horus

Goodbye, Texas It was an honour and an absolute pleasure to have been able to know you and be entertained by your amazing tricks.

My sincere thanks for the recent posts

How about a wiggle of Springmatians? ;) The obvious one for Dals is a spot of Dallies, but I like a grin of Dalmatians

Yes, he was! Lucky was never any trouble, whatsoever and it would have been great to have known him for a much longer time. I have no idea what the first 10 years of his life were like but I do hope that the last 3 were the very best. I really miss his happy face. Thank you, everyone

I said goodbye to Lucky this evening. He had come to live with us 3 and a half years a go as a 10 year old, after having a few adventures along the way. He had cheated death a couple of times but now he couldn't beat old age He had fitted in perfectly with my other Dals and it was as though he had always been here. We had lots of adventures together but now it is time for him to enjoy his rest. Thank you to Rozzie for initially saving him No thanks to the ArsePCA for wanting to kill him Thank you to the lovely magistrate that gave the court order to have him released from them

Absolutely not!! A dog's sense of hearing is about 4 times that of a human and their sense of smell is immeasurable. Therefore, they hear and smell things that we just cannot comprehend. Their sight is favours movement, so comparing their senses to ours is just not logical. Whatever your dog's reaction was to unobserved stimuli was just that, a reaction to unobserved stimuli.

The best way to kill a weed (or any plant for that matter) is to deprive it of sunlight. Plants use chlorophyll (the chemical in their cells that gives them the green colour) to photosynthesize in the presence of sunlight. Without sunlight they cannot photosynthesize and produce sugars which all plants need for growth ie life. Glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup, Zero etc, works as it interrupts the process of photosynthesis. That is why it is an effective herbicide. Vinegar is acidic and may have a pH as low as 2 or 3. Your soil should have a pH level of around 5.5 to 7, so overuse will create an acidic soil that will inhibit plant growth. Salt is exactly that, salt, and applying undiliuted salt to your soil will make that soil saline and cause reverse osmosis whereby the moisture is drawn out of the plants to the stronger salt solution in the soil. Plants take up moisture form the soil by the process of osmosis where moisture is drawn from the surrounding environment (eg soil or potting mix) as the plants cells have a stronger saline solution than the soil. Adding excessive salt to the soil will reverse this process. This is exactly how 'fertisliser burn' occurs when too much chemical fertiliser is applied to the garden. Chemical fertiliser is a salt and over application creates a stronger salt solution in the soil than in the plants and moisture is drawn from the plants to the soil resulting in loss of moisture to the plant and the drying out of leaves etc. Mulching your garden beds will help prevent weed growth, it will not eradicate them altogether, but it will make weeding much easier. Physical removal of weeds in lawns is a good organic way to control them, but it takes time and effort and if you are not prepared to do that then you have no alternative than to use a selective chemical herbicide. Glyphosate has been tested on rats, rabbits and dogs (beagles, I think. If you are looking for a reason not to use glyphosate, then there it is) and has shown no residual effects. Glyphosate is also broken down by soil colloids (microscopic soil organic and clay particles). If used ACCORDING TO THE LABEL, Roundup etc is, in my professional opinion, safe to use. I use it on an almost daily basis and am happy to do so, as I use precautions as specified by the label and my own common sense. By all means, use vinegar and salt, if you wish but use it very sparingly. Steam is also an effective weedkiller, but application is difficult unless you have some form of portable steam applicator. There are commercial ones available for weed control but I have never seen a domestic one.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Cas.

I'm glad to hear that all has worked out for Sophie, VC. For better, or for worse, the tears are all a part of fostering and it doesn't necessarily get any easier the more you foster Thank you for thinking of Dalmatian Welfare

And don't they look happy to be celebrating, too! ;) Happy Birthday, Chester

Spot the dog:

Wonderful photos :rolleyes: 'Specially the one of Oscar running. And the one of Chester impersonating the flying nun :D Oh! And the one of pretty Mia. And the one of Katie and the ones of Jamie, Texas, Lotus and Bonnie. Did I miss any?

Sadly, I don't think so. PP sell pups for $1200 each and seem to have no trouble moving them The only deterrent I see is having to obtain a permit and that is probably quite easy to get I agree with Dogmad, this is so wrong on so many levels

I'm sorry for your loss, Greytmate I hope that in time the happy memories of your time together will help ease the pain

Have someone contact Dalmatian Welfare, phone numbers are listed on this page: http://www.dalmatiansofnsw.org.au/rescue1.html We already have a few dogs in care, so we would not be able to take any of these dogs but we certainly would be able to help out as much as we can.

It can happen so quickly and, sometimes, so seemingly easy. I'm sorry, Baifra

Now Now Horrie.... Seeing as how Spotteh can't even spell her own breed name you can't pay out on a 16 year old who works in a pet shop for not being able too I did notice that Spotty had made a mistake, but I didn't want to embarrass her in front of every one. I'm so glad that you did it instead

I forgot to add that they also spelt 'Dalmatian' incorrectly. If you are going to charge an absolute fortune at least pretend that you actually know a little about the breed.

I had the occasion to visit the wonderful establishment that trades under the name of 'Pets Paradise' at Westfield Parramatta today. There is an eleven week old Dalmatian pup for sale and I enquired as to how much she was being sold for. The pups come with their first vaccination, are wormed and the buyer has a vet visit and health check included in the price. PP also give a full 7 day health guarantee. All this for just $1200!! The little girl comes from a litter of 12 and PP had three pups from that litter to sell, two have already been sold and this little girl remains. There were other pure bred pups there as well, all for the same price. I can only hope that some one who is willing to pay $1200 for a pup is also willing to give those pups a great home. For the record, Dally Welfare charges well under $400 and that includes C5 vacc, worming, health check by our vet (and veterinary treatment for any ailments that the dog may have come to us with), heartworm test, collar/lead/harness set, lifetime support and DESEXING.

Thanks again, everyone

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and for taking the time to post

I said goodbye to my best friend this evening and the sadness that brings is all but overwhelming. I've known for a couple of months that this day would come and I thought that I was prepared for it but I now know that I wasn't Ellie came to me as a 5 year old and has been my constant companion for the past 7 years. She was my first rescue and the reason that I have since been involved in Rescue. Ellie introduced me to many good people and we have helped many other rescues on their way to their new homes. For that and for the adventures that we shared I will always be grateful. The sadness will pass but the memories never will.

Andy Robertson, who is a TTouch practitioner, runs NSW Dalmatian Welfare. Andy has often told and demonstrated TTouch techniques to me but I must admit that I have never followed through with any of it

I just heard that the Sydney Pet Expo held in November each year at Rosehill Racecourse has been cancelled until at least 2012. While disappointed at hearing this I am not really surprised, though, given the poor attendances in recent years. Dally Welfare used this venue as a major fundraiser for our cause so it looks like we will have to come up with a plan B. I'm sure that other clubs and organisations will be in a similar situation It also seems that if/when Pet Expo does continue it will be held in February rather than November.

There is a caravan park at Albury that allows dogs and one at Gundagai. I have stayed at both with multiple dogs with no probs. The one at Albury is near the railway line and possibly the showground? I can't remember, sorry. Not sure how many parks are in Gundagai, might be just the one so that shouldn't be hard to locate.