tdierikx

She looks more like Isla Fisher to me... T.

*giggle* I've been tempted to do that myself... T.

I've noticed that those who prefer large "tough" looking dogs, and make nasty comments about small dogs, are usually trying to compensate for their lack of something... predominately either brains or balls... lol! T.

It takes a REAL man to own (or be owned by) a SWF... *grin* T.

Definitely get it checked by a vet - if he has a UTI then he's going to start getting very uncomfortable very soon. My brother's Lab even went off his food when he had a UTI... poor baby... T.

I used to feel the same way about little dogs... then I got involved in rescue and learned how lovely most of them are... I'm quickly becoming a convert. Seriously though, I prefer a larger dog to share my life with - much more of them to cuddle... *grin* T.

Awww... it definitely is moments like that which make your heart sing and feel that he's going to be OK eventually. Keep up the great work Jakey! T.

Zeddy hates her feet being touched, but finally at 12 years old, she will grudgingly let me trim her nails - used to be she would only allow her favourite vet to do it. I now just walk up to her while she's lounging on the couch and take her paw and clip the nails - no hesitation is the key here - she doesn't like it, but won't mouth me any more. It's as though she's finally worked out that the more she plays up, the longer it's going to take... *grin* T.

Lipomas are fairly common in older dogs - my oldest girl has a few of them... and like Riley, she just stands and lats the vet do the biopsies on any new ones. Well.. she does give them kisses while they do it... They are really easy to diagnose from the biopsy too - the dye won't stick to the tissue/sample when they put it on the slide - takes about 10 minutes to get the all clear and some liver treats... *grin* T.

Hang in there Jakey boy... your fan club are crossing everything for a full recovery... Healing licks and "woo-woos" from my girls to make you feel better... T.

My Zeddy (Rotti/Pittie cross) is 12, plays nice at dog parks with dogs of all sizes and shapes, and helps me with my rescue foster pups - she is also very gentle and tolerant with children... T.

I have seen first hand some cases of cruelty that I wouldn't share photos of... but photos of the same dog happy and healthy AFTER treatment and rehabilitation with a few words to describe what treatment and rehabilitation was needed should suffice. Our rescue does take photos of the cruelty cases we get on entry - many never get aired as they can traumatise others - but we need them for our records, especially if the dog needs long term care to rehabilitate. What never ceases to amaze me is the happy and friendly nature of so many dogs that have had humans do bad things to them... so trusting... it chokes you up knowing what they have been through and still manage to have trust in humans. As for activists posting graphic images all over the internet... well... some of those images are manufactured too. Some people will do just about anything to get others to join their cause... grrr! T.

You told her to call Dr Chris??? Oh man I hope she doesnt. That would be the blind leading the blind. She'll just bat her eyelids and ask him to take his shirt off. That's what I'd do... *grin*... Wouldn't let him treat my dogs though... T.

Good luck getting media help - they are the bloody ones who started this stupid hysteria in the first place... grrr! As for the politicians who drove this law through parliament as a knee jerk reaction to a tragic event caused by ONE rogue dog - I have no words fit to air on a public forum... I can see VCAT getting a right hammering with all of the bull breed owners challenging orders made under this new law. T.

I tried to keep my letter as non-hysterical as possible... I hope she doesn't read the Oscar's Law website... some of the people involved in that are scary! As for the personal stuff doing the airwaves about Julia Gillard... all I can say she must be one thick skinned woman to be able to get out of bed each day to face more of it - with stuff all support from the bastards that shunted her into the position. Wouldn't want that job for quids! T.

