Little Gifts

Wha? Have you read what they haven't done to keep this two year old dog safe so far? They only gave a damn at the end, not in the first instance when it mattered most. Poor Hugo will be tagged as a dangerous dog for life now and have to be managed accordingly or it is back on death row for him. It didn't need to be like that. I don't doubt his owners loved him but they didn't keep him safe from harm - not from council, not from being hit by a car, not from injuring himself getting out of the yard, not from being attacked by another loose dog, not from being stolen by someone else who might like the breed or even from a disgruntled neighbour who may have considered dumping him in the bush. Hugo's current owners have made numerous public excuses as to why they couldn't address all the issues that saw Hugo at risk of death. They have shown they don't have what it takes to be a responsible pet owner. I hope they don't get another dog.

I'm happy he has been saved and will go to live with new peeps who hopefully are interested in addressing the reasons for him wandering and rushing. I get the sense he is probably a pretty loving pei who has been left to behave badly. Fingers crossed for a much brighter future for one impounded dog.

I love when they develop all that snow on their faces! This was my previously black dog in her 16th year. Even her bum turned white!

Thank you for the link Shihtzu. That owner is even blaming the other adult she co-owns Hugo with! How bizarre. She really sounds a tad out of touch with reality and I bet the only change they will make if Hugo comes home is to keep him in the house with them. Then of course he will 'accidentally' get out the front door and it will all be on again. If they really loved him he wouldn't be in this predicament. Having one of my dogs loose on the streets AND picked up council is my worst nightmare. The thought they could be hit by a car takes years off my life even thinking about it. And anyone who knows pei knows how poorly they do in a shelter environment dealing with different, unknown people. Shame on these crappy owners with their heads up their arses (or more likely updating FB on their phones rather than watching their dog). Ams I'm sorry this has impacted on you. You've already seen enough stupidity to last you a lifetime.

My oldest was an SBT rescue who was pts three months shy of 17. She gave birth to her only litter of pups the same week she turned one. She had to have a cesar, had complications and lost all her stitches (guts hanging out late one night) and had another round of emergency surgery three days after the first. Life continued on without a hiccup but when she was about 9 she developed chronic pancreatitis and was on a very restricted diet for the remainder of her life. At the time she was pts she was blind, deaf, full of cancerous masses, incontinent, had dementia and some mobility issues but never showed any pain and remained active and top dog until her last breath. Her last fight with another dog was only a year before and she won it! Besides the pancreatitis I reckon she only really started to develop all the other health problems at about 15. She was a machine really and I'm sure she could've kept going despite all her issues. One of her SBT pups came back into my care at 9 months of age. He had severe epilepsy that we struggled to manage with medication. But working with a homeopathic vet and naturopath we managed to control the issue and get him off all his meds It took three years and he was left as a very nervous and scared dog with some separation anxiety. This anxiety caused him to injury himself when he was 12.5 and he had to be pts. If that had not happened I expect he would've lived a lot longer. He had no other health issues. My sister's husky/shep cross is currently 11.5 and has only showed signs of ageing over the past year - some dementia and arthritis. All are being managed really well at this point and she is still a very active pack member so I can see her going for at least another six months to a year even though she is a large breed dog. The only similarities I can see from my experiences are good diet, keep them lean, keep them active (mind and body), keep them safe from external and preventable harm and continue to make them an important part of their pack. Geez, maybe I need to take my own advice re the diet and weight bit......

I couldn't find it either - maybe she deleted it? What was the gyst of her response HazyWal? It actually disturbs me a little that she currently has over 33,000 supporters on that FB page. I probably can't put into words why without sounding like I don't care about poor Hugo but I guess it upsets me that tens of thousands of 'animal lovers' can be instantly up in arms about one dog who has been put in harms way by his owners but be blind to all the other animal abuse and neglect that goes on day in and day out around this country, some of which may have even been caused by some of them. Every single day good, healthy dogs are dying in pounds and shelters because humans put them there. Where is the uproar for all of them? Why don't people care about that too? I wish Hugo all the luck in the world with the council's decision tomorrow but my gut tells me this family will continue to 'love' Hugo the same lax way they always have and this wont be the last time he comes to the attention of this council or another (if they move). I doubt their 33,000 supporters will have as much sympathy for them next time. I really hope they consider rehoming him (if it is possible/legal). He really does look like a lovely boy with some behaviours that could be resolved with appropriate fencing, training, exercise and stimulation within his own yard.

