bustam

Thought losing Mahli was bad enough, but busta, this has hurt like hell. You were with us to the end and im sorry there was nothing more we could do for you.. I know you waited until your human daddy came home before you let go. You were the best dog ive had, so loyal, and im sorry for all the times i told you to get out of the way, if i could take it all back i would, because i'd prefer you here for me to trip over, than not be here at all. I keep picturing your face the day before you left us. It was like you knew it was coming and your face was streaked with tears.. much like mine now.. I can only hope you are now re-untied with Mahli and running around once again. Farewell busta, we all love you and miss you so much already xxx

No not exactly. We first took him in on 'mothers intuition' that something wasn't right. he's always been a hard dog to keep the weight on, and all of a sudden over the last week or two he looked like a 'keg on legs'. so they ran the blood tests, which the results came back saying everything was normal/ok levels, except for the liver. one of the liver tests he said a 'normal' score was around 100, and his was up around 280.. (sorry im not using correct terms but I was fearing the worst at the time) so they then booked him in for ultrasound. Ultrasound showed the liver was enlarged, but no signs of tumour/s. kidneys, stomach, intestines were all fine.. hopefully the next phone call will explain things better to me, and i will be asking for an exact name of whatever this condition is!

ok thanks for that, i just had no idea what to feed him in the meantime.. its still a bit strange though, as his diet was mainly chicken necks, fish & dryfood anyways.. but holistic sounds like a great idea too thanks for that

not as yet, he was meant to phone me today to go over it in more detail but didn't. so until i speak with him i thought it wouldnt hurt to ask around tonight

After numerous blood tests, ultrasounds etc we've been advised to start our 9yo boy on a low protein diet asap. Apparantly his liver is running at 30% capacity as his enzyme levels were 3 times the normal rate. We are waiting on the medication he apparantly needs to be put on daily, and have just started tonight looking around for the'low protein' foods/diet he needs to go in conjunction with.. would appreciate if anyone else has had similar situations, or rec on certain foods etc. Im just so relieved there were no tumours, as i was fearing the worst with the big C word...

sorry for verrrry late reply, but for those interested, yes the dog did eventually pass the temp test (it was postponed for quite some time...) which was a huge relief for his owners..they were gutted to think he was possibly going to have to live out the rest of his life in a cage...

BL, Im presuming your comment was just a generalized one about people containing their dogs and not aimed at me, as you would have seen by my posts that their not my dogs, they actually live 3 doors down from me but as to you asking 'why was the dog not adequetly contained in the first place?' all i can say is that obviously she didnt realise the dog would be able to scale over the fence. (which for the record, is a structurally sound run of the mill timber paling fence) the drama here isnt disputing what they were advised, its the way in which dogs are being identified by persons who are not qualified to do so (amstaff people or not) and the ridiculousw way they are temperment tested... if everyone had to subject their dog in the same situation how many could honestly say their dog would pass?

edited to add: in reply to rebLT yes possibly, big brother is always watching

thats what I mean, she told me thats what the TT assessor suggested to do, but I thought it would make no difference at all, it had already failed!? but I did not raise the issue as I have been trying to tell them for ever to desex the dog.... yes, she was given a list of assessors to choose, she chose the ones nearest to her for both assessments

just thought id add an update of what happened in this particular case.. the breed assessment was indeed just visual, it was performed by a well known Registered breeder who took a look at the dog and confirmed the dog was at least part PB so she was then referred on for a TT the following week, which was at sydney..another 3 hour drive (6 hour return) so they went to that, walked out to the yard, within 2mins they bring out a huge german shephard being led, who is lunging from his lead barking and carrying on rather confrontationally at the dog being tested. my cousins dog started to growl...the assessor immediantly says "yes, this dogs agressive" its a dangerous dog.. book closed..all within a couple of minutes. they did not perform any other testing, (that the breed assessor happened to mention they would test ie. stranger danger, umbrella opening in dogs face etc) it was all over red rover. they suggested that she desex the dog for starters and erect 60cm barriers along the top of their fencelines to prevent the possibility of them jumping out of yard...and this could lean in their favour of the impending restrictions that will be placed on the dog (I highly doubt it will change anything, but im glad she got him desexed anyways)

ive tried to pm tybrax on a previous occasion, but her pm service was turned off. Ive since spoken to my cous, she has received the NOI, and the assessment is first thing tomorrow morning. the temperment test shouldnt be a problem as he is such a happy friendly dog, so here's hoping its smooth sailing for them...... thanks again for info :rolleyes:

hmm ok, thanks for that, so it sounds as though the 'Mcdonalds meeting' is basically to ascertain visually whether the dog is in fact a PB or part PB... if they deem it to be they'll refer the dog for a temperment assessment So when the dog passes the temperment assessment, things shouldn't change much except it be noted she has a restricted breed on her property? (She's panicking that they'll have to keep him locked up in the said cage, muzzle etc when he's such a sweetheart of a dog)

