Pailin

This would be a good option EXCEPT the last time I tried that, with an extremely emaciated but very sweet dog they basically, and very bluntly, told me that once I handed the dog over to them it was none of my business. They even refused to let me know the outcome when I rang up a couple of days later wondering what had happened to him and I was very understanding of the possibility that he may have been PTS due to health concerns surrounding his appalling state....they simply refused to tell me anything and told me to mind my own business. I would like to put my name down for him- he really touched me and I really did feel a strong connection to him, however my own fences are in need of repair at the moment- awaiting my landlord (my girl is not a wanderer and has no interest in escape thankfully), I could not afford his adoption fee and I have a feeling that he is too high an energy dog and we wouldn't be able to accomodate his obvious high exercise needs.

This would be my worry. The local pound is the RSPCA Dakabin, 3 days is their holding period I think and I am not sure how he would go with their temp test. On the one hand he is very skittish and nervous but on the other hand he is a big love bug once he settles with you and he is a "breed" that is generally viewed as rehomable.

We are residential, not too close to the major roads but there is a lot of local traffic in the area.

There is a dog in our neighbourhood that is ALWAYS out wandering. It used to be two dogs, one Border Collie mix and another Staffy- Bull breed type mix and when approached the staffy type would charge at you growling which was intimidating and prevented me from catching either of them. The collie on the other hand is very nervous and submissive... Anyhow I noticed the BC out by himself quite a lot recently, have no idea what happened to the other dog, so today as I was pulling up at home after dropping the kids at school I noticed he was out AGAIN and I had the time to coax him to me (the border collie). He seems to be a lovely dog once he realised that I wasn't a threat and absolutely basked in some pats and rub downs. He has a collar on but no tags, which given how frequently he escapes seems bloody slack on the owners part, and he is absolutely infested with fleas. HUGE freaking fleas. I felt so bad for him I was seriously tempted to bath him but instead I asked my neighbour if she knew what house he came from and I walked him home. There was nobody home when I got there but the gate was WIDE open- nothing wrong with it just looks like someone has opened it or left it open, and there was another gate, a double gate, that was obviously his usual escape route as they had tried to nail it shut with a board and had a bit of chicken wire in front of it trying to block the gap from where he pushes it open. Even at a glance you could tell it was completely ineffectual. I popped the dog in, shut the 2 bolts on the good gate, tried to shut the other gates gap as much as possible and left a note on their door letting them know that I found and returned him and that I would be surrendering him to the pound next time I found him out and to please treat his flea infestation (bossy/rude/judgmental I know but it was BAD- I haven't seen one that bad in a long time). Not even an hour later he is at my front door all waggily bummed. This time he definitely escaped through the double gate gap where it was sagging open, I am fairly sure he pushes it until the gap is big enough and the simply jumps over the chicken wire mesh (that would only be hip height). So I grabbed some zip ties that I have laying around, walked him home and zip tied the gate shut at the middle. Seems to have done the trick, no amount of pushing will make it gap and it was a simple solution. Now should I report this to the council? The inadequate fencing? They really need to fix their fence and should definitely have tags on him at least? If I see him out again should I return him or stick to my threat and surrender him? He is a LOVELY dog, he literally heeled whilst walking off leash when I directed him to and I am a perfect stranger to him...he obviously has a lot of potential. My neighbour has previously spoken to them (gotten into an argument with them) about the dog always being out and whilst there have obviously been attempts at blocking the gap they aren't effectual and the owners know it because I saw the man chasing his dog home not more than a week ago. The dog was out 3 times last week that I saw, I saw him out yesterday and then today twice already. TIA

I actually agree with this to an extent, I would have liked to see the RSPCA trying to work with her to improve the shelter, HOWEVER, we only know from one side's interpretation as to how they were dealt with. How are we to be certain that the RSPCA did not try to get her to improve *this*, cut back on *this* many numbers, comply with *this, this and this* etc and found her to be uncooperative and unwilling to change/bend as it seems many have found her? Add into an already tense mix, Mark Aldridge, with his expectations of special treatment, ranting, antics and passive aggressive, posturing behavior and it set the entire situation into overdrive. How do we know that she passed previous inspections with flying colours? How do we know that she has not been given previous chances to fix the place up and failed to do so until the RSPCA felt they had no choice but to go after her legally? How do we know what the previous inspection reports say about the state of the place? One thing that is abundantly clear is that there is not enough personnel on the property for the number of animals there. This is an absolute no brainer and SHE should be capping her own numbers solely to ensure that the animals already there are getting the care, attention and necessities they need. If it was a puppy farm being run out of Moorook I can guarantee that NO ONE would be happy with the conditions the dogs are living in and people would be screaming for it to be shut down. Just because it is a rescue and not a puppy farm, does not make the conditions any more acceptable than they would be otherwise. It is impossible to fully support either side without first knowing ALL the details. Forming opinions and jumping on bandwagons based solely on the say so of one side is naive and pretty ludicrous.

