Little Gifts

Excellent news Ish! The tests for my sister's dog all came back clear for pyo but she did have some kind of infection and had horse seized antibiotics for what seemed like months! She will be having monthly urine tests for a bit and I've also suggested to my sister to give her a vaginal swab every couple of weeks to check for any coloured discharge as an early indicator of something amiss. I am still leaning towards desexing or options to stop the seasons (which I think could reduce the pyo risk) and at the first sign of anything new happening I will be pushing my sister harder towards more serious discussions with her vet. They are in the midst of dealing with some arthritis and mobility problems for the same dog right now so she is at the vet weekly at present anyway.

T I think she wants something to play with, to learn something new and challenge herself. She has an iPhone now and only takes party photos on it!

I used the term 'desexable pets' in an earlier post. I hate the concept of living in a nanny state - it drives me crazy. But by using that term I was referring to your average suburban backyard dog who neither had a medical or a professional reason to stay in tact. They were not show dogs, working dogs, from exceptional breed lines, etc. As with any rules or laws I assume there always need to be exemptions and it could be that many DOLers who work in the canine industry in some way would in fact meet exemption requirements. I know it is possible to raise an undesexed dog without any accidental pregnancies because my sister and her bitch have lived here with me for around 7 years and we have not even come close to an oops event. It's not even that hard. But sadly, so many people put so little effort in their entire males still wander at large and their undesexed bitches still become pregnant and they still pretend they have no clue how it happened. These litters were not planned and often little effort goes in to matching these puppies with the correct new owners. As a result, it is probable that some of these puppies will end up neglected, poorly behaved, unwanted, unclaimed or dumped at some point. So if we can remove the potential of unwanted pregnancies in this higher risk group we have to be positively impacting on future homeless and pts rates. It might also mean there are less FTGH undesexed dogs getting snaffled up by BYBers. Go look in the rescue threads at all the beautiful dogs who have no options because of how irresponsible human's behave. We can't be trusted to do the right thing. I just want to tip the balance back to having less dogs at risk. I would hope that in turn creates a culture where all dogs seem more valuable and less disposable. I'm not sure how you change what is happening now otherwise.

My sister does not take a lot of photos with her second hand Kodak point and shoot but has decided she would like to buy a DSLR. I am a terrible photographer so have no advice for her but I knew you DOLers would! So what do you suggest for a beginner and why? I have no idea what she will be photographing but in the past she has been interested in computer programs to manipulate photos and the only actual photos I've seen her take are of her eclectic art works. I think that means she wont need a long distance lens or be doing any live action shots. I will pass on your suggestions and she can then investigate from there. I suspect she will try and buy something second hand. Thank you!

This would break my heart too. I can't abide borderline neglect because it means real neglect is just around the corner. Those people might care for their dog in their own way but it doesn't have value to them in the sense that they wouldn't spend money on it to keep it well or safe. And if it became a problem with council - escaping the yard or barking, they would get rid of it before they spent money addressing the behavioural issues behind it. Always the poor dog who suffers the most. I really don't know what the best option is. I'd probably be up front and tell them I'm keeping their dog because they don't look after it properly and have my fingers and toes crossed they just shrug and let it go. Do they actually come over and get the dog at the end of the day or is it you returning the dog to the yard? Why don't you try not returning the dog one afternoon/night and seeing if they come looking for it? If they do you can always pretend you didn't realise the time. If they don't you have your answer. DO NOT GIVE THEM MONEY - whether that be for caring temporarily for their dog or buying it off them. They didn't pay that much and they don't deserve to be rewarded for poor ownership. You've probably spent more on food and toys for it than they have already! If money starts changing hands they will see the dog differently and not in a good way. And yes the risk is always there that they will simply get another dog but you can only deal with the problem that exists now. Cats choose new owners all the time. They start hanging out at someone else's house, getting fed and eventually they just never go back to their previous, shitty home. I wish it was so easy with dogs.

I know of two healthy young pure bred dogs who were pts by family after their owner died in an accident. Rescue was willing to take on the dogs and rehome them but the family believed the dogs would not cope without the owner. I have a folder containing all Stussy and Tempeh's papers but I have never told my sister where it is. Will do that today and maybe get her to put her dog's papers with mine. Mind you - we use the same vet and are with the same council so we probably know everything we need to already.

