jerojath

My bells are on!

Tell 'em I sent ya! ;)

Warrnambool freecycle....HERE!

Glad you liked the story! Makes me sad to remember, especially as we lost Red very young too, to a 1080 bait. Sorry about Brooke the Chook, tez. At least she's not suffering... many people wouldn't take a chook to the Vet at all. I'm afraid I can't help by offering a rooster a home; with 5 bird-dogs here I don't think I could offer one a peaceful existence. :D

Lovely story. Thank you!

Great pic GSD's. Love that they are so relaxed around the lamb. Reminds me of a short story, if I may...... Back a few years when we owned the Pub in Newstead, I had just one vizsla at the time; Red. He was a lovely boy and was known throughout the district as being a dog that would befriend anyone. Around the time he had become a 'young adult', I decided to procure a sheep, to fulfill lawn-mowing duties as my schedule rarely allowed enough time to carry-out such mundane tasks. So, I put the word out amongst the farmers who frequented my Hotel that I was wanting a lamb in lieu of beer for a month. As suspected, it was the very next day that one farmer arrived at the Pub prior to trading hours with a lovely little black lamb who was just right and from that time she became known as Rachael, being Hebrew for 'sheep'. Rachael settled into her new home quickly, and was, of course, befriended by our Red Dog. The pair got along famously and would engage each other in various 'doggy games' such as chasey, pretend-to-be-sleeping-then-pounce, etc They would curl up in the barn together in the straw of a night, or in the laundry if it was particularly cold, each offering the other warmth, security and company. Over time, they grew inseperable with Rachael adopting many "vizsla traits" such as leaning on ones legs, begging for food, demanding attention by placing one hoof on someones leg etc. Rachael would even run to the fence 'barking' whenever a stranger was walking by, not 3 feet behind Red, and would cry when Red came out with me in the car and she was left in the yard alone. All was going well. Rachael was happy, Red was happy, the kids loved them both, BUT.... I was not happy. It seemed Rachael was not fulfilling her duties as lawn-mower to an acceptable standard. In fact, I was sure the grass had gotten longer! Some sneaky investigative work revealed that Red was sharing his meals, morning and night, with Rachael. He would eat any fresh meat we had served him and would leave much of the kibble for Rachael to devour. No wonder we always had trouble getting weight on Red and the lawns had grown out of control! Try as we might, we were unable to prevent these secretive feasts from occurring without literally separating the two, which created more problems of its own. Time went by and less energy was spent by us trying to rectify the situation, and as more time past we had all but forgotten it occurred. That is until one day I was suddenly aware that I hadn't seen Red for the best part of the day. Upon closer inspection I also found he had barely touched his breakfast that day and more surprisingly found the kibble remained untouched. I found Red around behind the barn, lying next to Rachael's body. There was no way Red was going to leave her side and refused all offers of food or attention, even after Rachael was taken away. Days went by and Red was still mournful, but more worryingly, was still refusing to eat. His little heart was shattered. He had lost his love. It wasn't long before a trip to our nearest Veterinarian, in Castlemaine, was our only resort to help him. Bloods were taken, urine tests carried out, intra-venous drips activated but still, none of us could find anything wrong. After a couple of days, the Vet called me aside during my daily visit to give me his diagnosis. Red had nothing more than a broken heart. It was a long time before Red recovered from his sadness, if indeed he ever did. Don't let anybody try to tell you that dogs feel little or no emotions. Red changed the way I view my dogs forever. Rachael was never 'replaced'.

Not Far... not "leaving town" as such. Just after some land again. Looked at a couple of places around Koroit/Southern Cross etc. So long as we are out of the WCC boundaries I'll be happy. ;)

Not yet. We've been waiting to see whether or not we were keeping Lilly or Vitasz before finalizing it. They know Lilly is here but was always *probably* temporary, and Vitasz is still a baby, so there was no urgency. I was told to hold off 'for now' until I knew exactly what I need. If I don't need it (as I say, we want to move out of town before long) then I wont submit it. Council say as long as there are no complaints from neighbours then all is well.

My permit states that it is ongoing but they reserve the right to revoke it at any time. They told me this rarely happens and would only happen if the neighbours had a number of complains, or the dogs were kept in a manner not acceptable to them. I just had a look at the permit to see how it was worded but it clearly states that the permit is for 4 dogs! If I wanted to add one more I would have to reapply and I don't like my chances!! Yes that's right... a permit doesn't cover you for an undisclosed number of dogs - just the number applied for. Geez, otherwise I'd have dozens of dogs here! ;) Pretty hard to have a permit revoked and they take that very seriously. Canceling your permit effectively forces you to surrender your dog/s and they really wouldn't like to have to enforce that. Maybe it would be worth you applying for 5/6 now, even though you are in two-minds about having an extra dog, as After April the decision has been made for you.

because you already have 4 you don't need to worry. They just will not issue any NEW permits. Also, I believe after April the number of dogs allowed at any address will be reduced to 2. Hmmm, not sure, but I don't think being a breeder matters with our council like it does with some. Doesn't really matter, as I say, I am allowed the number I need and the fact I breed doesn't really matter as I can have a litter here regardless of numbers until they are of registrable age. It IS all a bit confusing though isn't it? Everyone seems to tell you something a little different. I guess as long as they know what dogs you've got now and are happy, then what happens after April is irrelevant (unless of course you want to increase numbers).

