Souff

Boredom and fear make people very down in the mouth. Downright miserable actually. Busy people are happy people - well most of em.

Are you sure?

Judges have earned the right to sit on the bench. Why would anyone working at the RSPCA need to be equally qualified? It is not their role to be judge and jury, but it is their role to prevent cruelty to animals and the very best way I can think of is to get out there and EDUCATE people to be better animal carers, not terrify the bejesus out of little old ladies when they take a de-barked dog to a dog show. The other critical role I see is to do more about the cause of the unwanted dogs and pups - put some of the money into mobile desexing clinics. If organisations can do it in third world countries and outback Australia, it can be done anywhere, and it is a most commendable investment of finite resources, particularly the donations that people give in good faith, thinking that they are HELPING the animals. Souff

Well, that is often what happens in courts when children get neglected while parents are breaking the law, so it wouldn't surprise me at all. Am not saying it is right, but that is how it often is. Souff

Oh dear .... the sky is not going to fall in CL, it really isnt.

Chocolatelover, That is how you interpreted it. I was actually thinking that they would be BORED because there wouldn't be any animals coming in. More than bored actually, probably fearing that they would get retrenched. Souff

Sue, I wholeheartedly agree with you. You can bet that the amount of money spent at the admin level in the glass towers would buy many mobile vet clinics and pay the wages of the vets and nurses needed in those clinics, and still pay people to run the place. Desexing must be the main priority, but also to teach people HOW to better care for their animals. Get to the heart of the problem and reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats, by making desexing available for all. Gosh, its not rocket science. And the same time they can indulge in their favourite pastime, MEDIA ...... they can have the cameras rolling in the clinics and have "All Creatures Great & Small" painted on the outside too. Park a coffee van on one side and an ice-cream van on the other, and they have got the public there. Souff

Very real here. The basic responsibility of the RSPCA is to prevent cruelty. Turning away abandoned/unwanted animals will only encourage the dumping of animals and that is straight-out cruelty. Souff is always happy to help those who help animals and is a former RSPCA supporter, but I stopped buying RSPCA merchandise and making donations many moons ago. That situation will not change until I can see that their management policies are solely for the prevention of cruelty, and are not just aimed at going after the easy targets to make a noise in the media and and bring in the bucks, and do not smack of the maniac animal rights loonies agendas. Commonsense appears to be lacking. Souff

This is one of the things that most decent people just do not believe happens. Many people think that handing over their records will actually help them, not work against them. Souff

CL, the report came in from London about the RSPCA, via the media. Last month there was something came in from the media from Tasmania, about the RSPCA. A few weeks ago there was a report came in about somewhere else, about the RSPCA, via the media, and in the near future there will be another adverse report come through the media, about the RSPCA, from somewhere else. Perhaps you think that this can all be put down to coincidence. But, actually many people can smell a smell. It is not hard. I don't think anyone is knocking "the many decent people who work there" ..... and no, decent people never like the job of euthanasing animals, but it can hardly be disputed that the majority of animals that go through those doors do not walk out the other door with a brand new owner. If you have other evidence to show that that is not the case, please post it. Souff

Sadly, they probably wont. They will probably have some pathetic victimhood story to tell. But it is good to see that the police are bringing them to justice. RIP Kojak. A good bloke, sadly missed. Souff

I see you too are a fellow cynic YEP !!! I wonder if all those dear little old rich ladies who have left them massive bequests over the years, ever thought their money would be used to hunt down good people while strays and needy animals are left to fend for themselves. fifi And those families of the newly departed who say "no flowers, envelopes for RSPCA donations will be at the church" also need to be told too.

Well it costs money to put dogs down and do stuff like that.

My goodness gracious me, this is the RSPCA doing this? Oh surely not, it must be a fake memo. Another nasty little rumour ... yes, that must be it. But how is all this going to affect the morale of their staff? They will have no strays to euthanase and put through their horrid "temperament tests". Oh no, wait a minute, they will be rounding up all the dog breeders instead. "There ya go, into that crate now!" Yes, that should be much more satisfying. No staff morale problem to worry about at all. Ah, the world is such a jolly old place to be. Souff

I quite understand where you are coming from here, but have you considered the OHS implications of running a couple of thousand of these rather nasty animals?

Perhaps ask over at Deshonko Kennels .... she is sure to know a breeder of LGs :D

Hey, can you hold the IVF please the bitch is not coming in for fertility treatment !!!!! Crikey no wonder desexing is getting to be so expensive ..... :D Souff

Yep it can be the stuff of nightmares..... Pug x Beagle = snufflin, snoring little Beagle type dogs with a screw tail and who probably cant free whelp :D A waste of good genes. Cavvy x Beagle = hells bells, lock up the dog food real tight! I have a vision of a rotund type of brown hairy dog, something like a rather large overweight LH Dachsie (with apologies to all the well bred LH Dachshunds out there). Why ...why ... why do people even begin to think of mixing up these beautiful breeds. It cannot be a good outcome for the dogs. Souff

Cool.

Uh-huh, so are you going to give a recommendation on DOL for this vet ......

Same here. I also don't think we can necessarily compare with 20 years ago either. Back then, and earlier, many people had a different mindset about the value of their dog. If the dog got sick, the cost of the vet bill was quite often the defining factor as to whether or not they had a problem fixed. If they could not affort to pay the vet bill, then the dog either did not get treated, or it got put down. So some dogs did not live long because they were PTS, and others probably had shortened lives because the health problems were not treated and the dog was put down when things got totally out of hand. Check out how many vet surgeries were in business 20 years ago, and then count the number of them today. You will find a mighty increase, yet the dog population probably has not grown to the same extent. Today, more dog owners are aware of the importance of good health and good veterinary care, and are more able to afford it. Souff

You can have the gravy. Go out and buy some nice fresh roo mince and toss that in with the dry food. Better for the dog. Souff

Oh. Did somebody think they would have a different sense of direction? Or were not food oriented because they were a designer dog?

No, no, you still haven't quite got it ..... Read again Jed's description of "purebred". Another way of saying it: If the parents and earlier consecutive generations are not known to be of the same breed, then it CANNOT be called "a purebred dog". If the parents and usually around 4 consecutive previous generations are known to be of the same breed then it CAN be called "a purebred dog". If you are starting off a new breed and you don't know the background of the dogs then your dogs cannot be called purebred until you can prove to the world that they have the known background breeding from the same breed, under whatever rules of whatever country or organisation you are aligned with. Souff edited for clarity