sick too and that Danny had another thing wrong with him so I feel for you and your purse! Poor babies! We are going through something similar with my sister's old dog a new and serious ailment every other month since she hit double digits. Just as well we love them!

Very impressive Victory Rolls!

My old girl was tough and could handle the rain but she had dementia and would get it all wrong. As long as her head was out the back door she thought it was ok to go. My carpet has never recovered. Two of my dogs now would rather have a catheter inserted than go outside when that acid stuff is falling. Tempeh also likes to toilet on concrete and unfortunately one section is on a slope. She often does one of her mega pees the wrong way round and ends up with warm front feet. I laugh of course.

He just oozes gorgeous! I can't wait till his ears take on a life of their own!

Oh I hope there is a cure for Rocky! Thank you Nekhbet!

I think it is fairly obvious from my comments that I don't know any staff. If I did I would still have a lot of questions for them. There have been concerns raised about LDH for many years and many of those concerns relate to the actions or inactions of employees, not management. If you know someone who works there who has been trying to effect change my hat's off to them because I don't know how they can work somewhere like that on a day to day basis. I still believe there is evidence it is more than just a management problem and I still think they are wrong to consider their work coming under the animal welfare banner and garnering donations as such.

Oh my dog! All the stories on that site! So many lies! Who are the people who run and work at this place? There is something very wrong with all of them! Not everyone who worked/works there is a horrible person ffs. Lets focus on management. Can you honestly tell me that you could work there under that management and undertake the work as instructed and beg for donations whilst knowing most dogs were simply pts? Did you read the stories about the most simplest of processes to reunite dogs with owners not being undertaken by staff? A multi level problem exists there. Get serious. There are lots of things we no longer do as a society because we have learned how to do it better. Anyone who worked or works there who wasn't fighting for change or speaking out is part of the problem. I'm not saying they should be convicted of a crime for following orders but how dare they pretend they were part of the animal welfare continuum. It's not good enough.

Oh my dog! All the stories on that site! So many lies! Who are the people who run and work at this place? There is something very wrong with all of them!

Thanks for finding it LT - I looked in rescue but didn't see it there. Got my story a bit wrong but it was still LDH.

Was LDH also involved in a case last year where and old man in an agitated state surrendered his dog and when his daughters went to claim it back they found out it had already been pts? I think the man had alzhiemers and the daughters had rung while the dog was still alive only to be told it wasn't there, but when they kept looking for the dog they found out it was but had been pts after their initial phone call. I looked but couldn't find the original story.

Yes but the dog was desexed, vaccinated, chipped etc so I thought it was a fair price. I have to confess that I find it strange that one rescue group (usually a larger, wealthier group) charges another rescue group (usually a smaller, poorer one) to rehome a dog for it. I'm sure it happens but it just doesn't seem right, especially when one of those rescue groups is contracted and funded to undertake the work in the first place. Sort of double dipping. For the sake of any homeless dogs I hope the truth is uncovered and any necessary changes are made. And just because a dog is going to be pts it is not acceptable for any animal welfare organisation to treat them inhumanely during the time they are in their care. May anyone found guilty of doing this rot in the pits of their own personal version of hell for eternity.

I'm only ever concerned about people who have undesexed dogs who are careless and clueless. Gee, I can't believe my in season bitch got out of the yard! And oh my dog I can't believe my dog is pregnant - she only got out of the yard once! I'm sure she'll have such beautiful puppies and it's good to have at least one litter, right? But I would only ever comment if behavioural concerns were raised by the owner. I'd share some realities I knew they mightn't like the sound of to get them thinking. The decision is still theirs. My sister only got her dog desexed last month at 11.5 because she'd developed pyometra. She always had irrational fears of her dog having surgery but to go with that her dog was always securely maintained during her seasons so there was never a risk of pregnancy. She made a choice and she managed it until it compromised the ongoing health of her dog. You can't expect a responsible owner to do much more than that.

