tdierikx

If the Boss takes Clive to work, does that leave you without a dog yourself? That seems a bit rough... and your bond with Clive is special too. Clive helps you in so many ways, and you'd feel "less" and/or "lost" without him. Does the Boss really need a novice dog out on a feral goat trip? If Clive doesn't work well for him, he will be more hindrance than help, yes? And feral goats are very different creatures than "tame" sheep used to being herded by dogs. Clive has the same genetic makeup as Dags, so maybe he's better used as a stud with another good working female, and his pups may end up with better instinct than him and be assets for the Boss instead? T.

As horrible that situation may be, it still doesn't necessarily mitigate the fact that the child was effectively left unsupervised in a public space (a car park no less) long enough for him to try to get into the pool area, and then actually get into the dogs' yard. In that short amount of time, he could also have been hit by a car coming or going from the motel... or worse still, taken by a stranger with evil intent. As far as the coroner's recommendations on this case go, I agree with the findings that there could be stronger containment rules for dogs housed in high public access areas... but to suggest anything more relating to general dog ownership (especially what breeds of dog we are allowed to own) is way beyond his purview based on the facts of this case. T.

In all honesty, all of the reputable cat rescues are overflowing, and have been for a long time. It's almost impossible to get any of them to even answer an enquiry - let alone a phone (if you can find a phone number for many of them). One of the lost/found Facebook groups I'm on has this list of cat rescues regularly posted as maybe being able to help with found cats, so surrenders might also be taken in... Cat Rescue 901 Maggie’s Rescue DABS Desexing & Rescue (0459 410 700 Campbelltown) Westie Cats Support Lap Warmers Cat Rescue (Western Sydney) Rescue Cat Project Urban Cat Alliance Urban Kittens SAFE Animal Rehoming (0404 753 227 Roseville) Inner City Strays Brighter Future Cat Rescue Peggy’s Promise World League for the Protection of Animals (WLPA) Firefly Animal Rescue ([email protected]) Furry Friends Forever Rescue (Sydney) The Cat Orphanage Inc (Rozelle) Tommy’s Rescue, Kittie Kat Rescue (Castle Hill, Ryde & Hills District) Hills Cat Rescue (Hills District) Best Friend Fur Ever Rescue (Wollongong, Shellharbour, Hawkesbury) Sydney Cats For Adoption and Sylvia’s cat rescue. T.

The ABC coverage of this story says that the mother of the little boy had been supervising him playing in the car park, and had just gone inside for a "few minutes" to get a drink, and that's when he wandered off and got into the yard with the dogs. CCTV footage shows him trying the pool gate, but when he couldn't open that, he went to where the dogs were and managed to get in. Ummm... wouldn't most people think that an unsupervised toddler in a car park of a motel was probably not a great parenting choice either? And a "few minutes" is enough for an active toddler to manage to get into a life threatening situation. What is telling is that the owner of the dogs was not charged with any offence, but he did surrender the dogs for euthanasia immediately after the incident. I think the Coroner is exceeding his purview in his recommendations about pet ownership as a result of this particular case... where are the recommendations about "child ownership"? If the child's parent had made a different decision about leaving her child unattended in a public place, this incident would never have occurred. Remember, the dogs were contained on private property when this happened, they did not escape and do this of their own accord. T.

Posties have a job to do, and if you want your mail to keep being delivered, then please ensure the postie has safe access to do that. Councils also need to step up in this area, as quite frankly, they are not doing that right now. Complaints about free roaming dogs are often met with total inaction. We have laws about free roaming pets, but if they aren't being policed effectively, then incidents will only keep happening with increasing frequency. I'm all for posties boycotting houses where a dog is not effectively contained to prevent injury to passers by... and for them to bombard local councils with complaints about properties (and pets) that cause problems for them to do their job. Complaints from posties should also be prioritised for immediate action. T.

