Loving my Oldies

A lovely family photo, OSS. The birthday girl looks as though she is tired out from all the celebrations, but I assume she is getting ready to spring to take the sausage off your head Brutus is indeed a grand old man.

Oh, how could you Hamlet is one of the first DOL dogs I came to "know".

I've deliberately avoided this thread for obvious reasons , but clicked on the last post to see if the swan had survived. The injuries sound horrific, but it sounds as those she is in the hands of a very experienced vet. Hopefully she can recover and live a life free of pain. I hope he gets a prison sentence and lands in a cell with someone who was caught fiddling the books for WIRES. Yes, it is scary isn't it and wishing for a prison sentence isn't going to alleviate that. What on earth is the answer. I'd like to see some sort of actions against him and showed him to be a cruel coward, but I wouldn't let him anywhere near animals.

It isn't "sad" . "Sad" is when a loved family pet grows old and dies; "sad" is when your loved pet gets an incurable disease and dies. This is horrific, ghastly, traumatic, life changing, terrifying. Would some of you just think about, and not just say the words, what Joysie and her owner went through. Just think of yourself walking through a park with a little dog and having that dog wrenched out of your arms by two very very large dogs intent on nothing more than killing. Picture the horror, the fear. Don't just type words onto the screen. I totally agree. It doesn't matter who let the dogs out. Unless the owners can guarantee that they will be enclosed 27/4 in the house or in a fully enclosed dog-run and only allowed off the property wearing muzzles, they should be PTS. With this one incident they have proven that they are a danger to other animals and are not suited to an urban environment (and indeed a rural environment where a neighbour would be entitled to shoot the dogs if they threatened livestock). I totally agree too. I don't necessarily agree that all dogs are capable of doing something like this. I was thinking about this thread through last night and being totally honest, if I owned dogs who had done this, I don't think I could live with them or what they had done.

The trouble is with these sorts of news items, someone will invariably come in and say these sorts of things, TSD. So your dog is being ripped to pieces, you are in the middle of it and you are supposed to think cooly and rationally and say to yourself: now I mustn't scream or do anything that will aggravate the attackers further. They are poor dogs who have been unlucky enough to have a bad owner and it isn't their fault they are killing my dogs and biting me. Poor dogs, I must just stay calm, wait for them to kill my dog and then pat them and say, poor doggies, I feel so sorry for you. FFS. Get real. There are bad people, bad dogs, bad cats, bad anything.

Stunning pup. Lots of lovin' going on in your home, AdoubleJ.

Congratulations. It will be quite something to be able to watch him grow and develop and hopefully prove a knock out in the ring

I am sure most people who pass you would continue with a smile on their faces.

With the caption: May your accessories always harmonise with your natural beauty.

Quote is from the original thread: I've re-read the whole original thread through again. We have seen some spectacular transformations on DOL and Mya is one of them. Those two girls are so gorgeous and I reckon by now the emboldened bit is a very distant memory and you are probably deluged with exclamations of delight when you walk Mya and Jenna together, Teekay.

Alyson, that is from hindsight mostly. Although some of the stories people tell of what they have/are doing for their dogs make me want to tell them to stop thinking of themselves and to let the dog go. However, it is a very personal thing. I also don't agree with people who say that you will know when the time is right. Do dogs think about their quality of life? Do they remember when they were young and strong? Do they think it is their time? Is a warm bed and a sated appetite and the love of their humans enough? Who knows. In the final analysis, we just need to try to do the right thing by our beloved pets; how can we do more?

Isn't it a wonderful story? I started to read the old thread earlier today, but had to drag myself away to get ready to go out. I can now get back to it.

What a gorgeous pair of girls you have there. Good choices

:D I clicked onto the Photos Section in the link. The individual suffering is incomprehensible. The photos of the animals swimming or stranded are just heartbreaking.

That is definitely worth a celebration, Spottychick and a truly wonderful rebirthing. Someone on DOL calls it "Gotcha Day". My latest foster goes to her new home today too, so I guess you can call it her rebirthing day as well. Thank god she rehomed quickly - any longer and the Moocher Tribe might have increased. What a wonderful little tribe you now have, SC. Sometimes it seemed impossible that there would be a breakthrough and now look at what you have achieved. Loved the bit where you had to loosen Tango's harness. :D

Cosmolo, that might sound okay, but it is only tinkering at the edges. The only way to start to solve the problem of puppy (and kitten) farming and backyard breeding is to stop their easy access to pet shops. Over the years, asking a mild question here and there, I have always been given the same sort of answer: Oh we know where all our puppies come from, we know the breeders, they are lovely lovely people, they love their dogs, the dogs are brought up in their home, yada yada yada :D . When it is illegal to sell puppies and kittens in pet shops, or from car boots, or at markets, there will be another avenue these ghastly places will pursue and then that will have to be dealt with, but hopefully without this easy access, people will get out of the business. The cruel, greedy and unscrupulous will always be amongst us and it is up to those who care to keep fighting.

