Aphra

Gisborne Kennels in Bullengarook, Victoria (just outside Gisborne) are Akita breeders and very rescue friendly. Maybe give them a call?

The point of giving three vaccinations is to pick the point in a puppy's immune system where maternal antibodies won't interfere with the immune response prompted by the vaccination. One vaccination will be effective, as long as it is given at that point. Giving three vaccinations over a staggered period of time is just an attempt to hit that spot. Giving two vaccinations at once makes no sense at all, because its not about the amount of vaccine but the timing. That's why adult dogs who come into rescue only need one vaccination - the presumption is that they no longer have maternal antibodies to interfere with the immune response.

There's something pathological about the juxtaposition of the porn-like nudity, religion and rescue. I know PETA is all about "look at me", but the visual over-rides the message - which is probably fair enough given that PETA don't give a flying ahem, buttress, about rescue. On the one hand PETA make such a noise about their care for animals, but are happy to treat women's bodies as so much advertising space - you begin to wonder if the point is getting nekked wimmen out there, not any message about animal rights. PETA have a XXX porn channel now.

That's excellent! It's a great concept and I love the idea of joining rescue with the social enterprise movement. Well done to you all.

If it is another rescue group they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves, and reconsider both their motivations in doing rescue and in fact their participation in rescue altogether. I think the pop up cat cafe is a brilliant idea and you deserve lots of pats on the back for making such a clever concept work. If another rescue group is trying to block you rehoming cats, they're not a rescue group, they're just a lot of bloody-minded, sanctimonious dills. Poor cats already have enough issues without some nitwits getting their idiot jollies by trying to stop a successful and innovative idea. And now I'll stop before I say what I really think. :laugh:

There is another group who call themselves the Australian Foster Carers Network who are attempting to do something similar to NARGA. They have a Facebook page. I don't know anything about the relationship between the two groups, if any.

Actually you can, it's a bit of a work around but really easy. I'm still a bit at the older lady thing. I'm in my fifties and I'm thinking my next dog will be another Neo. But if you're looking for a big dog in a little dog's body, a standard Dachshund would work.

If you've been following the topic, I don't know that there was a lot of new information, but the panelists were interesting. The first speaker did a really good job of laying out the history of BSL legislation in Victoria, in all it's various permutations. She also distangled the dangerous dog from the restricted breed legislation which was useful since lots of people (including VLine on one of their brochures!) get them confused. The second speaker talked about the issue of trying to predict dogs behaviour from how they look and worked through some of the current research on the topic of phenotype, aggression and behaviour. The third speaker was David Lowe(?) from Dogs Victoria. One of the things he said, and he said it publically so I assume I can repeat it, was that he had seen the internal DEPI report on the dog that killed Ayen Chol, including photos. He said that the dog in question weighted 52kgs, which would take it well out of the range of a pit bull. I'd say the audience was made up of people who are passionate about pit bulls and others interested in animal laws issues generally. Although I have no wish to disparage the passionate pit bull people or any of the anti-BSL people, I do think they need to develop a more strategic approach if they want to make changes. I don't think they realise that the general public don't care if pit bulls are nice dogs or not, the general public have bought into the government-created hysteria about the breed (and the reasons for that are sadly cynical), and believe that the legislation will make their children safer. The only useful approach is that this legislation doesn't make children safer, and in fact it puts them at more risk, and therefore we need better legislation to keep people safer. We have a state election coming up and a window of opportunity to influence the opposition to see a more useful approach to dealing with dangerous dogs and other animal welfare issues generally. Does anyone know who, if anyone is doing that work? I did a live twitter feed from the panel @Tails_End.

I'm going, but I don't know much more about it.

I think the point she was making was that in any kind of interaction like this, the big dog will be the one to cause harm because of the size difference. I didn't read it as her believing it was a fight. It could as easily have been the small dog started something, or the big dog was prey driven or a number of other factors, we don't know. The group seem to have shown due diligence in testing the big dog around other dogs of various size. Dogs are sentient creatures, as are their owners, and no-one can predict what dogs or humans will do in every situation. Although the article is framed as a rescue issue, the issue is really about people who own large dogs being aware of their potential and managing them adequately. Unless you believe that no large dogs should ever be adopted out on the off chance that something might happen, I'm not sure what else the group could have done. They have responded to the incident and are attempting to treat the risk, which is sensible and ethical. The situation is really tragic for the little dog and her owner, and for the big dog and her owners.

From Maddie's Fund. It's an Excel spreadsheet all set up. While I'm sure those Excel whizzes already have their own version, I hate spreadsheets so this is going to be very handy. http://www.maddiesfund.org/Maddies_Institute/Webcasts/The_Dollars_and_Sense_of_Sheltering.html

What a gorgeous pair, and how lovely they could go together. Not to hijack your thread or anything, but you sponsored this red boy Rufus, and by coincidence, they are both Walgett dogs who also found a home together this weekend. :-) Another red and blue! Rufus and Riley.

