tdierikx

Bloody hell... that's scary! T.

Thanks Ruffles. grizabella - the marmosets and tamarins were very tricky to capture in movement as their enclosures are not under the best light - but as you can see, they slow down some when they are eating... lol! They are really small too - the pygmy marmoset was about 5-6cm tall... John (the owner of Symbio) says they are also going to get lemurs soon too... yay! And a new reptile section with more exhibits... and they are going to change/move some of the older exhibits to newer digs. I really love how most of the animals are actually interested in human interaction. The cockatoos will fly over to the sides of their enclosures and chatter away to you, as will the blue-winged kookaburras, and most of the other birds too - not the eagles fortunately... err! Even the cassowary seemed reasonably friendly, but was in an area that was hard to get photos of him. They have a couple of albino peacocks too (all the peacocks roam free) - and an albino echidna. If you are in Sydney, a visit to Symbio is a must... it's small and can be seen in a couple of hours, or you can just relax and take it all in at your own leisure without missing anything in a single day. I started by walking around the whole place and getting my bearings first, then wandered back to the ones I wanted more/better pics of... although the marmoset and tamarin ones were taken on my first trip around when they were eating and easier to get in focus... lol! I swapped the long lens for the shorter one for a while, and my camera felt REALLY light - it was strange... lol! T.

Thanks Kirislin! T.

It was awesome! I got to cuddle a few animals... I kissed one of the goats (I'm a bit of a goat fan), patted a few kangaroos, took LOTS of pics... I was really impressed at the tiger enclosure... it's almost THE perfect setup for getting great photos... T.

Ummm... now let me huess who the piggy puppy is... lol! What a porker! They are getting cuter by the day! T.

Well - I finally got myself down to Symbio Zoo today... and got some nice pics... *grin* They have very cute little Marmosets and Tamarins, Meerkats, Koalas, various birds, and a few reptiles... AND you can go in with and pat and feed Kangaroos, Emus, Alpacas, etc! AND they have TIGERS!! They have a really awesome Tiger viewing area... heaps better than the setup at Taronga even! If you want great pics of Tigers, get thee to Symbio Zoo and rock up for the 12:30 feeding and keeper talk... you won't be disappointed... lots of viewing area and brilliantly set up for getting great photos of the Tigers chowing down on their lunch nice and close! It's a small zoo, so I managed to go around it twice with my camera in under 4 hours... lol! I also got chatting with this gentleman near the Tiger enclosure - and it turns out he owns the place... lol! Nice fellow, and he was explaining their current expansion works and all that... they are going to get some Lions and Cheetahs within the next 12 months, and are building a new Koala breeding sanctuary area as well... someday I may actually get me some pics of Koalas "doing it"... *giggle* I will be a repeat visitor to Symbio... that's for sure! ... here are some of the pics I got today... 31-08-2013-symbio 025 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 102 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 180 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 196 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 676 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 692 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 944 by tdierikx, on Flickr 31-08-2013-symbio 1045 by tdierikx, on Flickr More can be seen here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ T.

Me too! My cousins still live in Clontarf... I don't... lol! T.

Pity they don't allow Cute cross Cuddlehound... 'cos I reckon that's what she really is... *grin* T.

Oh Anna! My heart goes out to you... Run free with the angels little man. T.

I'm actually pretty shocked at the number of people here who have reactive dogs - and are advocating everyone else lock theirs up so they can take them for walks wherever and whenever... Most dogs I have met running loose in my area have been friendly - in some cases way too friendly with anyone and anything approaching them. If I come across a loose dog, I'm likely to knock on it's owner's door and return it to them (in the case of the dog getting out accidentally), or popping them into my car and taking them to the local vet/pound for scanning and return to same. In more cases than not, the dog has been a first time offender in getting out of the yard and has been off having a lovely adventure looking for someone to give them attention/pats. I live in an area where the number of staffy/mixes completely outnumbers any other breed mix, yet we don't seem to have incidents warranting any media (or ranger) attention around here... go figure? T.

The only thing cuter than lambs are goat kids... *grin* T.

Hahaha! Too funny! Sounds like the perfect dog... *grin* T.

Smudgie is looking at Reggie as if she's thinking "I want to be just like my bestie when I grows up... yes I does!" Gorgeous! T.

