Souff

Very happy 14th birthday Leo! and warm wishes to all who were involved in his story. Time has flown by. Souff

Microchipping is worth its weight in gold. I have just received an email about another reunion of dog and rightful owner. The law may not be able to do much about Robert's captors but I feel sure that KARMA will give them what they deserve. Souff

;) What did he say about the fleas? Ahh! Souff, it's good to see you posting after a long absence. Still laughing here. ah yes, some of the furries have gone to God, so I had a cleanout and voila, I found a keyboard! ;)

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I had the same reaction. shhhh ....

What did he say about the fleas?

OMG, I remember sitting with a neighbour's bitch for an afternoon and night in a shed while she delivered 6... 7..... 8....... 9......... 10......... 11 puppies! Lordie, Lordie, it was a flippin conga line of puppies! Souff was hugely relieved that the bitch was not too fazed ... and that she finally stopped! Souff was also pleased to see the useless neighbour return home too!

It is always great to get a lost dog back home, but this is the first time I have heard that that the miscreant had to be rounded up by a Kelpie :)

Oooooh Terry, you were assuming you were paying for a pedigreed animal, so you chase up those pedigree papers. Be brave, stick to your guns and ask for proof of pedigree and a receipt for $800 of your hard earned cash to be sent to you asap. If you dont get satisfaction let The Boss of this site know, let the Canine Council know, and let the Dept of Fair Trading know.

Glad you sister is coming to spend some time with you. Here is a link to the WHW Club in NSW where she may find some kindred spirits. http://www.westieclubofnsw.org.au/

Iris gets Souff's "True Brit, True Grit" award!

We have to check every day in winter now - thanks to tick-infested bandicoots. Balance of nature ...

:laugh:

Yes. Same can be said of guns and hunting knives. In the wrong hands a lot of damage can be done in a short space of time. Cannot agree with your use of the word "muppets" in this post ... Souff has long been a Jim Henson fan :laugh:

Definitely not alone and definitely not obsessive. Advertisements with graphic photography showing before and after could be very useful reminders (in public places) that we dog owners all need to be responsible and not allow our animals to inflict damage on vulnerable people, or on anyone else for that matter. Dangerous dog messages seem to be regarded as being for somebody else's problem. Do not wish to seem harsh but both of the women living at this address (and possibly other family members) must have known there were risk factors, but I guess they thought that the dogs would never turn on them.

Still in a critical condition, according to the reporter on this video clip. Cant help but think that all the owners involved would call themselves "dog lovers" ... dogs, and the dog world, deserves better but sadly the choice is not theirs Anyone can own a dog, no matter what their intentions

I am fairly certain that all of the legal stuff I have read in relation to dog control, refer to a dog being under control in a public place. Many attacks occur on private properties. I agree that the public need to be protected, but so do little children and elderly people when they are in private places. I don't know what 'legal stuff' you read & are referring to, about dog control. But the draft protocol from the UK police that I posted, referred to investigating serious or fatal dog attacks as much as in the home as anywhere else. Given that, statistically, most occur there. A reading of the questions that the investigating authorities have to ask, indicates inclusion of a domestic setting. As does some of the UK legislation that they see as possibly having a bearing.... for example, some relate to care of & responsibility for children within households and families. In everyday life, those UK police are called in to deal with/investigate both settings... domestic and in a public place. And that protocol referred to each. They also refer to the other agencies that are called in to contribute. I'm highlighting the domestic aspect because it's relevant to this topic. BTW, the term 'public safety' does not only refer to public places... it refers to people generally wherever they are. Second sentence of quoted article: "Furthermore, allowing any type of dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place is also a criminal offence." Protocols for what to do after the attack are with the scene of the attack in mind. However the second sentence gives me the feeling that criminality only applies to public places. This may not be the case as there is talk of the various charges that can be laid, including murder and manslaughter. I just do not think that there should be a statement relating to either public place or private place. Serious attacks can happen anywhere and it is up to humans to ensure that this can be prevented by control and observing safe practices. Sorry I did not spell this out in my first attempt at posting but I was called away. edited to further explain...

I am fairly certain that all of the legal stuff I have read in relation to dog control, refer to a dog being under control in a public place. Many attacks occur on private properties. I agree that the public need to be protected, but so do little children and elderly people when they are in private places. I do not fall into either of these categories and I too would like to feel safe. To date I have managed to live my life relatively unharmed by animals, but I am physically no match for a large dog if it decided it would like to tear bits off me and I am not Robinson Crusoe. Must admit to never raising the "public place" vs "private place" issue in discussions. I hope it is an aspect that can be addressed. Many of us have seen how quickly dogs can attack and I agree with Jed ... it is good to know why a dog attacks, if this can be determined, but in this case we may never know. A certain smell ... a certain way of walking or using hands ... we simply may never know. What is known here is that the risk factor was high ... the lady was old and vulnerable. edited for S & G

Just lost a reply somewhere so apologies in advance if this comes in as a double post. It is very difficult for a frail elderly person to recover from an attack such as this. This aspect is usually given almost no air play and is an aspect that I suspect does not occupy the thoughts of too many dog owners. The deed in this instance was horrific. The breed? Any strong dog with teeth has the capacity to cause enormous damage and this is part of the reason why dogs must be under the control of a responsible person.

Ahh, the magic of dogs! Never ignore or underestimate their sixth sense :)

Yes, Souff did that once. Waited for 2 hours in the summer sun for owner to arrive home. Take water with you if you suspect this might happen ;)

Elderly people should never be put at this sort of risk.

Airlock, there are just so many accurate statements in this thread, given by wise and experienced DOlers: "Learn to read dog body language, any dog is an accident waiting for a place to happen. Generalizing on breed is dog racism. Doesn't work for people and doesn't work for dogs." "Pretty much anything with teeth." "People need to understand the potential drives and thresholds in any purebred dog they are thinking of owning. They have been selectively bred for a particular set of drives, a bite threshold and a level of reactivity." "I know cat safe sighthounds. I make no such assumption about all of them." I agree with them all. I also stress the need to keep YOUR dog safe and never, never ever assume anything. The world is there for all dog owners to share, good and bad, well trained and not well trained, well bred and not well bred, responsible owners and totally irresponsible owners. If your dog is in danger then you need to protect your dog from that danger ... it is your responsibility as an owner. Blaming the breed never works, but it is a good idea to learn what the different breeds are best at doing - a dog that is good at chasing and crunching is not always the type that you want around your dog, so it is OK to discriminate. With so many crossbred dogs around today, the matter of breed traits is made even more difficult. It may look like a breed that would not hurt a fly, but it's daddy might have been a totally different breed of dog. Mixed breed dogs can sometimes mean mixed up temperaments and traits. With purebred dogs, you have a better idea of the temperament and traits of the breeds, but always remember that two or more dogs can be operating in pack mode and if they have no owners around, or irresponsible owners are there, things can still get ugly very quickly. Take your puppy to dog training, get involved where there is safety, and let them be a confident and happy pup in a safe environment. Best wishes, Souff

This is a puggle ;) Yep, THAT is a puggle!

G'day Ososwift, It is amazing what we do when we should be doing something else (ahem). A visit to DOL was all about sheer procrastination and excellent therapy