You could check out the Aussie House Sitters website. You could also check out the MDBA Award nominees for the last couple of years and see if anyone from SA has been nominated - could be worth a follow up. As an aside, I've house sat for breeders and if you have the right person you should be able to safely leave your cats in their care too. The right house sitter is there for your animals - to meet their varied needs as the first priority, not to simply have a little holiday themselves. We've had discussions here on DOL before about things some house sitters refuse to do, which bugs me no end. It is actually not hard at all to continue a routine a dog or a cat is used to - where they sleep, how they are exercised, what they eat and when. I would hope that a good house sitter costs you far less than $2200 for all three animals.

Our pei talks all the time (the Queen of deep sighs too), as does the husky/shep mix (husky noises) but my poor sbt has no talking skills. The best she can manage is some high octave trills at the end of a yawn. She only does them out of desperation when she is uber excited and has to share it verbally somehow.

I use one of those small collapsible bowls and mine just attaches by a carabiner to my doggy walking belt. Depending on which doggy belt I'm using my water bottle is either in a spot on the belt or in a bottle carrier that just loops around my shoulder so I can be hands free. The same bottle waters me and fills the dogs bowl and if we run out I just top up at a tap. Just adding that the bottle carriers I use suit big and small water bottles and they have been purchased at camping supply shops over the years. I have several different varieties.

I never understood what a heart dog was until I got one. I've loved every single dog that has come into my life but around 7 years ago this terribly naughty little pied sbt came to stay with me temporarily and I just felt this unconditional love from her, like I was her whole world and that her life was not complete unless I was by her side. I got bedridden sick not long after she came here and even as a puppy she seemed to know. She didn't whine about a lack of attention or misbehave but adjusted herself around me. She would bring me her favourite toy and lay it on my chest to cheer me up. She seemed to know when I needed her touching for comfort or when I needed to just have her within arms reach. She has always seemed to be able to tell when crazy play is ok. Even when I shattered my wrist a couple of years back she lay by me but was never in the way, like she knew where I hurt. She was incredibly destructive for her first three years but never once have I hated that about her or been really angry with her. She does have an aspect of her personality that makes me sad or disappointed when it shows but I consider it is up to me to manage her triggers because they are breed related. She is a dog that pretty much loves everyone and everything. She is oozing joy 24/7, which is hard not to love! I think I was most proudest of her when we were fostering - she was so nurturing of the most damaged dogs and helped them find confidence and happiness again. I saw a whole different side to her. So for me I see her 'love' in how attuned she is to me, which naturally started pretty much when she arrived and wasn't something I trained her to do. I should add she is also like this with other people. If my sister is having a hard time she will sleep with her, and has a way of just letting me know that she's not ignoring me but feels she is needed elsewhere. And she has never exhibited any jealousy over my interactions with other dogs either. She's an excellent sharer!

I love the one of Sid's bottom underwater! (Well I think that is his name?)

Tempeh is not much of a smiler and given her extra skin it is not real easy to see when she is anyway. But a friend caught this pic of her clearly in a treat induced heaven that makes me laugh every time I see it.

My heart girl Stussy. She smiles a lot. She makes me smile even more.

Is your girl desexed? I ask this because my sister's husky/shep (almost 12) wasn't and she was pretty much doing all the things you mentioned (but was barking more). She went to the vets a few times for it last year and was prescribed vivitonin but some things didn't really change. Anyway just before Christmas last year I noticed a discharge and told my sister to take her to the vet. She ended up having emergency surgery for pyometra. Until we saw that discharge we had no idea she was having that kind of problem but we were warned by our vet she could be susceptible to it after she had a bladder infection early last year. Lucky find on our part given she has the world's furriest girl bits. She recovered well from the infection and surgery and we no longer have any of the dementia symptoms. Our dogs can't tell us what is wrong so when their behaviours change we have to consider there is a reason behind it rather than automatically put it down to old age.