tdierikx

*dons flame suit* Keeping dogs in kennels is not necessarily inhumane or completely detrimental to their health or wellbeing. If they are taken out regularly, socialised, and are supplied with sufficient bedding for the weather conditions... many dogs actually do just fine. I'd rather see a dog kenneled where it gets those basic needs met by the staff (and/or volunteers), than in an overcrowded foster situation where a big heart doesn't necessarily equate to having any common sense... and yes, there are quite a few rescues whose foster carers fall under that category... It's not as simple as saying kennels are "bad" and foster carers are "good"... it actually comes down to whether the individual animal needs are met sufficiently to deem it rehomable to the general public. *removes flame suit* All that said, kenneling any animal for literally years would probably raise some alarm bells for me as to the adoptability of the animal in question. T.

Huge hugs for you and the Little Red Man DD... T.

Pudden is waiting for the guts to fall out... lol! T.

This one ticked me off a little when I was the one taking photos for our rescue... PetRescue grabbed a few of mine for their own purposes... one in particular was used to promote their pet foster thing, which peed me off that they hadn't even let me know that it was going to be used for that purpose. Seriously contemplated putting a watermark copyright on my photos after that... grrr! T.

We get calls from so many types of people about foxes... the largest number are from hunters who have shot the parents and can't bring themselves to deal with the now orphaned kits... *sigh* T.

So explain what you are saying - have I been conned by believing that its better to go through a rescue group? All of the foster carers I've met [hundreds of them] have been awesome and they have had training and support from their group admins ,they work with trainers and are highly skilled or being trained with support . To some extent, yes... with the rise in the number of pop-up "save them all at any cost" rescues in recent years, it can be pot luck picking a rescue group that does all the things necessary to have the best outcome for the dogs they "save" from the pound system. There ARE some incredible and well established rescues out there that fully support their carers and other staff (SSR, Paws, for example), but they are fast being outnumbered by those whose processes leave something to be desired. Then we have organisations like the RSPCA NSW (the original "rescue group" if you will)... who run pretty much exactly like most pounds (with the inclusion of their dodgy "temperament testing")... and Joe Public also see that model to be perfectly acceptable to source a pet from... I've also met many foster carers in my travels, and quite frankly, there have been some that I wouldn't entrust with the care of a stuffed toy... sad but true... *sigh* I stand by my observation and experience in actually being someone who has taken dogs straight from the pound for a rescue, that a good majority of dogs from said pounds would be perfectly fine adopted straight from the pound by a general member of the public. Demonising the pound system and inferring that all of the animals in them are somehow "broken" and in need of all sorts of work is just wrong. We need to re-educate the public that there ARE perfectly adoptable animals in pounds across this country... rescue cannot save them all, so pounds DO need to step up and at least make a concerted effort to have adoptable animals advertised properly so that they have the same chances as those taken in by rescue. I've been a foster carer (for more than one group), met plenty of other foster carers, and worked with the pound system to source animals for my rescue group... the reality is NOT what the PR (public relations) machine will have you believe. T.

Osha was the sole survivor when her little family was hit by a truck. The truck driver was so upset that he actually drove 12 hours to bring her to the rescue for help. She suffered a pretty bad knock to the head, so has a couple of neurological issues that mean that she isn't as agile as the others (she doesn't climb or jump up on things), but she's otherwise perfectly healthy and is accepted just fine by the rest of the group. She's a funny little thing really... very food driven... and as a result is a bit on the chubby side as well... lol! But those eyes just make me melt... such pretty eyes... and her colouring is divine. One of my boys has similar eyes... dark and soulful... *sigh* T.

Rock and a hard place, yes? T.

I get that a heck of a lot of dogs come straight from pounds to foster homes and that a heck of a lot of them are perfectly lovely well temperamented and healthy dogs from the get go but that dosent change the fact that these dogs leave foster care with a more intense assessment How is it possible to be as sure that there is no issue or to have a better view of what type of family best suits it if you are assessing a dog in a pound setting? Don't forget that many foster carers are no more qualified in assessing dog temperaments than the Average Joe either... *grin* Highly experienced foster carers are few and far between... T.

It's to do with colour vision in low light conditions Kirislin... the slit allows more light in over the spectrum apparently. Osha has the prettiest eyes I reckon... all dark and soulful... ... and Snow gives the best hairy eyeball... lol! T.

Are they using 1080 baits perse? Personally, I'd rather trap than have them die the slow and painful death 1080 gives them... and 1080 is deadly up the food chain, so anything predating on the corpses will die too... *sigh* There's no easy answer, is there? I reckon shooting is probably the most humane method out there... and most remote farmers are very good shots... T.

Let's get real here... a heck of a lot of dogs in rescue foster homes have come straight from a pound... and a heck of a lot of those are perfectly lovely dogs from the get go. The notion that pound dogs are any more likely to be problems of one sort or another is actually a bit of a myth. Fair enough that some may be naughty teens that need a little bit of discipline/obedience training... or just a bit more attention than their previous owners may have been able to give them... I can say from experience in selecting quite a number of dogs from a few Sydney pounds, that I probably saw about 1-2% of that number needing anything more than a stable home life and able to spend more time with their fave humans. Yes - I fostered puppies, but that was not the only job I had with the rescue. I selected many adult pound dogs over the years to take into our rescue. T.

Lewin... Drogon... Their winter coats are nearly in, so they are extra soft and cuddly... and they love their cuddles! T.

Lewin also likes to slide down his slippery dip... lol! T.

... they play almost exlusively together too... T.

Lewin (left), and Drogon are best buddies... nawww... T.

Fair cop about the trapping... but possibly a bit less nasty than dying of mange, distemper, or starvation? I hope you have a clean line of sight of him when he next shows up, and you can end his suffering quickly. Note that now is when they are out and about mating... sightings may be more numerous at this time... and from August, they will be out looking for extra food due to having litters to care for. T.

Camouflage puppy! T.

Don's face says... "I is Don - I is luvs my hooman!" Smoke has gorgeous eyes, doesn't he? T.

From my experience selecting dogs from a few pounds for the rescue I was with, I'd say that there are a very high number of dogs in pounds that are perfectly fine to adopt straight from the pound... the number of real problem dogs is actually fairly low... but that's just been my experience in selecting maybe a couple of hundred pound dogs over a few years... I'd be more worried about what diseases the animals may come with straight out of the pound actually... and/or any health issues that may need to be addressed (teeth, ears, eyes, coat, heart issues, etc) T.

Before the advent of organised rescue, that's exactly how it was done... *grin* In all seriousness though... there are good and bad rescues, and basically with some, you'd be better off adopting an unknown straight from a pound... T.

OMG... a tiny package of near perfection... so pretty! T.

Wow! Zuri is growing so fast now! ... and Enzi looks so much like his cousin Sudi at Taronga... lol! T.

Do you ever trap the foxes perse? The hungry, ill, and slow ones are usually easy to catch and dispatch using a cage trap loaded with giblets. Good boy Don... you did your best.... T.

Purty!! T.