Souff

Only you, Souffle! It's time you changed your avatar - that bird is looking poorly. Was listening to an old John Williams (Emu) song on a long boring drive yesterday and the song was about him taking the family's sick budgerigar to the vet .... outrageously funny. Had to take it to the vet .... vet cost $35, bird only cost $5 ..... "antibiotics for its colour, 2 drops on its beak, clean out the cage twice a week". There was a lot more to it ... probably best not to mention here. Emu needs to update that song, the vet visit will now set him back a lot more than $35.

Because they think it makes them look good. I dont know why they cant say in the code of ethics, no sales to pet shops or to wholesalers. How much weight does a code of ethics have in a legal sense in that they're not actually restricting trade because if the breeder doesnt agree with it, they just let their membership to the CC lapse and sell to whoever they want anyway. A Code of Ethics is little more than a list of good intentions. Weight? Butterflies are heavier. Both can look very pretty.

The ship is listing. - Good purebred pups of popular breeds are flown out of the country, never to return. - The Australian public are being constantly offered badly bred mutts dressed up as cute pups (for top prices) and they are taking up that offer. - Those who do buy purebred dogs are encouraged by every veterinarian in Australia to de-sex their pup as "responsible owners". There are almost no vets out there who encourage people who own a purebred dog to become involved in "responsible breeding of dogs" , i.e. to ensure the future of good, well bred, dogs. Vets of all people SHOULD be interested in maintaining a future for dogs. But of course if there are a lot of health problems in dogs in the future, then vets have an assured income too. Pardon my cynicism. Souff

I cant see that either AQIS or RSPCA would have any reason to reduce the figures. If they were going to do a fiddle, then I rather think they would have INFLATED the stats. In any case many of the pups that go in bulk to Hawaii are already ANKC registered so they are already included in that very tiny ANKC slice of the pie. They are not all ANKC reg'd dogs in the shipments because (last time I looked) the crossbred white fluffies were still holding their very high market value for him. Souff I wasnt trying to imply the RSPCA had deliberately reduced the figures - but its hard to believe what they were given thats all. I know Steve, with all the legislation that is working against dog breeders these days, the number of ANKC breeders who were solely breeding for the exporter would also now be reduced. It is an overall downward trend that is not going to be reversed. PETA and our resident animal libbers had it as their aim and it is a reality. Souff

March flies absolutely do go for the muscle, although some dogs ears can have a good blood supply too. I have screamed like a banshee when a March fly was hanging off my calf, they seriously HURT! Dogs would be yelping too if March flies were biting them. It is a very painful bite.

Quality Purebred Registered Puppies With every Pet’s Central Puppy purchase, we want to make sure your addition to your new family is healthy and comfortable in your home. Only the healthiest puppies are hand selected from reputable breeders in Australia , from breeders we know and trust. Each puppy is examined by a licensed veterinarian in Australia, again upon arrival at Pet's Central, and a third time after purchase! We also have a veterinarian technician on staff to monitor each puppy on a daily basis, seeing to all their needs, and ensuring a safe and healthy environment is maintained at all times. Here you go, up to date information, straight from his website. "hand selected from reputable breeders in Australia" .... and amongst those breeders are ANKC registered breeders who don't give a rats about keeping good genes in Australia. The $ is more important than the gene pool. Well, whilever this continues that little slice of the pie will continue to get smaller. And people are wondering why ANKC is fast disappearing. Souff

I cant see that either AQIS or RSPCA would have any reason to reduce the figures. If they were going to do a fiddle, then I rather think they would have INFLATED the stats. In any case many of the pups that go in bulk to Hawaii are already ANKC registered so they are already included in that very tiny ANKC slice of the pie. They are not all ANKC reg'd dogs in the shipments because (last time I looked) the crossbred white fluffies were still holding their very high market value for him. Souff

One law to apply to everyone who breeds dogs? Yeah, you're right, in your dreams. Buggar the dogs, they dont need a future anyway. PETA will fix it.

Well, government has just about everything else regulated ASAL and I am not certain that they would make any worse of a hash of it than what the present situation is. I have never seen so many crossbred mutts and poorly bred purebred dogs as we now have - and they are being pumped out all the time and just for the $. But you don't need to worry, there is no money in it for governments so they too will stay well away from it. Poor dogs

If you could drive a car on the road without having to pay rego and insurances and pay for a drivers licence .... would you leave the car at home until you had paid for all of them?

Graphs are were all done by the ANKC, and posted on there site. Well I'll be .... so it is! Would have to be a first, wouldn't it? The writing on the wall ?

Why? Because registered breeders are the only visible target. And whilever every other Australian dog owner can legally breed from their dogs while not holding a licence to breed dogs, the situation cannot possibly improve. They are ALL under the radar ..... thousands and thousands of them .... and the majority of them do not give a sh*t about the quality of the pups that they sell. Yet every time I have brought up the subject of licensing ALL breeders, DOLers jump up and down and say it is not the answer. "Wont work", blah blah blah. I have yet to hear any viable alternative. Well, it wont work if it is not tried, that is for sure. So all those thousands of shonky people can just go on doing what they are doing and the ANKC piece of the pie will continue to shrink away. Thanks for putting boring old stats into the pie graphs Sway. Somebody in government might one day put it all up as a BRAND NEW IDEA .... gee whiz! Shiny & new! Frankly I am past caring who does or doesn't. Souff

No, you have missed nothing, as far aw I know anywho. But, there are those receptionists at some vet surgeries will tell you "We dont remove dewclaws on pups here". They say it as a form of mutilation and this is the general feeling that is passed on to new vet nursing recruits I am told. The vets themselves WILL do it, 9 times out of 10. It is pathetic when you have to get past the receptionist and ask the vet but that is the way it is. I suppose they feel that if they keep up their PETA mantra and keep on bullying people out of having it done, most people will THINK there is a law against it, when there is not. Souff