Not saying that I disagree with the charge but I always thought that to get a Murder conviction, intent to kill has to be proven. I would have thought that Manslaughter would have been the better suited charge to the circumstances.

So adora-bull! My favourite breed, aren't they all just gorgeous and so sweet?! :D

Sometimes you just need to accept that some people will never be open to changing their opinions. I have a mixed breed dog of completely unknown origins. She tends to most often be described as a Bull Arab type and I can truly say that she is a silk purse of unimaginable value. She is amazing.

Do people really think that there were not attacks like this, in equal, similar or higher number even, in the past? I have no statistics to go from but it seems to me that the greater media attention as well as access to international news ect is WHY we know of all these attacks rather than that they are increasing. In the past they likely never got the same coverage, there was no internet to spread the news and the attacks likely DID still happen but only the localised community would have been aware of them. I also have to wonder, if we looked at the actual numbers- How many dogs are owned in Australia, how many of each individual breed, and how many of them actually attack- the percentage would be incredibly low in relation to the sheer number of dogs owned in Australia. I am not saying that that makes this attack ok, it was horrific, BUT more people are injured by other humans, cars, accidents and such than they are by dogs and we need to keep that in mind and not have knee jerk reactions to what is essentially a rare, horrible event. Yes it was preventable, so are the majority of road deaths, and education is certainly something that should be pushed for. Nothing in this life is risk free, we can try and minimise the risks as much as possible but just like we have violent criminals in society, we will occasionally witness aggressive dogs that do severe damage. Whether that is through poor temperament and breeding or through the way in which they are raised. Even eradicating all bull breeds will never solve this issue, another breed will simply take it's place.

How exactly do you explain your behavior in all this? It is one thing to cite transparency and it is entirely another for you to deliberately goad, provoke and harass the people tasked with looking into the allegations (the RSPCA). I have absolutely no vested interest in either side of the "For or Against Moorook" debate, and am viewing this all as an unbiased outsider and I have to say that I have found the way you handled this whole situation appalling. It is my opinion that YOU and your behavior towards the RSPCA are the majority of the reason that Lola was charged with the offenses that she was. Instead of working with them and acknowledging that things needed to be cleaned up and changed and that you would be willing to put the time and effort in to assisting Lola, you made it into a huge oppositional farce and created and "Us vs. Them" mentality....it served no purpose, other than to make things worse, and was certainly NOT in the best interests of the animals for you to behave as you have. You have used this situation to your advantage and as a platform to get media attention, renown and in essence have tried to turn it into the "Mark show". This was evidenced by your behavior to being left out of the loop when the solicitors cancelled the Support day. You acted like a tantrum throwing toddler and your insistence to remain "in control" and still call all the shots about moving it etc without first speaking to Lola or the Legal Team really showed you in a negative light. It highlighted that you were not a team player, that you had no interest in working for the good of Lola and the Shelter unless it also simultaneously benefited you.

I agree that the information needs to be out there. I actually came by this thread after reading the Moorook spiel on FB (that someone had shared) and wanted to see what other information there was about this seemingly compelling story of injustice. Reading here gave me insight, and showed a whole other side to it that prevented me from blindly supporting a lie. For that I thank you all. BUT I question the necessity to engage in pointless arguments with the crazies like that Paul character. It gets no one anywhere. It reminds me of the phrase "Don't argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". I just think that a lot of the drama is unnecessary. Share the information without the drama and arguing and try not to get too drawn into their bizarre behavior.

Snook- Thank you for taking my comments in the way they were intended. :)

I am actually getting worried for you ladies to be honest. I have been quietly following this whole debacle since it first came to light, both here and on FB, and I have to say that I think you all need to take a huge step back and get some perspective. Both here and on FB you have invested a HUGE amount of time, effort and emotion in what is essentially a shit fight to nowhere. What is it going to achieve? What are you actually hoping to gain? This whole situation, as well as your online back and forth slinging fight with the most vocal of the Moorook supporters, has sucked you all in so much that you seem to be completely drawn in and somewhat obsessed with being right about it all. Now at the heart of it, I do tend to agree with your "side", but seeing the amount of posts and rubbish, both here and on FB, I cannot help but wonder how much time you are investing in this campaign against Mark and Moorook.You have all said your piece. You have all made a LOT of sense but now you seem to be so sucked into the arguments and drama of it all that you are being dragged down to their level. I am genuinely not trying to be disrespectful to any of you, but having just read some of the arguments on the "Moorook Animal Shelter- the facts, the hype and the truth" FB page and I was pretty shocked at how BOTH sides of the argument were coming across. You don't need to play this one up game. Let the facts and your information stand for itself without the antics because it is making you all come across as overzealous, and nearly as damn nutty as the other side. Please try and take a step back and look at if this is actually worth it. Sometimes walking away from arguments is the more mature way to go and it would save you all considerable time and stress to simply put your information out there and realise that people will either believe it or not, at their own discretion, and that the incessant arguing, bickering and general nastiness is not going to accomplish anything. Let the facts and the court case prove this for you. Best Wishes.