Am I reading correctly that the dog owner had not only a secure enclosure he kept the dogs in, but a fenced and gated yard that he exercised them in also? And that the child in question had managed to enter that yard while he played unsupervised? The dogs in this story were not free-roaming... but the child was. Where is the accountability for an unsupervised child? What happened here is tragic, but in all honesty, the dog owner seems to have done the right thing by containing his dogs in areas they couldn't free roam among the public. The last tenants next door to me had young children who would regularly kick their footballs over the fence into my yard. When I caught one of them attempting to climb over the 6 foot colourbond fence into my yard, I luckily stopped him before he succeeded and returned his ball to him. I then went around to the front door of their house and spoke with the parents. I told them I'd happily return any stray balls if the kids came to my front door and asked for them back, but please don't allow them to climb into my yard, as I had a large dog that might be unpredictable when faced with a stranger in her yard. As a dog owner, I am legally required to keep my dog contained effectively on my own property, and I do that. I should not be accountable for the actions of others who decide to enter my property uninvited. My dog stays in her yard, and your kids should stay in theirs. Personally, I'm sick of the total lack of accountability for those who let their children roam at will. Children are not always capable of assessing danger to themselves, and should be supervised (not unlike dogs) when out and about. Yes... larger breeds of dog are capable of inflicting horrific injury to a human body, and the smaller that body, the greater risk of that damage being fatal. Let's not forget though that ALL dogs are capable of inflicting serious damage by biting, and again, the smaller the target human, the more extensive that damage could be. A friend of mine who works in a pound had her top lip ripped off by a small maltese... she was an adult and well versed in handling fractious, frightened, and stressed impounded dogs, yet still suffered this injury... a child would have suffered much worse injuries in that scenario though. Legislation over the years has seen the opportunities for dogs to become properly socialised diminish significantly. There are already so many restrictions on where and when a dog can be out in public, and adding even more restrictions on dog ownership isn't going to make the problem any better. I'd like to see any future legislation include accountability for human action that may contribute to an attack happening. This is especially significant if the dog owner has to all intents and purposes contained their dog so that it cannot escape into a public area. If a dog is contained on private property, then uninvited or unauthorised access to that private property should be a mitigating factor in the event of an attack occurring on that private property. T.

There aren't enough dogs waiting in Victorian pounds then? T.

This article raises an extremely valid point... basically, why, if microchipping is mandatory in nearly every state and territory in Australia, and state governments are tasked with creating and maintaining legislative requirements regarding pets, then why the heck have most state governments been happy to effectively outsource critical components for that legislation to work to third parties? Anyone who has ever had dealings with RSPCA in any state fully understands how frustrating that can be, either when trying to report on animal cruelty, or being a target of investigation into same. Policing of laws should not be handed over to an essentially privately run and unaccountable charity organisation - especially one that has a business model that may have it in direct competition (in a business sense) with those it is tasked to police. Policing of laws MUST be retained as a government owned and operated function. And now we have a privately run microchip database going offline and putting the reclaimability status of potentially thousands (if not tens of thousands) of pets at risk. NSW and South Australia are leading the way with having a central (State) database for tracking microchip details... as it should be at the very least. I do believe that recent legislation in WA may have the creation of a state-wide database happening also... but don't quote me on that... I'm sure that it was mentioned in the legislation that was passed by their state government. Of course, none of the state run or private databases actually "talk" to each other, so if an animal is found wandering and scanned, if the animal's chip is not in the preferred database of that region, then it's details will not come up... and pounds/vets/etc are not inclined to go check every single possible database for those details, as they may need to seek authorisation/permission to access those databases, and the process just gets too convoluted and time consuming. I'm all for a National database system where anyone that scans a chip can access a single site, enter the chip number, and the system will check ALL available databases for any details for that chip number. This would NOT be a hard task to achieve if created and maintained by a National/Federal entity, who can get the required access authority for searching each database, and incorporate the search to return the details for ANY chip implanted/registered in Australia. Seriously, it's NOT rocket science... T.

Pounds are only required to check the main chip database for the state they are located in... and if a chip doesn't come up with details, then that's where the search stops. The chip could be from another state or registry, but those aren't checked, mainly because either pounds don't have quick access to other registries, or don't have the staff/time to go and check every possible registry available out there. It's a major flaw in the system IMHO. @asalI'm pretty sure that DogsNSW was included in the consultation leading up to this legislation... T.

Interesting. I grew up over that way, and we used to swim at Clontarf beach (opposite the Spit to the east), where it was regularly noted that grey nurse sharks bred and would get snarky if you swam outside the enclosed area. We didn't see bull sharks back then... maybe the grey nurses chased them off too? T.

They have a point about burying animals that have been put to sleep by lethal injection. If the body breaks down and leaks Lethbarb into the soil... or worse still the water course... the implications could be nasty for small wildlife, or even for humans. That said, one of my Rottweilers died in our back yard, so no chemical assistance, and we buried her up in the back corner about a metre or so deep, with a piece of steel mesh fencing over the top of her to stop any upward movement, or digging by other dogs. She's still down there some 20 plus years later. T.

OK, made some inquiries, and they are still allowed to do prosecutions, but have to have them approved to go ahead by DPP first, which is most likely why there have been only 14 commenced... all the bullsh!t ones were tossed out... T.