Seconded. I don't know why they've fallen out of favour, they're a lovely breed - my favourite of the terriers. I'd suggest a couple of big barn cats. When I moved onto my property the shed was full of rats. Two of my cats took it upon themselves to sort the problem and did so very effectively. Many rescues have a barn cat program for cats who need homes but aren't too people friendly. Otherwise a sharp Jack Russell will probably do the job - but a lot depends on the individual dog. Do we have rat terriers in Australia? A woman I know in Egypt has a business where she hires her pack of rat terriers to farmers to dispose of rats and mice. It's more humane, to my mind, than poison or traps.

I'd never even thought about it, but I just checked and I'm nearly three weeks older than you. I joined Jan 02 2004. Since I hang mostly in the rescue forum, I remember a fair few meltdowns there - the stolen Bulldog foster mother, the woman who claimed to be a rescuer and ended up with some meltdown about a child terrorising her neighbourhood. Good times. LOL More generally I remember the man who sued the breeder of his dog, but for the life of me I can't remember what about. Happy tenth anniversary HW - thanks for being a voice of reason and science for those years.

Didga the cat goes skateboarding (there are dogs too).

Funny you should ask. http://blackhobyah.net/santa-fiction-the-myth-of-christmas-dumping/ The DLG stats are images, if you click on them you'll see large versions and there's a link to the originals in the references.

Once an animal has done its time at the pound, it is legally the property of the pound who can dispose of the animal as they see fit. If it then went to a rescue group who did the necessary vetwork, chipping etc, then it is legally the property of the rescue group. If the cat wasn't already chipped there's no way to prove ownership. It's really common for people who have lost cats to see cats in rescue and think it is their cat. Trouble with cats is that unless they have very distinctive markings, its not that easy to tell from a photo. I adopted a cat from a pound a few years ago and was contacted a while later by the original owner (a very distinctive breed) - I decided to let the cat go back to the owner, but had no legal obligation to do so. If you think she's a good home ask her to adopt the cat from you, that way all the legal paperwork will be done.

If all you want are miniature or pocket heelers I've got them right here: Mum is a purebred, um, Central Highlands Wiry Heelerette. Very rare ...

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/tears-from-kim-hollingsworth-as-animal-cruelty-charges-withdrawn/story-fni0cx12-1226776487374

Hume use the Lost Dogs Home for pound services. Dogs are held for 8 days if not claimed and then either made available for adoption or killed. I don't think there is a set day at the LDH - they turn the pens over as fast as they can, so I assume every day is a kill day.

Just to let everyone know that I am no longer a part of Heading for Home: Central Victorian Animal Rescue. I've stepped away from the group and am no longer a co-ordinator for the group. cami and her foster carers will continue the successful group we founded over three years ago now, and I wish them well. I'll be sticking around DOL I'm sure, but just not as a member of CVAR.

Well done Maree. She's adorable!

These amendments will, amongst other things, make pitbull crosses as well as pitbulls, restricted breed dogs. Domestic Animals Amendment Bill 2013 The Minister for Agriculture and Food Security today (13th November 2013) made a second reading speech in Parliament of the Domestic Animals Amendment Bill 2013. This Bill introduces some matters of interest to animal owners that will be debated in the coming sessions of Parliament - Amending the Domestic Animals Act 1994 and the Crimes Act 1958 and implementing two of the recommendations made to the Government by the Coroner in the inquest of four year old Ayen Chol Enable a Court to make an order disqualifying a person from owning a dog under certain circumstances The Bill also enhances the enforcement and administration of the declared dogs provisions and makes other minor machinery and technical amendments to improve administration of the Domestic Animals Act. The Bill will place the emphasis firmly on responsible dog ownership for all Victorian dog owners.

I thought I'd resurrect this thread for a nice update - I love a a before and after! This is Ilka's pound photo just before she came into care in January. And this is Ilka in her new home. She went home in February of this year, so 8 months later. A bit of a change!

Quite apart from the fact that animals are deserving of help for their own sake, WSPA are very clear that helping animals is helping people. In less-developed countries a goat, some chickens or a cow might mean the difference between a family being able to survive or starve. Providing veterinary care to injured animals or rescuing animals and returning them to their families is a vital component of the economic recovery process for people. Companion animals are also important to people in assisting their emotional recovery (and I hope no-one is suggesting that people in less-developed countries are less deserving of the emotional support that their pets can offer). (WSPA have been in-country for a number of major disasters and they are really good at what they do. Worth a read: http://animalsindisasters.typepad.com/wspa/about-disaster-management.html