westiemum

Big hugs Krislin and I'm so sorry you've lost your beautiful girl after so many decades. An oak tree is a wonderful memorial to her.

I'm so sorry your big beautiful kitty is gone. A beaut tribute to a beautiful boy. He reminds me of a huge cat my Dad had many years ago. That's Big hugs Rayhay and RIP Cookie.

SM And another falls for a divine breed!!! Not that there aren't others but believe me westies are special (and yes I'm completely biased!! ) Welcome to the westie club SM! You won't regret it.

Jules I'm about to move house - and for the first time in many years I'm going to a house without Mac - it feels very strange still, three and a half months since he left.

What a beautiful face. What a wonderful innings. Sleep well Bill.

Big hugs gillybob. Its sooo hard - but you'll be glad you were with her at the end. I hope you are are alright too. (It took me about 2 days for it really to hit home that Mac was gone).

How's Jindi going Isabel?

Thinking of you gillybob as I know how it hurts. You gave her three quality years - and thats what counts. RIP Anna - until you see your wonderful Mum again at the Bridge.

Thanks shel - I guessed right.

Oh and I forgot to mention - I think in this situation Petrescue are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Petrescue won't rescue kittens? (Damning perception regardless of their charter). Petrescue rescue kittens ? Conflict of interest with the rescue community they serve (regardless of if they fundraise given so many other rescue services fundraise as well) In their circumstances I would have done the same thing - the kittens come first - and they were only a week old also not as if they could spend time advertising for foster carers or a rescue service to take them on. Overall, a good decision all considering IMO.

Yep agreed Mita - but if as I suspect, this is an odd one that they are doing and they do it transparently ( which IMO they have) then I still don't see the harm. If they are going to make a habit of it I'd say they need to change their public intentions, deal with any potential conflicts of interests (there may not be any) and I'd be more nervous about it. I took on and re-homed an elderly chi September last year who was in danger of the green dream as an exception to my rule of only rehabbing and rehoming westies (the only breed I'm really confident with). Would I do it again? Only if I had no other options. And that may well be the case here.

I thought it was three kittens? Tiny, Teeny and Teensy Weensey? Raising from a week old? Desexing and vacs for all three could easily cost $700? So I wouldn't have thought $1000 is unreasonable? A bit over $300 of expenses per kitten? And given that their advertisers and sponsors are not signed up for directly supporting the rehabbing and re-homing of rescue kittens I actually think it's pretty honourable to fund raise transparently for something they don't usually do? The only problem I see is if they use money for this that wasn't originally raised/obtained and ear-marked for this purpose. So overall I don't see a problem.

I love Petrescue and ran a work function that raised money for them a year or two ago. I've never heard of Pets in the Park, Team Dog or AMRRIC - all look very good!

When Sarah arrived from her breeder in Brisbane as a mature aged westie all those years ago, she drove me mad the first 24 hours - she was racing around the house like a lunatic and I wondered what I'd taken on! But I later found out that, unbeknownst to me, she was separated, probably too early from a small litter of puppies - I suspect she was looking for them when she got out of her crate from the airport. I was actually quite cross - if I'd known I would have waited as long as it took for her puppies to sell and her being separated from them in a much gentler way. Having said that, because I had Mac at the time and I bought her to keep him company, she settled very quickly within 24 -36 hours. She and Mac bonded very well and it was as if she had always been here. She's lying next to me at the moment and is the most beautiful natured westie. Some rather 'rude' friends call her the 'Goldie Hawn' of the westie world cos they think she's an 'airhead'! I think she just has the most beautiful sunny, happy nature! She's always smiling and wagging her tail! This is Snook's photo of her from a couple of years back - and is my favourite of her:

Big Hugs to you SM She was a beautiful girl. I still think of Mac many times a day - and still can't quite believe he's really gone. That second photo of yours with the blanket is so Mac-like. And the rest of the photos are just gorgeous.

Yeah sorry Caz - but thats me - morbid childhood fear of them - can't even watch them on telly!!! (At least I'm honest - but I'm not a redneck!)

Oh yes I remember your previous DOLlife now you've reminded me!!! And Jindi is just gorgeous - she really reminds me of Mac. I hope she'll be very happy with her new friend. And good on you for taking on another rescue - lucky dog!

Big hugs Isabel . Punpunyah my Westie Mac will keep you company now.

What's your gorgeous westies name Isabel? I suspect she'll grieve for a couple of days then I hope she'll be OK.

Oh Jules I've just read this and I'm so sorry that your gorgeous Renae is gone. But after giving her your last precious gift she's now at peace at the bridge with Mac. I know its so raw and hard to accept - Big hugs.

The last precious gift you can give your girl. I hope like me you'll be comforted knowing knew such great love with you in her last moments. I know I did all I could for Mac on his last day - but I still miss him terribly. Farewell Punpunya - lots of beautiful DOLer doggies to greet you.

Good. The bone and the vomitting might have been coincidence. Hope he continues to get better.

He will likely get cover but the heart murmur will need to be declared and no doubt will be a specific exclusion on the policy. I'd still try and insure him ASAP.

Well Said Mita. Agreed - I wouldn't put a rescue dog into a situation like this - the risk of the placement failing is too high. I also would never let a rescue who is used to being part of a family inside into a spot where they are an 'outside' dog. We've gone too far down the companion animal/part of the family route IMO. So sorry - I don't mean to come on too strong - but there are too many lovely dogs out there who have needlessly ended up in pounds or worse because of a 'wrong call'. If this family is determined to have a dog, then play it safe and go for a purebred with a wool coat - i.e. go for a poodle and don't play the cross breed genetic lottery.

My philosophy on pet insurance is that its there for stuff you can't easily afford out of pocket - and that determines the cover you take. I'm with Xyz - if I had an older rescue dog without a genuinely known history or a new puppy, I'd be insuring them if at all possible. Veterinary medicine seems to follow human medicine and eventually all the advantages of human medicine are available for our dogs - but at a cost. And I think its sad to have to say no to treatment on cost grounds. So as I've said before, the pet insurance offerings have changed substantially over the past couple of years - many more players in the field. It used to be easy in my mind - Pet Plan or Pet Plan. But its not so easy now and I think they have rested on their laurels and been overtaken by some other good options. So here's a link to the Canstar pet insurance comparison and to their 2015 report download. Hope it helps.