Ummm... didn't RSPCA Qld have their prosecutorial powers severely limited by the Qld State government in the last 18 months or so? After all the findings of the inquiry into their illegal activities on numerous fronts? T.

According to a Google search, the sweat glands that produce body odour smells (ammonia, etc) don't mature until a person hits puberty. Young children sweat, but it's just water and salt basically, so smells different to adult sweat. Regardless, proper socialisation with humans of all ages during a pup's development should negate that factor as being a trigger to chase/bite children... but won't reduce bites due to other child interaction causes, like squealing, running about idiotically, or uncontrolled annoying of the dog by a child. Children need as much social education as dogs... probably more methinks. T.

Off-lead areas still have rules as to their use. All off-lead animals must be under full control of their owners by law. Maybe certain off-lead areas might have rules rethought about the sharing of the space with small children - if the area is regularly used by small children, then maybe dogs should be on-lead in that area, or children could be excluded from that area. A little bit of common sense can see both groups catered to effectively. T.

They could stabilise the leg with a splint to give time to find the owner. I've personally seen a dog's leg with a femur shattered into 5 pieces put into a Robert Jones splint to stabilise it until surgery could be performed a few days later. I have also stabilised a goat's badly broken leg with the same splint method until it could be seen by the vet the next morning. T.

Since joining with the rescue group I'm with, I've been feeding all my fosters Savour Life kibble and raw food, and all of them have done really well on it... nice stools and a lovely shiny coat... even the tiny foster puppies do well on it. The added bonus to feeding Savour Life is that they donate 50% of all their profits to rescue... and our rescue has been funded for surgeries, and also gets regular donations of the food for our dogs in foster care. When I had the staffy mumma with 7 babies, Savour Life donated a massive amount of kibble and raw for them specifically, along with a few boxes of all manner of yummy treats. My previous foster arrived with an upset tummy and within a couple of days on the Savour Life had lovely stools, no tummy grumbles... and her breath improved 100% also. It could be worth giving Savour Life a try. You could get a small bag of the kibble and maybe a box of the raw patties and mix them for Albert's meals and see how he goes. If he does well, then larger bags of the kibble are available. You can get it from Petbarn. T.

Not excusing the neighbour's behaviour, but who lets their dogs run around the neighbourhood unsupervised? What if the issue wasn't the neighbour doing something to the dogs that trespassed into his yard, but they got hit by a car or the like? Personally, I'm hoping the dogs' owners are fined for letting their dogs roam unsupervised in public, and that they learn that their own actions led to this tragic incident. If they hadn't let their dogs out to roam unsupervised, then it would never have happened, yes? T.

Moreton Bay Council has a very poor track record when it comes to dog ownership in the area... to the point of their actions being found to be illegal even. Unfortunately, homeless people don't have the means to fight the council in an extended legal battle, so are easy targets... grrr! I remember some years ago when a homeless man took up residence in a derelict unused garage on the empty property next door to where I lived. He was quite respectful about his comings and goings as to not set off my 5 dogs, and he lived there safe and dry and relatively warm for a good number of months not bothering anyone. Someone must have seen him one day and called the police to come move him on, which they proceeded to try with heavy handed tactics that appalled me. I tried to defend his right to camp there. I was the only one who would have been affected by his presence, as the garage was right next to my property line... unfortunately the police stuck to their demands that he move on, and I never saw him again. Obviously things haven't changed much in the 20-something years since. People are all concerned about the homeless problem... as long as they don't have to see the realities of it where they live... *sigh* T.

Generally in an adult dog the C3 vaccine (parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis) can have immunity effect for between 3 and 7 years, but this is due to a combination of factors... 1. the dog must have had the full course of puppy vaccinations AND their first adult booster to start the process of developing immune responses to the diseases 2. the dog needs to have regular low level exposure to those diseases to ensure continuing stimulation of the immune response to them I have seen pups get sick after a vaccine, but generally this has only happened when the vaccine was given at the same time as their worming treatment and caused their little systems a big shock. As a result, I never worm puppies the same day as I vaccinate them. I also only give pups a C3 vaccine, as kennel cough is generally not lethal to healthy pups as long as the owner is vigilant to make sure they stay warm and dry during the course of the disease and seek medical help if the phlegm expelled becomes yellow or green. The kennel cough vaccines tend to only give good immune coverage for around 6 months anyways, so I'd only give those components if you were going to board your dog or there was a high incidence of kennel cough going around. The incidence of extreme adverse reaction to dog vaccines is rare, but obviously this doesn't give any comfort if your dog is the one in a million that has the reaction. Still, I wouldn't use anectdotal "evidence" as a reason to not vaccinate your dog. I've seen first hand what parvo and distemper do to a dog, and it's not something I'd chance happening when I have access to a perfectly good vaccine that can stop it happening to my dog. By all means, titre test your dog if you have concerns about the vaccines, but don't discard any thought of vaccinating based on media hype after a dog may have had an adverse reaction to one. Your dog deserves better than that from you. T.