There's been other threads on this and I think Pig In Mud was a popular choice. I've only seen a pup learn to use one and it happened in a nano second following another dog out. I'm sure you could also entice them with some food - either stand on the other side with the flap up and your hand and the food right there or you could be on the same side as the dog, lift the flap and throw food through so they follow it.

Gold Coast City Council. The additional info about Hugo's antics and the families lack of addressing them sheds a different light doesn't it. What is the council to do if an owner repeatedly ignores advice and instructions? Can't love your dog a whole lot if you aren't concerned about its personal safety. Still don't want to see this lovely boy destroyed but the owner is causing this, not the dog.

Yep, that's what I thought SAS. If it was a repeat offender the owners would've had plenty of warning from council about what they needed to address to avoid any further fines (or a seizure). I certainly don't want to see this dog pts but from the owner's comments you can tell this is all happening due to their lack of responsibility to their dog. I couldn't like their FB page because I didn't see anything in the way of what they were willing to do to change the circumstances that led them here. Nothing about their fences having been repaired or having installed a dog run or his training or exercise regime that might address his desire to wander. Frustrating. Council must be biting their tongue.

I had all kind of tags to the 'Save Hugo' page when I logged in to FB this morning. From what I can tell he is a well loved shar pei who has been seen by council outside his property on three occasions and is now facing destruction. It has started to get print and tv media attention up here so hopefully more of the story will come out. I didn't like the page or comment on it because I couldn't get past the fact that it seems from their comments that he was a serial escape artist but because he didn't harm anyone they didn't feel it was a problem and didn't take council's letters seriously. Now they are gutted he is in a cold cage and facing euthanasia. He could've been hit by a car, attacked by another dog or even stolen while he was out of his yard. What does it take for some people to get it? It is always the dogs suffering from the actions of their owners. http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/lifestyle/pets-and-wildlife/fight-to-save-gold-coast-dog-hugo-from-death-row-goes-viral-after-council-seizes-him-for-escaping-home/story-fnk74alk-1227036995308

I saw the full story on Channel 7's midday news. They referred to the puppy being worth up to $3,000 and as in the online story gave it the wrong breed name. When I saw the colours in the litter I thought it must be one of those 'rare' blue ones if it is worth that much! But jokes and lack of fact checking of names aside I hope the poor thing is safe and makes it back to mum as soon as possible. https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/24812113/family-devastated-after-puppy-stolen-in-burglary/

My parents are in their mid 80s and have silky bantam hens, finches and a cat who is only about 3 years of age. His mum was a feral cat and he was one of the oodles of kittens she left at mum's place. Many found homes through neighbours and a local cat rescue group. The older feral ones went to the pound. Back when mum managed to gain the trust of her cat she was very spritely and healthy and none of us gave it a second thought. But over the last year she has really aged and is getting dementia. She looks after dad who has his own health issues, so if she becomes unable to care for the animals we will have some very urgent decisions to make. We have three dogs here and could not safely take on the chickens and cat. There is no other family or extended family who are overly fond of animals. I am not worried about rehoming the chickens (and will probably rehome the finches with their lovely aviary) but the cat that my mum adores so much is just your average tabby. No-one will probably want him. As it becomes clearer that mum can no longer care for the animals (and herself) I will do my damndest to try and find a cat lover with a cat run who might be willing to take him on if I offer to cover his costs for the remainder of his life. He is fine with other cats and lives in their covered verandah rather than in the house by choice now. I may even need to kennel him for a while if the timing doesn't work out as I couldn't risk leaving him there alone and just popping in to feed him. We would of course visit him regularly and take mum if she is capable if he had to be kennelled for a period. I'm not sure what else to do. Putting down a healthy animal because I can't find him a home doesn't sit well with me. Nor does staying for an extended period in a kennel really, but what other options would I have? My parents certainly didn't think that far ahead when they took on a homeless kitten that could live to be 20. So yeah, I guess I'll have to be sensible sometime in my early 70s and say no to anything with a potentially long life span. I honestly couldn't bear to let a dog down.

