tdierikx

Charitable organisations are RSPCA, Animal Welfare League, and the Cat Protection Society - those are the ones with the powers to "enforce" the Act (POCTAA). I'm loving some of the terms of reference... shit is gonna hit the fan if they do the investigations right... sweeeet!!! Basically, it's a "do as we say, not as we do" situation there... Hmmmm... YES!!!! T.

Simple etiquette dictates removing (read pick it up and dispose of in a rubbish receptacle) any mess your animal makes in a public area... those who think it's OK to leave it lying there for others to "enjoy" only make it more difficult for those who do do the right thing. This is why there are so few areas we are allowed to take our pets... *sigh* As for allowing cats to roam... I'm definitely not a fan of that at all. Why get a pet if you are just going to have it rack off all over the neighbourhood instead of enjoying it at your own place? Please keep them on your own property... it's a dangerous world out there for roaming pets. T.

Nice work @HunterDoggy!!! T.

Bonnie is pretty reasonable... get from Petbarn or the like. T.

Vebo crates have a slide out tray at the bottom... https://www.vebopet.com.au/dog/crates-and-cages/ Just thinking of logistics here... does the dog get aggressive as soon as he sees food? Do you need to have him contained prior to the food appearing, or can you place it in a crate/enclosure, then let him at it? Does he settle down after the food is gone, making it easy for you to just let him out and then clean? T.

Sounds like a decent plan... works for the big cats I've worked with, so why not for a dog? I'm assuming he can't be near anyone when food is around at all? That must be so hard on you and your family... T.

Salmon bones are usually very easy to chew up and don't shatter like normal bones... I'd say as long as your dog tends to chew it's food, then I'd leave the bones in... T.

I've found that there are not so many oodle types in the pound system (around Sydney anyways)... more likely to be the not so popular crossbred or bull breed backyard types that were cute when tiny pups, but have grown larger and become more destructive/naughty as their novelty wore off and they were banished to the back yard. Most of those are unchipped also. Funnily enough, most of the puppy farmed types are chipped - but whether or not the details have been entered or updated can be questionable. I'm not a fan of poorly bred animals just for the sake of making money... but I really haven't seen as many of the popular mixes in the pounds here. I do see plenty of them visiting the vet clinic I have vet nursing work placement at... and despite any ongoing genetically or congenitally linked issues, their owners are generally more likely to bend over backwards to make sure little fluffy is well cared for. T.

Possibly a reaction to internal stitches? I've seen it happen... T.

Kangaroo is high protein, low fat... I find I need to feed my dogs a lot more of it as oppsed to other meats in order to keep weight on them. My dogs have cast iron guts though... T.

Definitely! If the cause is a torsion or intussusception, then the longer you wait, the more of your dog's intenal gastric tract can die off, leading to very aggressive surgery to remove large portions of same... or death if not treated asap. If you even suspect bloat in your dog... vet asap... don't wait! T.

I'll be there around 9ish, OK? T.

Is this sunday good for you @asal? T.

Would you like me to come out with my whipper snipper @asal? We can clear any longer grass to deter the wrigglies from visiting the dogs... T.

Bonnie or Connie @asal? Thank dog she's OK! T.

That IS good customer service! Lucky Jeune to have you as her mum... T.

Nawww.... looks like she found herself a friend... lol! T.

Have you been showing your boy at all? That would give you the networking and kudos for good wins that may be required to get him out there and recognised as desirable by others... Unfortunately hiring your dog out as a stud isn't as easy as just advertising for him to get "dates with the ladies"... T.

OMG!!! Such precious little souls... I think kisses all around are warranted... from Aunty Tracey of course! (and from all their other DOL aunties and uncles to... just for good measure methinks... lol!) Always happy to have a good research session if Madeline needs me to @yellowgirl... she's just too precious for words! Hugs to you also for all she's put you through these past few weeks... T.

Fingers crossed Madeline has now stablised enough to not require any more intrusive tests. You may be looking at regular PCV tests to keep an eye on the anaemia, but maybe if she's stable enough, they can be spaced further apart now... Keep an eye on the weight gain... we don't want a chubby girl if she has a heart murmur... her heart will be working hard enough, yes? Also, as long as the anaemia is identified as a regenerative type, then outlook is much better in the long run - her body is doing all the right things to regenerate the cells, she may be healing herself, albeit slowly... the Gabapentin can have 2 aims, anti-seizure and pain relief, so hopefully it will help keep her stable while her own body does the amazing healing things bodies do when faced with situations like this. I think Madeline might need a few more cuddles from me please... T.

@yellowgirl - has your vet run full bloods? Checking for potassium, calcium, ALP, glucose, etc? Results from those can give a clearer indication of whether we are looking at Addison's. I was chatting to our farm vet yesterday during his weekly visit, and he said to look for elevated potassium, glucose, and ALP for a more definite indication of Addison's. He originally said the wobbles could have been from a TIA, and that the enlarged adrenals (depending on how enlarged of course) and heart murmur could also be age related. I told him the blood (haematocrit) results, and he said overall they weren't life-threateningly scary at this point, but still of concern. He advises full bloods and follow-up haematocrit (PCV) a week after the original bloods to see if any positive changes have occurred since being on the Gabapentin. The other possibility for the strange blood test results could be an underlying infectious agent... slim chance, but still a possibility. How is sweet Madeline doing so far? T.

T4 will be elevated most times if there is a pituitary issue... if the thyroid itself is normal (as I found out with my own... errr!) My own thyroid was on the way out, but blood tests kept saying all hormone levels (TSH and T4 specifically) were within normal ranges - because my silly pituitary gland was taking up the slack and doing the work for the ailing thyroid... lol! So far all my looking up stuff is trying to point to Addison's Disease (hypoadrenocorticism) ... can't really get past the enlarged adrenals... *sigh*... and the liver spots may be a part of the same package there... Anyways - if you promise to not get scared or go off the beaten path... here is the website that I primarily use to look up animal related medical test results... it's also very reputable, OK? http://eclinpath.com/chemistry/chemistry-quick-guide/ Just remember to look at the results for whatever type of test that has been run, or you'll get sidetracked... errr! Please give Miss Madeline a cuddle and kiss from me, OK? T.

Hmmm... what meds has the vet given Madeline @yellowgirl? Prednisolone? Was she on any other medications prior to this episode? Has the vet tested for pituitary gland function? Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia doesn't normally present with enlarged adrenals from what I'm reading... but different presentations can be indicative of underlying causes. ie: the adrenal enlargement could be the primary cause for the other symptoms and test results I'll do some more investigations after work, OK? Can't have too many heads working on getting Madeline better, can we? T.

I've always been very interested in animal health @yellowgirl... and am currently studying vet nursing at TAFE (vet science is a bit out of my price range unfortunately). My reckoning is that the anaemia is going to be the definitive symptom that leads to diagnosis of whatever is going on with Madeline, plus the new onset heart murmur (which may be a result of said anaemia). I look at symptom lists as being a sort of multiple choice list of things that can be a result of any particular disease - the more symptoms from the list that are displayed, the more obvious the diagnosis - but certainly not all symptoms are required for the disease/condition to be the cause. Does that make sense? Hopefully the vet will have a diagnosis and a treatment plan for sweet Madeline soon... T.

Please give little Max a hug from all his DOL aunties and uncles @shirra... let's hope his issues have either abated, or been treated... T.