My sister lives with me and we agreed to care for each other's dogs if the need ever arose. I am at present worried about my mother's dementia though. She has bantam hens which I will be able to rehome easy enough but the love of her life is a stray tabby kitten which she tamed. I spent a fortune getting him desexed, vaccinated, etc. He had cat flu for a long time and continues to have some kind of herbal powder with his din dins every day, based on some amazing advice here on DOL, which keeps him well. Even though he lets me feed him if mum is away, he hides from everyone else and we have two non cat friendly dogs here so I do worry about my options for him when she is no longer able to care for her pets. As he was a stray he continually finds new ways of getting out of my parent's enclosed verandah now so I don't know how he would cope being an inside only cat or in a run. He seems fine with other cats so that is one good thing. He is just your average tabby cat. I'm happy to fund a new home for him but seriously, who is going to love him if mum can't?

As long as he isn't planning on farming its 'lion's blood' to make him more powerful then I'm good. I'm assuming if he has that much money to buy the dog he has enough money to employ someone to care for his valuable breeding investment. I don't ever want to reincarnate as an animal in China......just saying.....

Oh Maeby I just came in and saw you had you had lost your boy! Such terribly sad news. I hope you are coping ok. I have lots of small permanent reminders in my house of all ours dogs who have gone to the rainbow bridge. It comforts me to have it all around and it triggers all the happy memories. Take care of yourself. This is a big thng. XXX

I love how the universe works sometimes!

Are 'shitty' pics a new adoption requirement? I love auto correct!

Same in this house. My heart girl adores toys and has always encouraged fosters to embrace the toy. My sister's almost 11 year old dog who lives here too has always stuck her nose in the air at such trivialities. She has always been referred to as The Fun Police as she is a terrible dibber dobber. The past year though we noticed toilet rolls that were given to the other dogs appearing mysteriously between her front paws, chewed sticks just happened to be where she was lying and even worse, she has been 'caught' with tug toys in her mouth! When sprung she just looks at us like "oh get over yourselves!" I really do think that touch of dementia has made her a happier dog!

A bit too far for me unfortunately, plus I'm heading out of town tomorrow for about 10 days. Hope someone else can help.

We will never address the issue of homeless and pts rates until we desex all desexable pets who are not registered breeding animals. It only takes one bitch in season and one entire male to produce a litter of unwanted puppies. If everyone was taking the care they said they were taking, keeping their dogs fully contained in properly fenced yards (with no doodle holes!) then perhaps it wouldn't be such a big issue, but they are not. On my little street alone there are 3 undesexed males regularly just hanging out on their front lawns. And why should it only be the girls who have to worry about pregnancy - it takes two to tango! Get those danglies off I say!

Is this new golf course grass that is getting laid?

Kimba was in foster care, she was part of a pound walking program and was living with other dogs, including small dogs, puppies, birds and a toddler while in care. That is an incredibly risky placement if she had shown any previous signs of prey drive or unpredictability. You have to assume that she didn't and she was adopted out based on how she acted in a fairly active home based environment. What else can a rescue do? A good rescue will match the right owner to the right dog (regardless of size or behaviours), provide post placement support and will have a trial period in the adoption agreement. But can they be held responsible for everything that happens in the future? When does day to day responsibility transfer to the new owner? All three of our dogs are rescues and all three have their own quirks. One continues to be a work in progress 1.5 years after she came into foster care with us as a pup. I might contact the rescuer she came from for advice but it really is all up to me once I agreed to be her skin mummy. Blaming her background for her behaviours when she is in a loving, stable home is BS to me. This could be a terrible, once off tragedy. The term 'legacy' makes me feel like a major, avoidable tragedy needed to be averted. I'm not sure that's the case here.

Leec my pied Stafford girl gets itchy if we let the grass grow too long so hers is also contact allergy. I've just started doing calendula tea rinse on all three of our dogs (all different breeds and coat styles) and it has gone well so far. I'm still shocked by how clean and soft their coats are. Our pei girl has already starting itching again today (think I'll have to do her more regularly) but the other two are just fine.

I already said that bit in the same sentence DD. I'm all for a two pronged approach!