I might sound terribly selfish but I don't ever want to consider a life where I don't have some kind of animal, even if it can't be a dog. I would hope that unless I lose my mental faculties I'd at least be able to care for a couple of goldfish. As I age I assume the type of dog I have will need to change but the day I can no longer own and care for any dog will be a terribly sad one for me. I'm hoping it is still at least 30 years off.

I had a Stafford that lost her son and she literally aged overnight, before my eyes. She was 13.5 and only a year older than her son. He went to his forever home when he was about 10 weeks old but due to health issues returned to me when he was about 9 months old. She didn't seem to remember him when he returned but just accepted him. They were close but not dependant on each other. She always considered herself top dog. I guess I was surprised how badly she took his loss. About a month after we lost him we were temp caring for a 13 week old rescue SBT pup. But for some reason that temp care arrangement turned into her being my heart girl and living here forever. My old girl doted on the pup, grooming her and curling around her to sleep. They played tug and bitey face and did zoomies. She taught the pup to be a good doggy citizen. She even protected the pup when a neighbours dog tried to attack her. The pup brought her back to life and she lived for over another 3 years. Not long after the pup came my sister moved in with me and brought her dog. A year after that a friend of hers lived here for quite a while and added a fourth dog. All the while, despite her age our old girl still considered herself both the mum of them all and top dog (much to the dislike of my heart girl though as she matured but that's another story). It made me realise she was a dog that did better as part of a pack. It could be the same for Maximus - Bubba is not only his mate but his protector in the pack and a dog he considers higher in pack status than him. The loss of that isn't so much emotional as life and death in Maximus's eyes. So while a new pup might be good perhaps a young adult would be even better, so you know you have the right personality and dominance match to maintain Maximus's confidence? We currently have a large breed dog who is 11.5 and who is considered top dog in our current pack of three. I actually doubt our other two would be up for the job when she goes and expect we will have some challenges to face. If we decide to add a third dog again the personality of that dog is going to be very important for pack dynamics.

The only time any dog should be around the mini schnauzer is under the strict supervision of a trained behaviouralist, in a controlled environment, trying to assist the fear aggressive dog to re-learn its responses. This dog would have to be a bomb proof kind of dog used to being used for this kind of purpose. So of course you shouldn't have your dog around their dog. It is not going to help either dog at this point in time. You know your dog so don't do things with him that you know wont be good for him. Likewise your parents are not going to help their girl by locking it up and not seeking professional advice.

That sounds like so much fun!!!!!

Plan B have you watched this guinea pig interview? It never fails to crack me up.

We have three, all girls, by accident and not any careful planning. Two are desexed and their ages are 11.5, almost 7 and 2. We had a very unexpected fight between the younger two over a year ago, over a snake in the yard but worked hard to address that and things are great between them all - no jealousy or food aggression or competition for human attention. I have had three dogs for so long that anything less feels weird. I don't find three dogs any more difficult to manage than two even though there are some slightly different routines, diets, etc required due to their varied ages. And they all have different personalities and temperaments which is possibly easier to manage than if they were all alike You can still fit three dogs on the bed at the same time and overall three just seems like a lot more fun! On the down side you need to have somewhere to store all your doggy goodies in bulk - spare bedding, blankies, coats, leashes/harnesses, washing gear, towels, toys, bowls as well as all the food and treats!