Ive posted this on another forum, but thought its worth me posting here too.. so the story goes my cousin (in nsw) has just been informed they have to meet with someone (im presuming from council?) for a 'breed assessemnt' on their PB. Theyve been told their meeting in a mcdonalds carpark, a two hour drive away, and are charging her a fee of $65 to supposedly 'assess' her dog. this all came about after the ranger came to her house on an un-related matter and upon sighting the other dog playing in the yard said "thats a PB, we're going to have to assess that" [for the record, before the 'what did the dog do' brigade comes along, both dogs are social and generally well behaved dogs, one just thinks the grass is greener on the other side...] does anyone have any knowledge or experience on these circumstances, is this the norm?

doing ok thanks baifra. the sadness seemed to ease the day after we had the ashes home- although we don't have the answers we need just yet, we do I guess have some type of closure. what did make me smile was when I took the little timber box out to show our other dog, he honestly went ballistic! tail was going a hundred miles an hour and he was sniffing around it so hard I thought he was going to choke! It was like he knew, and was ecstatic that we finally had her home in one way or another...

Ive just recieved a lovely parcel in the mail with a framed picture and kind words of mahli, im guessing from a fellow DOL member... to that anonomous person... thankyou so much, that was very very kind of you and yes, your gamble on my address did pay off

I know what you mean about seeing your thread seemingly disappearing down the page, but just remember that as long as she is remembered she will never be forgotten... words which I too am also clinging onto at the moment. R.I.P little one

aww its beautiful!! thankyou from the bottom of our heart x

Mahli at 8wks Mahli at 2yrs

thankyou to everyone for their kind farewells. Mahli went missing on the 27.06.08 Ironocally, today 27.03.09- 9 months to the day, we will be bringing her ashes home. It was indeed a long road, but she is finally back with her family- A promise we never once gave up on. xx may she finally be able to R.I.P xx

Hi Harminee Have often seen this thread, but never thought i'd be posting here anytime soon... anyways was hoping if you had the time, for you to work your magic on my photo. I only wish to use this one photo of her face as this is the way I want to remember her.... also the words "Always Remembered, Never Forgotten" thankyouuuuuuu x edited to add photo... der Im working on trying to get a bigger size photo on here if thats better?

Just a little quote I found "A pet is never truly forgotten until it is no longer remembered" -Lacie Petitto

Im sorry for your loss bellatrix. I too am trying to make sense of my own sudden loss...it is hard. I found a nice poem that I used on the other thread and thought id share it here also Golden Memories They say memories are golden, well, maybe that is true. We never wanted memories, We only wanted you. A million times I cried. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died. In life We loved you dearly, in death We love you still. In our heart you hold a place no one else could fill. If tears could build a stairway and heartache make a lane. I'd walk the path to Heaven and bring you back again. Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same. But as God calls us back one by one, the chain will link again. authour unknown.

Golden Memories They say memories are golden, well, maybe that is true. We never wanted memories, We only wanted you. A million times I cried. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died. In life We loved you dearly, in death We love you still. In our heart you hold a place no one else could fill. If tears could build a stairway and heartache make a lane. I'd walk the path to Heaven and bring you back again. Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same. But as God calls us back one by one, the chain will link again. authour unknown. Goodbye Mahli. Much love Your human family & Busta

ok, thanks for the feedback. does anyone also know which would be the better choice for these two current deals... 1. canon eos 1000d with 18-55lens for $748 or 2. nikon d60 with 18-55 & 55-200lens for $799?

Can anyone recommend an entry level dslr, that doesn't take a genius, to take nice shots straight away, then progress to better photo's with time&practice etc I'll mainly just be photographing my kids and dog (when he strikes a funny pose) and probably just around town/harbour shots. I don't really want to spend more than $800, and from what I have investigated so far, the Pentax k2000d (i think thats the model) seems to fit all my criteria, so does anyone use one of these, or suggest something of better value in a similar price range?