I never even leave my dogs unsupervised in my own home around other adults let alone children. And I would certainly never give dog who might be excited to see visitors/children any food that took time to eat (a quick swallow treat only) or toys. Anyone who has been to my house knows I have three very different dogs - one flings herself at everyone in desperate need of attention and cuddles to the point of it being annoying. She loves everyone but I would never assume she was always going to be safe - what if she gets a fright or gets accidentally stood on and has a little snap in her excited state? I don't know what goes on in her head all the time and I'd hate her to pay the price of just being herself with her life. Having dogs means I am also more vigilant with people who visit my house who don't know my dogs or who aren't used to dogs in general. Yes it is a parent's responsibility to know and protect their child but while they are in my house I think it is up to me establish the rules that will keep humans and dogs safe. My house, my dogs, my visitors, my rules.

I think there is a lot of info we don't know in this case. The injuries sound like one snap rather than an 'attack'. I consider an attack repeated biting where as this sounds like it could've happened with just one responsive, 'stay back' bite. The dog may have already been eating his bone when the other family just popped in for a quick visit. All adults may have lost track of the child for just a minute. The owners did not have their dog pts till later in the year so obviously they did not consider their dog as a danger to others under normal circumstances. The dog was still the big loser again even if it was the human's who stuffed up. I'd hate to ever be in this position.

My oldest made it three months shy of 17. For the last six months of her life we were at the vet every single month to monitor any changes because honestly, I couldn't work out when it was her time. Prior to that, the year before we probably had check ups every three months. She was such a tough cookie and already had so many serious ailments yet remained a very active and involved dog so she was no help to me whatsoever! I think she would've kicked on for another few months but it got to the stage that my main fear was her having an accident when no-one was home. I was worried that perhaps she would get stuck in a corner for hours (dementia) or get one of her legs caught in one of the dog bed frames (arthritis) and be like that for an extended period of time, or that she might be incontinent and be lying in it because no-one was home to clean it up. I still question did I let her go a smidge too quick but I'd rather have done that than subjected her to an accident and left her helpless for a couple of hours. She would've hated that and become very distressed. All I can say is don't leave it until it is too late. Old age and death is a fact of life. Let her go out with some dignity, still knowing your loving arms around her.

I love the pic of that low wheel based Goldie X flying off his board towards the beach! I saw a small story in the Sunday Mail about the event and thought they should've picked Sid for their supporting pic!

If I want to wash my dog's feet only, I brew the tea and put it in a used but empty (washed out) butter container (my dog is a large breed, so a smaller container for the smaller dogs would be better - less tea needed) and have him stand in it for a few moments or so, one foot at a time. A quick pat to take the excess wet (especially between the toes) away and voila!! Glad everything else went well. And I like the "neutral" smell. Something fresh and unmasked about it. :) Excellent idea about the feet - will try that next time. And we had no licking and scratching last night from Tempeh. They all feel lovely and soft too! I posted about my experience on my FB page and a couple of friends are keen to try it too. I think lots of people are keen to use more natural products on their animals as well as themselves. Thank you for a fantastic thread!

Love it! Love that they all got cool rashies to wear too!

Without a rescue group/shelter for domestic rabbits owners would probably just release them into the wild where they will do more habitat damage and be at risk of hideous deaths. If this rescue group ticks all the boxes then I have no problem with them getting money because even incorporated rescue groups have so few funding options for big ticket items. On the other hand we have the RSPCA who gets federal and state funding for their core business, has public fundraising down to a tee AND regularly gets monies through things like the Gambling Fund here in QLD. They are dipping into every pot of money they can nationally and still don't seem to be meeting public expectation in regards to cruelty matters. As I've said before, if the RSPCA were fulfilling their all creatures great and small mandate then we would not even need an independent rabbit rescue group. So I'm not going to begrudge a rescue group, who is probably running on the smell of an oily rag, receiving money they desperately need to care for their charges. There will be an accountability process for it. How else would they raise it? Just edited to add that grants need to be applied for so different orgs will ask for different amounts of money. What you want to spend money on has to meet funding guidelines. For example it might be for infrastructure only. You also have to prove you spent the money on what you applied for (or seek a change of purpose) at the end of the relevant financial year. You can't just ask for $50,000 and spend it on what you want. And you would be stupid to guesstimate how much money to apply for if you were undertaking a big project. They would need to get quotes. Some orgs might also need to use some of their own savings to complete a larger project. For example you get funding to build a building but none to buy equipment or furniture to use in it. That would need to come from another funding source, perhaps your own savings.