FFS- someone needs to remind the egotistical twat that Lola's future depends on this, it is not his political platform! He keeps saying it is all about the animals but he is throwing a tantrum like an attention seeking little toddler, all but screaming "It's all about me!" Lola needs to act fast and distance herself from this wanker before his antics land her in freaking jail (possible exaggeration but you get the point.) He has already done enough damage to their so called "cause" with his bullshit, immature behavior.

It is all just a massive ego stroke for that guy! I couldn't believe that he was actually arguing with them on the thread (passive aggressively at least) instead of just accepting it gracefully and speaking to the relevant people tomorrow.

Honestly the recent suggestions in regards to regulations etc on owning large breed dogs is simplistic, idealistic and would be nearly impossible to roll out given the very large number of dogs owned in Australia. The cost alone would be astronomical given the number of classes that would be needed ALL over the country... Finding, or training, the necessary number of experienced people to run such classes in rural, outback, suburban areas etc. Paying their wages, hiring facilities, running enough classes for the numbers of dogs and owners that would need it... Added to that, are we really saying that a 24kg dog would do less damage than one with an extra kilo? Or even a 20kg dog not being as high of a risk as a 25kg dog? Many people blame Staffords, Staffy X's and Am Staffs but a decent number of those dogs would be under the 25kg mark... One of the worst attacks I have seen was inflicted by a a neighbours small working bred Kelpie, she couldn't have been more that 15-18kgs and the damage done was horrible.

Breed aside- it was a terrible incident and I hope all who were injured recover swiftly. I would also like for it to become procedure that any dog/s involved in a serious dog attack incident under go a thorough study by an experienced dog behaviorist , including studying the home environment and interviewing the owners, neighbours etc. Knowledge and insight is going to go further to preventing these things from occurring than blind panic and hysterical reaction. I have to say that I admire the compassionate way in which the dog catcher/Ranger was handling the dogs especially given the circumstances.

Why do people find it so hard to drive on the road without having accidents? While I agree the dogs should not have been on the street, the issue I have with joggers is their arrogance in putting themselves in greater danger by continuing to run past a dog despite it being common knowledge that running stimulates a dog's prey instinct. Sure people have a right to jog along a public road, just as they have a right to swim at a public beach or drive along a public road. But is it wise to continue to swim if a shark is sighted, or drive through a flooded causeway? How hard is it for a runner to stop and walk past a loose dog? You either have first hand knowledge of what happened in this incident or you are making some pretty huge assumptions and victim blaming. Unless you know something that is not mentioned in the news, you have no idea how this occurred. The jogger may not have even seen the dogs, or rounded a corner and startled them (and himself). They could have been down an alleyway that he ran past, or in someone's front yard unnoticed by him. Calling a dog attack victim arrogant for going about his business is pretty extreme and very bad form.

So shoot me, they were attached to the article as related links. Complain to MSN. I didn't understand the intent or realise that it was attached from a news page which is why I asked. It seemed strange that there was no link to the actual article and several to different incidents, hence I attached the only link I could find. No need to be so defensive.

What is with all the links to previous dog attacks??? http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/latest_releases?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmViaXoucG9saWNlLm5zdy5nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjMwNDg2Lmh0bWwmYWxsPTE%3D

How scary for you all! As a mother I cannot help but feel for the poor little child who got dragged, it would have been a very traumatic event and shame on the parents for putting their child in that position. Thank golly that Toby bore no injuries from it, hopefully the mental effect will be just as minimal as well.

Thanks everyone, I was just so surprised and proud of how Lolly listened and no one IRL really understands what a big deal it is for a high prey drive dog like her to recall off a cat so I had to share it here. She got spoiled with Ziwipeak treats after it was all done. Yes the name was very sweet, she was owned by a 3yr old little girl who was very happy to have her home. The irony in the fact that "Lolly" nearly ate "Milkshake" is not entirely lost on me though LOL :laugh:

Thanks Disintegratus. I was a very proud dog mumma for sure! Oh and the little cat thankfully had no injuries at all. I am not a cat fan but I am an animal lover so I popped her into a cat carrier that I loaned from my neighbour and door knocked the area. She was very soft, smelled of frontline and was a very affectionate and calm little girl considering what she had gone through so I knew she had to have come from somewhere close. Two houses down on the street behind mine and she was returned to her owners who had only just moved in the day before and accidentally let her out. "Milkshake" was a very lucky little girl!

That she does not actually want to kill cats! Good to know! She has never been socialised with them and always had a really high prey drive in keeping our yard clear of straying cats. Today I just happened to walk outside 2 seconds before she noticed, and subsequently bailed up and jumped on, a young kitten that had wondered into our yard and who wasn't smart enough to run when it saw her coming. Much to my shock she actually called off the cat and although you could see that she kept wanting to reengage with it, she listened and kept her (very alert and watchful) distance whilst I scooped the poor little kitten up and took it inside. I always assumed that if she managed to catch a cat she would hurt or kill it but it must just be the thrill of the chase. I cannot express how relieved I was (and shocked!) when she recalled off the cat!

I agree with this as being the best way to approach it. ^^