I've been trying to find the trigger for about 4 weeks now and her diet had been pulled right back and the yard gone over with a magnifying glass. I was even checking my washing powder and only letting her lie on things washed pre the rash starting to see if that made a difference. We had a vet visit planned to get a referral to an allergist and put her on a special diet. Never would've thought it was that brom until I saw it with my own eyes. Once she scratched the itchy neck covered in brom fibres she has just used her toenails to spread it elsewhere on her body I reckon. And who knows if whether something in the brom reacted badly with something in the calendula? I will of course be giving her the rinses again as I am confident things are back to normal. It was the only brom in my whole yard because it came with the happy plant. I don't like prickly plants much myself (except for roses). Mum and dad have a yard full of them so I am going to have to watch her like a hawk there and give her an immediate wash down after any visits. We've been very lucky!

Just a quick update since I last posted. The day after I posted this I was tidying up on our covered back area and saw Tempeh drinking from a large pot plant that is inside a big sealed pot. It gets water trapped in there and all the dogs like to drink from it. It contains a happy plant and a big bromeliad. But with all the dry weather the brom had drooped and fallen over the front of the pot so Tempeh's neck was rubbing on it when she drank. I removed the brom immediately and knew in my gut that was it! By Wed morn we no longer had any itching and by Wed night not even any redness. As of today, Friday her skin is a lovely pale colour again and any scratching is just normal stuff that she might usually do. No wounds or even redness. YAY! I was so worried we were going to have an ongoing battle trying to address it for her.

I didn't post about my quirky girl Tempeh and I really have to mention two things I love about her. The first is how she puts herself to bed in my room straight after dinner every night but gets up every hour and sticks her head around the corner to make sure we are still all in the lounge room and see what we are doing. She does this until I go to bed which is often six hours after she does. The other thing is something she does to my sister. If my sister is sitting on the floor at night doing anything when Tempeh does her hourly check in she comes down and stands so close that my sister can't get anything done but scratch Tempeh. There will be a tail or a snout stuck in her face and Temp will not budge an inch until she has been scratched in all the spots she wants for as long as she wants before she trots back to bed. She doesn't say anything but gets into a solid martial arts stance and you can't push her away. It cracks me up every time.

I've told my stories before. Mother and son rescue SBTs. The son was a nervous nelly. I lived on acreage and had a fall down my front stairs and was knocked unconscious. The son ran off and alerted the neighbours and the mother sat quietly by my side. I had some fairly serious injuries so would not have been able to get help myself even if I regained consciousness. A couple of years later I moved into the suburbs with these two dogs. Not long after we moved in I was subject to a home invasion by three men. The dogs got the men out of the house and returned to my side hiding out in the back yard (even though they could've chased the men down the street through the open front door). Emergency services had no police to send so with them on the phone and the dogs by my side I had to go back into the house and search room by room to make sure they were gone and lock up all the house. A terrifying experience.

When she first arrived as a puppy I would lie on the lounge with Stussy on my chest and I would rub her little face and ears while she slept slumped down nose first. Fast forward many years and she still lies on me ever single night while I recline on the lounge and watch tv and I still rub her face and ears while she snorts away into my clothes. Mind you at 20kg she lies more on my belly and one leg now and I often have to get her to move so I can get the blood circulating again. It's our thing. I also have to mention how I love her numpty side. She was fast asleep on me on the lounge and my sister walked right by her, out the back door to the shed. Stussy heard the shed door, woke up immediately all alert, used me as a spring board to gain traction and ran barking. In the opposite direction to where the noise came from. Fail.

Most journalists are members of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and if so will be covered by a code of ethics. The Australian Journalists Assoc got kind of merged with the MEAA a while back. But technically I can tell you that headline is correct. The opening para expands on it and puts things in more context to cover their butts.

I think they are both fantastic! Another funny idea for the series could be asking the dog "what do you look for in an adoptive family". You could have the dog talking about food and throwing the ball a gazillion times without stopping and food and being able to sleep on the bed and food and being able to lick them anytime they want and food and liking that they have a cat and food....