Is it 100% proven fact that the BT was the one to nip the lady's fingertip off? In the heat of a dog fight, either dog could have caused that sort of damage to a human finger, and JRT's aren't piddly weak biters either... Wouldn't it be interesting if it were her own dog that caused the damage? I suppose we will never know the full story though... T.

Oh dear, please don't tell me the drug dogs are junkies Not junkies - but get a "taste" for the things they are taught to seek out. You should have seen the mangled blocks of hashish a Quarantine trainer friend used to bring to parties - they used to wrap them in hessian bags and give them to the dogs to play with... T.

Kelpie cross GSD cross dog knows what else... there are more than 2 breed mixes in there by the look of her... Can you pass on a cuddle to her from me... she sure is cute! T.

Awww... is he as doofy as he looks? T.

You'd be amazed at some of the training techniques I've seen with drug sniffer dogs... *grin* T.

A lot of people would be shocked to hear how often rescues have to euthanaise pups/dogs they take into care... not all rescues believe in rehoming everything with a pulse regardless of any issues. T.

They are aware that rat lungworm also affects dogs, yes? T.

From the Police website... Latest Media Releases Woman bitten in dog attack Thursday, 29 August 2013 02:00:17 PM A woman was bitted by a dog in Pyrmont yesterday, suffering a severed finger tip. About 7.00am, (Wednesday 28 August 2013), an 80-year-old woman was walking her dog along Pyrmont Bridge Road, when it attacked a smaller dog, running around the park off its leash. The 43-year-old female owner of the smaller dog attempted to separate the dogs, when her finger was mauled by the larger dog. Police witnessed the dog attack and responded immediately and separated the dogs. The woman was taken to hospital for surgery. The larger dog remains under the control of Sydney City Council. Leichhardt Police continue to investigate the incident with Sydney City Council. ...... No mention of either dogs' breed... Can I ask how a dog "mauled" a single finger? In all fairness, one's finger can be badly bitten - and even severed - when one puts one's hands into the middle of a dog fight... but "mauled"... ?? Interesting to note that it only categorically states that the smaller dog was offlead - no mention of the larger dog being offlead or which dog was the aggressor... only the outcome for the woman's finger. What happened to the smaller dog? Did it go to the vet? T.

I'm starting to think that a partial cause for all of the nuf nuf behaviour when dogs are out is the fact that they are becoming increasingly unwelcome in a lot of places - being relegated to certain "dog" areas like dog parks... which are fairly few and far between in a lot of areas, so can get very crowded at "popular" times. A lot of people just don't bother trying to find dog friendly areas to take their dogs with them on outings because they are so scarce nowadays. And so, many dogs become extremely excited when they finally do get to go out anywhere - because they don't get out as often as they should... and people don't take them out as often as they should because of all the restrictions, and the cycle continues... T.

I never doubted that for a moment... the pound is legally obligated to do as much, and would have been in some serious trouble if the rescue's version of events was true. T.

I, too, find it quite extraordinary that someone who has admitted they have become too frigtened to walk their dogs should be told to get over it. I'm still shaking from an experience this evening whereby a large dog rushed the fence of a children's playground while I walked past with my five little dogs. The dog was illegally in the playground (notices on all gates) and there were only two small children in the playground with the dog. A young boy had the dog by the collar trying to hold him (no lead of course) and the boy was being dragged along the ground by the dog. The boy was not harmed, was grinning his head off and obviously thought the whole thing a great lark. I was terrified that the gates might not be secure. I am in the process of writing to the council. For the bolded bit, the sensible approach... way to go DD! T.

I think that when some people have had a couple (or a few) negative experiences it may make them subconsciously more tense when out and about with their dogs... and their dogs WILL pick up on that tension... I'm more likely to set out with mine for an enjoyable wander and go with the flow. What's the point in taking your dogs out for a walk when it's not enjoyed fully by either of you because you fear what may happen along the way? That sounds more like torture for the both of you than any form of exercise or a nice outing. You may as well stay at home and find some other positive way to stimulate your dog... I have big dogs, so maybe I'm just not seeing it the same way as those who have smaller types - but really, why do it if it's so bloody traumatic for you all the time? Also - while it's great to come to a place like this and vent about how bad things are, DOL can't actually do anything to lessen the problem... to do that you need to complain to those who CAN do something about the problem... over and over until they get off their arses and do something about it. Squeaky wheel gets the oil, right? T.