I've been out and about and driving home, listening to the radio, the largest earners in the world in the sport of golf were announced. :D. All I could think of was this thread and wonder what one person could do with all the money they make. A golfer I'd never heard of (not that I am interested in Golf but you can't avoid hearing about sports when you listen to the news) earned $14million; Greg Norman who hasn't one a major tournament for years (I think he won something recently) still earned $30million and of course Tiger Woods is doing it really tough and dropped from $110million to $70million. Just a few of them together could revolutionise the education system of a small country. It makes me want to throw up.

Well there are plenty with the money and the time (just hire someone), but it is the big heart for animals that is missing.

With my dogs, it is just for walks that I have to arrange things. I take Myrtie on her own first to work off some of her energy, then I double back to pick up Danny, Jeune and Tamar and take those four, with Myrtie still wanting to go like a Mack Truck . Then I drop them home and take Mufti out on his own. He used to go around the block, but doesn't go that far often. For him, the main thing is to give him the interest of getting out into other smells and sights. For the past few weeks, I've had a tiny little Pomeranian and once she was out of quarantine, I would take her with Mufti.

Be Prepared Butt Bling looks fun. ;) ;)

Sadly, there doesn't seem to be the benefactor mentality that exists in America. I know in terms of populations they can't be compared and our philanthropic ideals are constantly being compared extremely unfavourably with those of Americans. From my time spent working as a secretary to "top end" venture capilatists, it seems to me that here in Australia benefaction seems to be aimed where people can have their names on a plaque or in an artist events program, etc etc etc. Or have State funerals The only organisation I can think of which has aimed their philanthropic dollar towards animals is the Sherman family who started Voiceless, but they originally came from South Africa and have long held beliefs as to the rights of animals. Are you asking for any particular reason, turkishdelight? Are you interested to start something, or donate to such an organisation? If we knew a little more as to what has prompted the question, we might be able to give some more ideas. There are sanctuaries in NSW and Victoria for farm animals such as Edgar's Mission and the Donkey Sanctuary. There would be more, and others on DOL would be able to add to these names.

How exciting.

I used to love fireworks, before I became associated with pounds and shelters http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/...1229-19a5n.html Pet owners warned about firework dangers December 29, 2010 - 8:26PM .Most of us will enjoy the New Year's Eve fireworks, but it's quite likely our pets won't. The RSPCA is bracing for a 400 per cent increase in the number of animals arriving at its shelters nationwide in the first three days of the new year, as pets go missing or are injured amid fireworks celebrations. Dogs and horses are particularly terrified by the noise of fireworks, but cats, rabbits, birds and cattle can also suffer. Advertisement: Story continues below "We receive hundreds of calls in the days following New Year's Eve," RSPCA NSW call centre manager Nicole Louise said on Wednesday. "It's devastating to hear how many animals go missing or are badly injured as a result of fireworks." Leaving pets in the backyard is not enough to protect them from the effects of fireworks, the RSPCA has warned. Dogs in particular have been known to jump fences or dig holes in a panicked attempt to escape the noise, and are then in danger of being knocked down by cars. Instead, dogs should be exercised and fed before the fireworks begin and kept inside for the night with some of their favourite toys and bones. Cats, rabbits and other animals should be brought inside or secured in their cages in the garage, while horses should be stabled.

As I started reading this thread, espinay2, they were the exact words running through my head. I agree. In other countries, people like IFAW, and private rescue organisations would be going in to rescue the animals, but here.... oh they're just animals, too bad. "starve to death if they don't drown" and possibly worse if the animals are on medications to control medical conditions. I just don't get it. No matter what sorts of arguments are put up by the authorities as per koalathebear's post.

As all my dogs are rescued from various pounds, I get a discount. I might take another dog in to show them the progress they have made and ask the vet something about him/her, I don't get charged, even if they do end up running their hands and stethoscope over them. I have never asked and don't expect this sort of consideration, but it helps and is very much appreciated.