I'll leave this here... T.

So RSPCA refused to do anything about the problems at the time they were actually reported, but now that media attention has been put on them for that oversight, they want to "do over"? Surely some evidence of what was depicted in that article would have been evident when the RSPCA raided the property and brought the overbreeding charges? It's not likely that freezers full of dead animals would all have been conveniently empty at the precise point in time of an unannounced visit by RSPCA. Public outcry at RSPCA wanting to target the whistleblower workers has damaged their reputation so badly that they are now publicly stating that any deals done with them are non-binding, and that they can still come after you at any time for "historic" breaches - especially ones that you now cannot defend due to having been put out of business. I am in no way defending the actions (or inactions for that matter) of the people who ran this particular hell-hole, but seriously RSPCA, this is just covering your proverbial in the worst possible way. RSPCA had their chance to to the job properly the first time around, but decided to take a course of action that put the defendants out of business rather than to actually pursue all charges through the courts. Why should they now be able to renege on that agreement? Shame RSPCA Tas... shame... T.

Considering that I was at the Yagoona facility recently to pick up 2 dogs from them to come into care at the privately run rescue I foster for... and had to wait while a fellow surrendered his 4 month old oodle pup... I'm calling bullsh!t here. Obviously the 12 month waitlist is reserved for animals that may not be easily rehomable if a person can walk in and surrender an oodle puppy on the spot with little problem, yes? The rescue I'm with has taken in easily 50 or so animals from RSPCA NSW in the past 6 months alone... and we have also taken in animals via AWL NSW - in fact, I'm likely getting a wee foxie and her 2 neonate pups from AWL in the next couple of days. Quite frankly, for any animal shelter to enact waitlists for animals that are urgently in need of finding alternate accommodations is simply appalling. It's rare that someone decides on the spur of the moment to surrender their pet, and usually it's in some sort of crisis situation such as having to move to somewhere that won't allow pets or similar. To then be told "come back in 12 months" is just ridiculous. So what are people reduced to doing when turned away from the only facilities they know of to find homes for their pets? They generally will have to abandon those pets... which then forces the also strained pound system to have to try to house/rehome them somehow. And take note here that pound facilities are in many cases rudimentary temporary housing for lost animals... they aren't designed for long term holding, like the facilities at RSPCA with their flash government funded kennels, vet clinic, and well staffed rehoming centres. The NSW pound system also got irretrievably broken with the enactment of the "Rehoming Bill" introduced by the Animal Justice Party in 2021 and passed into law in 2022. That Bill basically means that any physically healthy (no mention of mentally healthy mind you) animal in any NSW pound MUST be offered to at least 2 privately run rescue groups before any thought of euthanasia is considered. On paper that looks great, but in reality it's NOT working well at all, as those small rescues are now being overrun with pleas from pounds to take on any and all animals from those pounds... then add to that strain RSPCA offloading literally hundreds of animals every month to those same small rescues, and you start to see the big picture here. Ostensibly, our state government has outsourced (with NO funding - big win for government there) the entire responsibility for lost or abandoned animals in this state. Now, I'm not averse to the rescue industry being funded by government for all the hard work that's been foisted upon them, but with that funding MUST come regulation, so that animals don't just fall through the cracks and end up in worse welfare situations than they came from. Currently only rescues that register with the Office of Local Government (OLG) for certain exemptions to registration rules are made to do any reporting about the animals they take into care. Similarly only those who register as charities need to report certain statistics to the ACNC. But what of those rescues who are not registered with either authority, and thus have NO oversight of their activities? I guarantee you that not all rescues are necessarily doing the right thing by the animals in their care, and that needs to be addressed. T.

Is it mean of me to ask what the kid did to the dog to have the reaction it did? I'm also assuming that the kid may not have been supervised around the dog either. Under the recently passed laws in Qld, the dog owners could be in for a very hefty fine and/or jail time in response to the attack. And the dog has already been surrendered and euthanised, so no-one will ever know if there was an underlying issue (like pain from arthritis, etc) that might have contributed to the incident. T.

Never a wiser word said... T.