Well done to Judy's legal team and her supporters, and to the magistrate for allowing justice and commonsense to prevail. VicDogs, the Victorian Government, and RSPCA Victoria, and that lowlife vet ......... just go away and hang your heads in shame .... you are all by far just too UN-Australian. Souff

I'm faced with that at the moment and as a breeder, although it may not be my responsibility I feel I have an obligation to the dog, to make sure that it doesn't end up in a pound, dumped or somewhere unsuitable. The ethical breeders with the resources, contacts and ability will take care of their own but what about all of those dogs who don't come from such a source ? Once upon a time ..... people used to put ads in the paper "Good home wanted". Must admit I don't read classifieds these days and this is probably the same for most people. There is probably already a website called "Good Homes Wanted" ..... Souff

Can you go and talk to the breeder? They might have someone waiting for a dog just like yours. Or did you buy it from a pet shop? Souff

Silverhaze, It might not offer any solutions, but it makes a whole lot of sense and might help some to understand the bigger picture. Souff

Just to add that yes, I know much of the above text was not about dumping of animals, but it is still abandonment of animals. Notice the $30,000 fine? These sorts of things ARE in the existing laws. How many members of the general public would know what the fine was? Very few. These sorts of penalties definitely need to be out there on television screens, particularly at this time of the year. If it frightens just one person out of dumping a dog, then it will have done a good job. Souff

Here we go, courtesy of the RSPCA Qld: ABANDONED ANIMALS RSPCA Qld has received several dozen complaints about animals being abandoned in the Bundaberg region during the Christmas holiday period. “While it appears to be an escalating problem, in many of these cases the animals have actually had someone assigned to look after them.” says RSPCA Qld’s Bundaberg Inspector Patrick Yeates. “The problem is that the animals’ owners have neglected to notify neighbours who then report the matter to us. I would urge anyone who leaves their pets in the care of family or friends to register with our Home Alone service.” The Home Alone service was set up to alleviate the burden on already overworked Inspectors who were continually being called to investigate possible cases of neglect and cruelty during holiday periods. “Many people leave pets at home and rely on the goodwill of neighbours and friends to keep them fed, watered and exercised,” said Inspector Yeates. “The problem is that often these friends forget or the animal escapes and we have no one to contact in case of emergences. With Home Alone people can register their pet on our website and leave the name and contact details of the people taking care of the animal. That way we know whom to contact in case of emergencies.” RSPCA Qld investigates over 12,000 complaints of animal cruelty annually and reports of abandoned animals make up a large quantity of these complaints. During holiday seasons these types of calls escalate with families leaving pets behind in the care of friends and neighbours. “The good intentions of neighbours looking out for the welfare of your pet can often lead to unneeded investigation,” continued Inspector Yeates. “Simply by completing your details on Home Alone when your family is going on holidays you can be reassured that RSPCA Inspectors will contact you or your animals’ nominated caregiver if a complaint is lodged or the animal ends up at an RSPCA shelter.” However, the sad fact remains that some animals have been abandoned. “Your pet is your responsibility. A pet is for life, not just your convenience. Animal abandonment is an offence and potentially carries a penalty of one year’s imprisonment or a $30,000 fine.” I don't think potential dumpers would go looking in the RSPCA website for this message, but I might be wrong. Perhaps it should be put on the television screens like the RSPCA did with the tail docking. The tail docking campaign cost them a lot of money and didnt save one dogs life. A campaign like this on the telly could save many dogs lives. Souff

No new laws. Ok, no new laws. Dust off the existing laws, advertise them, and police them. Souff

Dogmad, In recent years I have seen as many owners surrendering dogs that they bought from breeders. I am no longer convinced that it is just pet shop buyers who surrender their dogs. Why do they do it? Often it is because they have not really thought through HOW MUCH AVAILABLE TIME they have to put into training and to spend time with their dog. The reality is that most families today have far less available time to spend with their dog than families of say 20 years ago. Dad is often spending vast amounts of time behind the wheel, driving long distances to go to work and back home, Mum works more locally but is spending most of her afternoons ferrying kids to the various activities. The dog? Oh it gets some time with them when they all get home. It is not enough time. I would like to hear from obedience and agility instructors to know how many family people are at classes, vs how many single people. From what I have observed a high percentage of people who surrender dogs are family people. The cost of maintaining a medium sized breed that needs to be regularly groomed is now getting beyond the reach of many families. The cost of maintaining a large breed dog can be totally out of reach for many families. Many families underestimate the cost of having a dog and if they have a dog that is at the vet a lot, there is a very high chance that the dog will be surrendered eventually. These are the realities of life today. Impulse buying is still part of the picture, most definitely, but dogs that are surrendered have been purchased from breeders as well as pet shops. Souff

Unfortunately many people just see it as just another slogan and when the crunch comes and the dog has to go, it is the furthest thing from their mind because we are not in their face reminding them, and if we were, they wouldn't want to listen anyway because it is not enforceable. It is a good message but it needs to be strengthened. Why are the grim reaper HIV ads coming to the forefront of my brain? Why can I see images of puppy and dog skeletons beside a road, with collars and name tags on them? Doesn't matter, I don't work for a powerful advertising agency. Souff

Edited to add: Sorry Steve, I just realised you said "no new laws". I am not sure what the old laws are and they differ from state to state anyway. Anywho, strengthening existing laws is not making new laws is it?

1, EDUCATION through all available media 2. GAOL SENTENCES and a $5000 fine for anyone caught dumping/abandoning animals. Yes, I know a lot wont get caught and then wont get sentenced, but if you don't put fear into people's minds, you might not as well not write the laws in the first place. Fear is a powerful deterrent. Souff