Hi Jed I've been checking in here daily for updates but have not posted til now. Everything I want to say has been said by more articulate DOLers! ;) Really pleased to hear your burns are improving - even if it is only a little each day. Good to hear insurance shouldn't be a problem - a little less to have to stress about I guess. Just want to say that your courage and strength throughout this entire ordeal has been nothing short of inspirational... a real-life hero. Will keep checking in and quietly wishing you well. M.

Yep, this is right. I was told the same thing. Anything on my property and not registered by April 2011 will NOT be registered as a permit can't be granted. If you want another dog you need to do that and register it before then. Mawson I found the same thing at council - they made it sound like there was NO WAY I could get a permit and to not bother trying. Maybe they are concerned there will be a huge influx of dogs in the town before 2011. I think it depends who you speak to though.... I strongly suggest having a chat to the rangers when they come in to work as they are "in the know" and are alot more honest and down to earth regarding your queries, at least that's what I found.... TLC's suggestion of presenting a "resume" *may* help, but I found it a good opportunity to discuss such things with the Rangers when they come to your property/neighbors etc. I think the Rangers thoughts/observations carry a LOT of weight during the decision making process by council I'm tossing up whether to increase permitted numbers now, just to cover myself, but then we are planning on moving out of town before long so wonder if it's worth doing.

;) Lovely, isn't it? We've got a baby screaming and a two-year-old that doesn't want to stay in bed. I came in here for some peace & quiet! :D All quiet here at the ranch tonight!!

Lovely, isn't it? We've got a baby screaming and a two-year-old that doesn't want to stay in bed. I came in here for some peace & quiet!

I shall bring an egg and bacon salad.

Gee thanks tlc! If I'd known you'd be taking all those shot's I'd have worn my "good dog-clothes". But great pics regardless of my ugly mug in them all.... How cute is my little man? Yes I think I will stay for the BBQ - I'm sure it will be a much more appropriate time to ask lots of stupid questions! Is there a cost for that or just BYO everything? Well Lilly melted some hearts today... A couple came to meet her today with a view of adopting her. They already own her brother Ollie and really want another Vizsla from us. They are on a waiting list for our next litter which is 18 months away out of Tarni (also Ollies sister) as they want one "just like Ollie!", but when they heard they could have his litter-sister they were very excited. We have put in a lot of effort training her while she's been here and they were most impressed, and were even inspired to join their obedience club with Ollie. After spending some time with her at my place, we all went to the 'cage' in town so she and Ollie could run free and interact on neutral ground. All went well and they got along famously. So it seems Lilly is off to reside on a 7000 acre wheat farm where she can run all day and swim in the dams. They have some preparations to make and will be back for her.

Never mind - these folk are on their way so I'm not gonna get out with you all AGAIN!

I'm up for a walk at 12ish - might just bring the baby, though. Can't stay too long as I have some people coming to meet Lilly again today. I think they might take her home..... / .....(mixed emotions ) So where is everyone going for a walk?

tez - a better idea is to buy a baby/child lock for the fridge. You can probably get them in Target/Kmart baby sections. We used to have one and they are just a simple clip, but placed high enough out of Janes reach should just about do the trick! Better than using duct tape every time you go to the fridge! Bloody Jane! ETA - just seen RJ has already suggested this. BUT hers sounds much more exciting!

Welcome back, Maws! Yep a big giant play-date would be great! Glad Migs is OK, even though I was unaware she was unwell... tlc - When I was a kid I used to keep rabbits, guinea pigs, water dragons, blue tongue skinks, shingleback skinks, various species of tortoise, and over the years I lost SO many of them to domestic cats. They would kill them or injure them and just leave them to die. I caught them killing my rabbits but could never chase them off in time. I think that's when I started hating cats. When I was nursing the clinics used to get me to do all the council euths as all the other staff loved cats and hated PTS. We used to euth all the cats/dogs for the shire and some weeks we would have maybe 40 cats to PTS in one hit! When I was nursing in Kalgoorlie the mining companies were required to manage the numbers of feral cats within their claims, and to keep it all legal like, would employ the local Vet (and me!!!) to go on-site at night and shoot as many cats as we could! They werent allowed to shoot them themselves or bait them, due to the local fauna. I hate killing animals but cats and other ferals (as well as the odd quail ) don't bother me at all. Having said that, I HAVE met some pet cats over the years who were just awesome and I could actually understand why someone would want to keep one as a pet. Not many though! And a Sunday arvo would suit me well, most weeks, for a catch-up. It's been ages (thunder point!) since I've gotten out with all your pups and my baby could use the socializing too.

You'll keep Tenties!!! Soooooooo, who's birthday is coming up? RJ was in May, Linda was in March....... ??? Must say, lure coursing cats would encourage me to become involved in the sport. (NOT a cat lover!)

Hoping to go!

Hope you enjoyed your lunch, ladies!

Didn't need to go to the circus - there's a few clowns on this thread..... My kids have wanted to go to a circus for ages but I wont support one with exotic animals. The circus tonight had doves, ducks, miniature pony's, goats and donkeys. All the animals were in fabulous condition, got lots of treats, pats & kisses, were clearly loved and didn't have too much expected of them. The kids had a ball and it was Chantels first time at a circus too (deprived childhood!). Love the ideas being thrown around regarding the South West Canine Sports Center - although I think we also need a bar.... somewhere to drown our sorrows after missing out on that elusive 3rd pass AGAIN!