tdierikx

If Feather plays nice, we want photos of the meeting... *grin* T.

I'm seriously excited at the chance to get up closer to the Symbio exotics... they are seriously amazing animals, and Symbio is run by people who genuinely care about their health and wellbeing. The enthusiasm the staff there show when going about their daily tasks is contagious... everyone thoroughly love their jobs and love the animals in their care like they are their own. I reckon they have the best jobs in the world. It was seriously cool to see tigers playing zoomies and just acting like big loony cats on Saturday. I'm hoping that I might be able to help make some enrichment toys for the animals down the track and then watch (and photograph) them playing with them... how cool would that be? Gotta learn about the various behaviours of each animal, and then see what ideas I can come up with that they may not have used before (or often). We get lots of large cardboard boxes at work - I may just have to collect a few to use for enrichment ideas... and we get some smaller ones I could get for the smaller animals like the monkeys and the meerkats. I watched one of the keepers hand feeding the Meerkats some mealworms as a treat on Saturday... there's another thing I'd love to do... *grin* I'd also love to catch some pics of the Crocodiles getting their tucker too... T.

From the looks of it, she's going to have no real trouble keeping up with the Whippets Kirislin... lol! How many weeks now before she comes home to you? T.

I took Harper to the local vet when she was stung by a bee and was swelling up horribly - total bill $75, which included the consult and 2 shots... but I got her there before the swelling became serious enough to require emergency hospital treatment. Still took nearly 7 hours for her swelling and hives to go away, and I had to stay home to observe her closely and make sure that it did go down. Emergency clinics are extremely pricey - often a couple hundred just to walk through the door BEFORE you even get to see a vet... but if my dog needed that sort of care, then price wouldn't be my first concern... T.

Daisy is such a lovely little lady... she will make someone a really nice little companion... T.

Cinta won by bitch slapping Jalur upside the head... lol! T.

Love the advertising... and the cutest look on his face like he's saying "what brother and sister?" T.

Latest pics are up... taken today... Cinta and Jalur decided to have a spat... tiger fight caught on camera... woot! 28-09-2013-symbio 416 by tdierikx, on Flickr Woody the Tasmianian Devil was particularly obliging... 28-09-2013-symbio 908 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and can you get ANY cuter than this? 28-09-2013-symbio 868 by tdierikx, on Flickr This little family decided to have a walk through the kangaroo section... 28-09-2013-symbio 717 by tdierikx, on Flickr This little guy had a tick on his eye... the keepers saw to it as soon as we informed them... and he happily munched lucerne from our hands... 28-09-2013-symbio 137 by tdierikx, on Flickr If you look closely in the emu's eye you can see me and a friend taking his/her photo... 28-09-2013-symbio 131 by tdierikx, on Flickr Damn I love Symbio!!! T.

Both of my foster failures were desexed quite some time after I adopted them... but the rescue trusted me implicitly after fostering with them for a number of years, and knew that I'd definitely do the right thing... *grin* All of my second foster failure's siblings were desexed at 8 weeks. As for castrating that young - if they are dropped and can be felt, they can be removed. It would be much fiddlier surgery meaning the pup would be under the GA longer if they were to try to tie off the vas deferens in a pup that young. Castration takes approximately 10 mins max, and the females about 15-20 mins - and the pups are up and at 'em almost as soon as they come out of the anaesthetic - they are playing like loons the next day just as if they'd never had surgery. T.

That is a seriously cute photo! T.

Not to mention that PetRescue is only ONE of the places where animals are advertised - some of those rescues may have found that other places are getting them better results? T.

Go Nelly!!! T.

Is that the Daisy that placed her groomer second overall in the inaugural GroomQuest lillypilly? T.

We found out that desexing contracts aren't worth the paper they are written on... so nothing leaves entire. We desex from as young as 8 weeks, as long as said pup is over 1kg - if they are lighter than 1kg we keep them until they are able to be desexed. T.

Martyr Syndrome I call it... the absolute "need" for some people to let everyone know how wonderful they are because they took in a dog with issues... or to be seen to be "better" than a previous owner... *sigh* I've found that the best rescues tend to focus on what is going to provide the best FUTURE for any dog in their care - rather than suppose what the past may have been like... most likely because they really don't KNOW what that past was like. T.

Lamb puffs... dried lamb lung... stinky and fairly low fat, and dry so it won't slime up your pockets... T.

Wow Aunty Margaret - what an awesome job you've done with Candy! What a perfectly well socialised and happy girl she is now... lucky Candy is now ready for adoption. I know my cousin is coming out to NSWAR to find a perfect pet for her family... Candy might be a match there... *grin* T.

Oops... me made a typo in my excitement at seeing the cute video... lol! T.

Dog no! I've already got 2 of those... * grin* The rescue I contacted have a good relationship with the pound she is in, so she'll most likely be with them very soon. T.

I friend of mine summed up what it takes to be able to survive without going insane in the rescue world... you need to be able to be dispassionate with compassion... Sure - in rescue, you will see some of the worst things that people can do to their pets - but you will also have lots of opportunity to meet many other people who are amazing and awesome human beings. It balances itself out nicely if you go at it following the above summation of how you operate. We humans are a funny bunch really - we do so love to elevate ourselves to something higher than the somewhat advanced primates we really are deep inside... and if supposing the worst about previous owners of animals coming into care is what does it for you, then you probably aren't going to last very long before you hit burn out - or just go mad... Successful and ethical rescuers will think with both heart AND mind, and simply focus on what each individual animal in their care needs for the best future - not focusing on what it's past life or owners MAY have been like. T.

Well - I DID post it as a thumbnail sized pic - to see the full detail you had to click on it... lol! I can vouch for the fact that ALL the boys at Taronga have one, and aren't afraid to show it off at the slightest opportunity... just like their human counterparts... hehe! T.

Has rescue interest... *grin* Email sent to Wollondilly re this girl - hopefully she'll be in care soon. T.

I just want to say how my heart breaks for you Jelly... it is never easy to say goodbye to our four legged friends... even when we know that it is the kindest and most selfless thing we will ever do for them. Between now and then, enjoy each other and know that the love is truly unconditional going both ways. Roo will be in some awesome company while she waits for you at the Bridge... tell her to say G'day to my girl Woosie when she gets there, OK? Know that she will forever be in your heart, and keep the bestest memories of her there where they belong... Gotta go now - it's getting hard to type through this water dripping from my eyes.. *sob* Sending you cyber hugs... T.

Here's a male chimp showing off his willy Kirislin - grizabella, I don't know his name... Samaki maybe? See... it IS somewhat distracting, yes? T.

That is sooooo sweet! Gidget is just a big puppy herself, right? Look at the chubby butt on Boy 1... lol! T.