Longclaw

God, how frightening. Fingers crossed they escape any ill effects

Big hugs Teebs

Teebs, I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss. He was so special. It's never easy losing them, and it seems worse when it is traumatic and not expected like this. Others have already said not to beat yourself up about not taking him to the vet earlier. Who is to say this wouldn't have happened anyway, and I'm 100% certain that he would rather have spent his last night in his own home, with you, rather than at the vets without you. Rest easy Atlas, pain-free and full of mischief. Try not to eat too many angels' jeans. Maybe just one or two pairs would be ok. Keep an eye on your family, especially while their grief for you is so fresh. Most of all, watch over little Spud and make sure (she! he!) is as full of the joy of living as you were.

I'm so, so, sorry Wags. Rest easy, beautiful fellow. Watch over your family during their time of sadness.

I spoke to MrLC about this yesterday. Given that we commute together over 140kms each working day, the odds at the moment are that if one of us is in an accident, the other will be too. We really like the idea of having a laminated card in our wallet/purse with clear instructions on what animals we have and who should be contacted about them. I think we would be ok with family members taking our dogs amongst them. It's possible that a family member could take our cats, too. I would like our horse and alpaca to go to a friend... if she couldn't keep them, I know she would rehome them responsibly. But these are all assumptions and wishes at this stage. We really need to have a few conversations and get it all down in writing. It is uncomfortable to think about, and I know our family will be dismayed if the subject is brought up, but recent events have made me realise how important it is to organise. It is devastating to think of any of my guys ending up in the pound because our families weren't prepared and couldn't cope.

The print paper has two very cute photos on teh front page, one of a lovely girl in her cute pink jammies being hand fed an ice cream, the other is a close up of a black dog gobbling up a big chunk of ice cream, his eyes as big as dinner plates :laugh:

Yeah but in defence....sometimes you are damned if you do or damned if you do. On this subject: http://samojed-klub.sk/swb/articles.php?article_id=20 Classic :laugh:

I'm very sorry for your loss, T&S. Rest easy, Tara

Ellz, I only saw this today. I'm so very sorry about dear Fang

Rest easy, handsome man. Watch over your family, especially in this time of sadness. My wish for you is that you are as happy and loved in the next life as you were in this one. Anniek... :hug: :hug:

I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest in peace, beautiful girl

I have two people in mind that I would love to give a kja glossy book copy to, plus one for me... so that's four sales now!

I'm looking at the very long, very skinny tail in T's puppy photos and can't help but wonder if there's a smidge of whippet... other 'pointy sighthound' characteristics wouldn't necessarily manifest until they were a bit older.

I love my beautiful Big Dog Show Leads

I can't believe it's taken this long to get to trial Bob was a really really lovely guy, and jeeze he loved his beautiful dogs. I remember meeting one of his stunning boys at a Million Paws Walk when his bitch Jessie was in pup, and he gave us so much of his time talking to us about his dogs, their personalities, the activities he did with them. And I remember how pleased he was when the pups were born, and that some of them had inherited her "voice" :laugh: He was such a credit to his chosen breed, not to mention to the dog world and society in general. Such an awful, senseless loss of life

So excited and relieved to read this news this morning!! Good boy Alvin (although not so much for the weeing )

Shared the facebook page too. I can't imagine what you're going through... I was sick with worry just following NAO's story the other week. I hope Alvin comes home safe and sound like Ziggy.

I will do Tali's Royal and Hound Club entries today - promise!

I'll leave off my two obvious favourites - greyhounds and borzoi - and go with breeds that I will probably never own but LOVE the look of: In no particular order: Bloodhound German Shepherd/ White Shepherd Shiba Inu Samoyed Field Spaniel (specifically, PooCow's Morgan )

We have snake repellers, and haven't seen a snake in the two summers since we've had them. These have been very bad snake summers too. We haven't had any large lizards in the house yard either, but we know they are in the surrounding paddocks. Now, the snakes could be absent because of the repellers, or because of some other reason, or they might even be around and we're just not seeing them... I don't know. But they have given us a little peace of mind and made us feel as though we've taken every step to try to protect our dogs from snake bite. One thing: if you do get repellers, make absolutely sure that you install them correctly. If you only stick a few cms of the spike into the ground, you may as well not bother with them at all.

Nissa and Tali find cool, shady spots in the yard, under trees, under the gazebo and in dirt hollows they have dug. Nissa in particular takes regular dunkings in the wading pool. There is nearly always a breeze at our place (often more like a gale!) which helps keep things from baking. Tommy spends his days inside where it is coolest... usually on our bed, or on the tiles in the bathroom. But the bed is more comfortable ;) Having said that, this is really only the first hottish week we've had this summer, and it's only got to mid-30s. I used to live in a place where it got to mid-40s regularly over summer; I think I would rather die than have to cope with that again.

What's 'not a dog' about a Cape hunting dog? I chose a Wolf on my list :D [nerd] ah but wolves and dogs are the same species, painted dogs aren't even in the same genus :p [/nerd] Please edumacate me...if it's not a dog then what is it? TY Wolf - Canis lupus Dog - Canis lupus familiaris African Wild Dog - Lycaon pictus They are canids, but they are not dogs. Just like foxes are not dogs.

SnowPaws, those are really unfortunate experiences and yes, as a newbie, they would probably have discouraged me too. However, my first experience at showing was a really positive one. Firstly, I was taken under the wings of some really lovely, experienced show people (DOLers), who went out of their way to make sure we knew where to be and when, gave us lots of pointers and advice, shared their wisdom and their gazebo and were just downright exceptionally good company and support. Secondly, the judges were SO VERY kind and gentle, both with my puppy and with me They also took the time to give us advice and encouragement. Thirdly, all the other exhibitors were friendly and polite. Even when we were in the ring for baby in show, and we were a bit lost, another exibitor took the time to explain to me what I should be doing, what would happen next and where I should be going. How nice was that? She could definitely have gone down the crabby, what-the-hell-are-you-even-doing-in-the-ring-you-know-nothing-newbie route, but she didn't, and I really, really appreciated that. Finally, I have an awesome breeder who was so excited for us and has been really encouraging. If we had gone without any support, and had bad judges or encountered unnecessarily nasty people, I think I would have laughed off showing as a crazy thing to subject ourselves to, and would not have bothered to enter again. Maybe I was just lucky, but I saw absolutely no evidence of poor behaviour, and I am really looking forward to our second show this weekend

Same here, what a wonderful, thoughtful tribute.

http://www.under1woof.info/treats.asp