tdierikx

No placings for any of my photos - but I must say there were plenty of completely awesome photos there, and the ones that did place were stunning... there are some amazingly talented people out there! The upside for me was that at least my photos didn't look out of place amongst the other entries... *grin* ... and there's always next year... I got me a few ideas from looking at all of the other entries, and will be out snapping away to try and get me something super special for next year's entry... T.

We had a photo shoot with the little terrors this afternoon - currently downloading the few I managed to get - will post the ones that turned out a bit later... I think I got a couple of nice ones of Petey for you huntrox... *grin* T.

There can be a balance between the needs of a potential adopter and the needs of a rescue dog - but how would some rescues even know that if they don't respond to their emails in a reasonably timely manner? If your preferred contact method is via email, then answer them... it's not rocket science... Sure - I get a bit narked when a potential adopter throws me a one line email asking a question that seems inane, or could have been answered had they read the dog's profile properly - not to mention that our group's preferred contact method is by phone... but I still respond to the emails... we have actually found a few dogs some mighty nice homes from emails that seemed stupid or "unsuitable" at first reading. Some rescues have a cover-all questionnaire to fill out in application to adopt any of their dogs, then when a potential adopter may have not answered one or more of the questions with the "correct" answer, they are automagically ineligible to adopt ANY dog from that organisation. To me that seems a little stiff - not every dog is going to have the exact same requirements to be happy, safe, and much loved by the people applying to adopt it... T.

Our farm dog used to eat the strangest things - anything that even resembled human food was the most highly prized however... until the day mum cooked what she called a "surprise casserole"... We kids looked at what was served up on our plates and weren't very inclined to eat it, so we offered it to the dog... he looked at it, sniffed it, then racked off into the yard and wouldn't come back until we took the plates back inside. We refused to eat it too... and mum has never lived it down... lol! T.

I've had bitches that happily stood for the male throughout the entire period - and others that wouldn't have anything to do with a male after a successful tie... possibly like us, they are all different? T.

I've never entered a formal photo comp of any description before... I look at my photos as "happy snaps" mostly, and some are nice more due to luck than good management. Some friends keep telling me that I seem to manage to get more decent photos than bad ones, so it will be nice to see if complete strangers think the same... *grin* T.

You could ring the pound... T.

Well said Anne! T.

Photo comp was judged today - now I have to go to the show either tomorrow or Saturday to see how I went... T.

Awww... very cute indeed! T.

Sorry I didn't get any pics today huntrox - it was chilly and raining so we couldn't get the babies out and running about in the grass - and the covered area they were out in kinda got a little messy after I'd wormed them all... errr! You really don't need to see pics with that in the background... and they were doing a lot of it. Good news is they didn't/don't have worms... lol! The forecast for the next 2 days is "mostly sunny", so I'll try to get you some nice shots of Petey, OK? You want some of him playing with the larger breed pups we have (Timmy, Fern, and Willow) - he loves romping with them, even though they are all at least triple his size... *grin*... Willow and Fern are actually 2 days younger than Petey's litter, but they are MUCH bigger - all legs and feet... Dead set - these pups simply have no fear, and want to meet and play with everyone and everything! and I swear they are getting better looking every day too... simply stunning little guys in every respect - we are so proud of them. T.

Awwww!!! That's my little tank... such a handsome little man! He's definitely thriving with you Leanne... T.

Well - I foster for rescue - and I'm positive that quite a few rescues would knock me back for an adoption based on some of the questionnaires I've seen out there... never had any complaints from people who have adopted any of my fosters though, so I might just be doing something right... *grin* Whilst I agree that we are all trying to find the best homes possible for our charges, sometimes the application process can be a little too rigorous, and in some cases, downright intrusive. Every dog is different. Their needs, their health status, their upkeep, etc, is different - a simple conversation either by phone, in person, or via email should give one a reasonable idea about the potential adopter and whether they are a viable match for a dog you have in care. If you don't have the people skills, time, or energy to interact with potential adopters, then maybe rescue is the wrong "job" for you. Every bad application/adoption experience tars us ALL with the same brush, remember... T.

I've always looked at the individual dog and based my food/treat choices on the "what could he/she catch, kill, and eat by him/herself" - anything too big on that scale is simply not fed. I tend to go for chicken, turkey, roo, or lamb based foods/treats, and avoid beef like the plague... and I rarely see nasty poops unless it's worming time... *grin* T.

I've had to assist a few dogs with "danglies" - one was someone else's dog at the park even. The poor boy was getting rather distressed and his owner (and others) were just standing there laughing at him, which wasn't lowering his distress levels - so I just whipped out a poo bag and helped it out gently... the dog wanted to come home with me then... lol! It took both I and my flatmate to hold down my 5 month old Rotti boy when he'd eaten a corner of the carpet and it was coming out in long strands which he was having trouble passing - he didn't appreciate the process, but he was pretty relieved in the end... Pickles gets "help" from me on regular occasions - when I can catch her that is... with her neurological issues, she can't always feel the danglies there and will run around playing as if nothing is wrong - and quite frankly I don't want them wiping off on the couch or my bed thank you very much! T.

Stunning! You and their mummy look to be doing a great job there... nice healthy and good looking pups you have there. You know that you have now committed to posting photos of them at least weekly from now until they go to new homes, don't you? Can't wait to see them running about and playing... T.

Fern and Willow are now officially up for adoption - listed on PetRescue this morning... Willow - http://www.petrescue.com.au/view/150084 Fern - http://www.petrescue.com.au/view/150085 I think we may have a few appointments to see them on the weekend... *grin* T.

I've listed Timmy on PetRescue this morning... http://www.petrescue.com.au/view/150083 I have a sneaking feeling that the phone will be ringing off the hook today... T.

What a stunning lad! He's going to be a very handsome boy when he's finished growing into those legs and ears... T.

When we have people coming to look at a particular dog, we also have a few others lined up ready for viewing also - based on the potential adopter's initial phone conversation. If the original dog doesn't suit, at least they can view other options in case one does click with them. It's amazing how many people will come to look at one dog, but eventually decide that a dog of a different breed or size works better for them. Even if they leave without a dog, at least they are happy that we spent the time to try to match them with a dog that would fit into their lifestyle - and we don't try to force dogs on anyone - that only leads to unsuitable matches. One problem that rears it's ugly head regularly in rescue is that while most people in rescue are great with animals, they sometimes lack people skills... T.

You're the bestest Cosmolo! T.

Timmy is doing fine after his surgery yesterday... and he has some very spiffy BRIGHT PINK bandages on his back legs where his dewclaws had to be removed... lol! Poor boy is deaf - not blind - I'm sure he'll end up with a complex having to wear PINK bandages... hehe! T.

No problems Hollys mummy - I only met Sage one time, but I was there for a good few hours and saw how she interacted with the rest of the pack - even when I brought out the big bag of treats and had them all sitting patiently waiting to be served theirs... I can't see anything wrong with how you've advertised her on PetRescue - it's factual and based on your interactions with her whilst she's been living with you - there is nothing I would call negative about the information given. So far I reckon you are doing all the right things. T.

Hahaha! I'm up this early every day - even on weekends... T.

Gotta love happy endings... *grin* (is that something in my eye?) T.