My letter started as follows... "With the current media announcements that you are adopting a "Spoodle" puppy, may I offer both congratulations on deciding to add a dog to the family - and some regret that by choosing a "designer" bred dog, you may be inadvertently popularising a breed that is known to be "farmed" for the pet market. As a volunteer for a rescue group in Sydney, I have had the sad experience of having to help rehabilitate ex puppy farm dogs that have been used for breeding crosses such as a "Spoodle" - and while I am sure that you and Mr Mathieson have chosen a breeder who may not mass produce puppies for sale - please be aware that for those who may follow your lead and may now want a "Spoodle" puppy, their pups (most likely to be bought from pet shops) may not be bred as lovingly as yours. If it is not too late, may I please ask you to reconsider your choice, and maybe look into adopting a rescue dog instead? So many totally lovely and healthy dogs in Australia end up in pounds and shelters annually, and the rescue community is doing their utmost to save and rehome as many of these animals as possible - with no funding or assistance other than recouping the cost involved to desex them" I didn't mention that I don't vote Labor... lol! T.

All of the Rottis I've ever had have been complete lounge lizards... given the choice between a comfy couch or the back yard, they preferred to laze on the couch... and I've had several Rottis over the years. My Lab, on the other hand, was hell on wheels until she turned 5 and started to calm down. PP are you home a lot, or are you away from home for several hours a day? I work, so my dogs are kept inside (in areas they can't do much damage to) with plenty of toys and stuff to keep them occupied while I'm out. You could consider a large crate or the like if your girl is causing issues with the neighbours too... T.

Great idea! I'll send one this arvy. I just sent one too... T.

I'm sure I could rustle up a Cavalier/Poodle pup from a bitch rescued from a puppy farm... at least the rescue pups will have had a much better start to life than what she's looking at getting... *sigh* T.

Gypsy is a Mini Foxy X... Caspar - Staffy X ACD... Dutch - AmStaff... need to ask KnucklesDutchnUs for permission if you want to use his photo - and they may be able to furnish a photo of him now he's grown up... Buster - Staffy X Kelpie... Zeddy - Rotti/Pittie... T.

We had a mini pig piglet in rescue last year - he played well with some Shih Tzu cross pups we had at the time, and slept snuggled up with a Cavalier at night... T.

The breeder should have the first right to rehome the dog. It's not ethical to try to make more money on a purebred dog. I don't see it as "unethical" to rehome a pure breed dog for more than a crossbreed if it comes into rescue... as long as you don't expect to charge the same as a breeder does for their dogs. An extra $100 or so can be used for so many other things for other dogs in care. There is an area for comments about the dog when entering microchip info on the NSW CAR chip database - in Pickles' case, we put in that she has an unsteady gait due to a brain injury... just in case someone picked her up and took her to a vet for unnecessary procedures due to her funny walking style (ie. they thought she'd been hit by a car and hurt). I don't see why details like "contact breeder xyz on abc in case of surrender" can't be added in... or something like "breeder rehoming contract in force, contact xyz on abc in case of surrender or stray situation" T.

If our rescue gets in a pure breed dog where the breeder detail is known, we call/contact them first - if they decline, then we desex and rehome ourselves. It's a simple courtesy after all... We also contact the breed clubs if we have a pure breed dog in rescue that needs rehoming - most clubs are great for helping find the right home for the dog. We have also passed on certain breed dogs to their specific breed rescue group. T.

I have used peppermint oil with good effect before... put a drop on the collar (not on the skin side) and it has a calming effect on the anxious dogs that get sick. T.

I know of at least one Sydney pound that scans on surrender - and if there is any discrepancy with the chip detail and the person doing the surrender, the dogs stay at the pound in question until the rightful person is contacted - they are not available for adoption or rescue until the issue is sorted. Our rescue had our name on 2 crossbreeds where this was the case - we couldn't take them until the co-owner on the chip had signed them over as well. As for rescue or a shelter charging more for a pure breed dog - I'm not averse to that myself. We've had pure breed dogs at our rescue on occasion, and even though we might have a lot of other dogs available for adoption, the phones always ring off the hook for anything that looks pure. People love a "bargain"... *sigh* Oh - and being second contact on the chip doesn't designate ownership... I'm always second contact on my friends' dogs - purely so that there are more possibilities for contact if the dog is lost. T.