sterlingsilver

I kept 3 kttens in total from a lot of litters I hand raised over time. I dont consider myself a failure though, as I rehomed quite a few along the way.Didnt see why I couldnt adopt as well. I fell in love with some pups I fostered, was tempted, but knew there was a better home than mine for them, and I was right. My other pets I have adopted outright. Do not foster at present,as my old dog is happier being the only dog, after a few dogs have passed through the household over the years. Have to respect his wishes. We have lost 3 pets over the past 15 months and we are down to just 2 now.Time to just reflect and grieve for who we have lost.

I had a dog that was diabetic and on VERY strict diet, with no treats allowed, and I was forever having to tell people not to feed my dog.They never asked. She was garbage guts and would eat road kill if given the chance, so a treat was heaven on a stick to her. It annoyed me, as I would never dream of doing that. If I wanted add calories, it would be in the form of something nutritious, not things full of fat or chemicals.

I have been lucky enough to find wonderful boarding facilities. Whilst I would prefer for my dog and cat to live in their own home, I havent managed to successfully find house sitters that work out for me. I would not consider just having someone drop by to feed and walk my dog and cat and them otherwise be left for the rest of the day alone, unless it was an emergency and for only the cat and for only a day or so. My dog needs more than that. Which is where the boarding place comes in. Even with a housesitter they are often employed and away for the greater part of the day and the dog would be alone, whereas in boarding, where I go he has companionship, human and other dogs and is not confined to a cage. On the personal level, with boarding, it means I dont have to do a mad house clean before I leave to go away!!!!Hate housework!!! I have always paid my housesitters, by the way, Havent had the confidence to use the freebie ones.

I didnt notice that the recommendation came from a newcomer. Even if I had I would not have been suspicious of any alterior motive. Thankyou all for your advice. Trouble in keeping the house yard clear is that there are lots of established garden beds and trees, so they could provide hiding spots for any snake. I have passed all this on to my sister. Thank goodness it isnt me, a city dweller that has to contend with all these issues. The occasional rat is my only problem, and its dead body being brought into the house by the cat or dog!!! I always joke thats why I got married, it is my husbands job to get rid of the bodies!!

The rescuer in question is silly to be rude or insulting. Biting the hand that feeds them, so to speak.The majority would not do this, and would just be grateful for whatever they get and certainly not send offensive messages to a person that has been kind enough to put their hand in their pocket. If this person is so quick to be rude when they dont get what they want or have demanded, would be a worry that they are desperate and therefore may just be in financial difficulties.Hopefully they are not a scam artist,in it just for the money and not for the welfare of the dogs. It is a hard lesson to take on board that not ALL rescuers are honest or above board.There are bad apples in every barrel. Thankyou Kendra for your previous kindness, I am sure is has been appreciated by the "good" and "honest" rescuers that thankfully are in the majority.

oh dear!!! Now I am confused, and woried I may have steered her in the wrong direction.I will forward this info to my sister as well, and leave the decision up to her. I guess, if a person is desperate they will be open to try anything. I am disappointed as I had hoped they would be a goer for her. Thanks for the update.

Thankyou, yes that is a great help.Sounds like it will be just the thing. My sister said she didnt know she had so many snakes, as she doesnt see all the ones that slither through her home padock, but the dog certainly does.

I remember a topic on DOL last year regarding a snake repellant. My sister has inherited a new dog from a couple that have gone into a n ursing home,and it turns out she chases snakes, so my sister cant leave her alone in the home yard, which is well fenced but of course cannot keep snakes out. Can a doler please refer me to the topic and/or relate whether it works or not.

These two pounds sghould be congratulated for making such improvements.Wonderful to hear. Pity a certain Sydney shelter run by a "charity" wasnt as open or successful .They are clamining to be "getting to zero", but sadly not by rehoming their resident dogs and cats as would be expected by this promotion.Christmas time saw a lot put down, and it only continues to go downhill since.They are not keen to work with rescue on any sort of regular or consistant basis. I heard a caller on late night radio the other evening extolling the virues of Renbury, at length, and what a wonderful place it was after they had adopted from there, so it shows if people have a good experience at a pound or shelter they will go out in public and speak about it.

A friend has contacted me to tell of her story. Her oldest dog had to be put to sleep because of advanced cancer at 17, and the remaining two, around 14 and 15 became distraught, crying and moaning, refusing to eat initially, and then only very little. After a month of the situation improving very little, and these two having gone downhill significantly,still visibly grieving, the family made the heart breaking decision to put them to sleep as well.Nothing the family did seemed to alleviate any of the dogs distress and their grief for their mate. So the family lost their 3 much loved pets in a month. In my own situation,my remaining cat has improved a little, eating a little more but a quarter of what he did before. He spends almost all his time by my side. He loved my dog before but now is wanting to sleep with him almost all the time. My dog is an oldie with some health issues, so I hate to think how my cat will take his passing. I dread it from my own point of view as well, obviously.

With the instances that my friends and I have donated to, the appeals have not stayed up on their web site for months on end, and there is an update as to the progress of the dogs concerned.We got receipts and a note explaining what the money was used for and how the dog was going. Unlike a certain sydney pound which had an appeal running on a donation web site for months and months on end.Initially the site had a thermometer so you could see how much was being donated, but then the pound had the thermometer removed so the donor was not aware if money was coming in or not and if the surgery costs etc would have been covered, The appeal was on the site long long after the dog was rehomed.As a consequence I would never donate to that place again. If there seems to be transparency I am happy to donate to help a dog in need. I think as a donor you can get an overall impression of how the rescue is operating. I cannot do a lot to help rescue groups but I can donate from time to time to what I see as a worthy cause.

Not knowing to whom the OP was referring, it makes this discussion to be in gereral about ALL rescue groups. It maybe a rescuer that takes a dog with expensive health issues had valid reasons for doing so. Do the rescue groups that seek public donations have success in rehoming all the dogs in their care and do they rescue other dogs which are in good health in any numbers? If they dont then their rationale for just rescuing unhealthy dogs is a bit odd, but if they rescue both healthy and those with health issues, then good on them.They are not discriminating but rather trying to give all a chance at a new life. If they are successful in what they do why criticise them? If the public didnt support their work and agree with what they are doing,then they wouldnt support them with donations to continue with their work.It doesnt mean that a donation to help with the treament of a dog with major health problems would have been available to rescue in general if it hadnt gone to that sick dog. It maybe the story about that particular dog spurred the person to donate ONLY to that cause because the story touched them in some way, and people wanted to help THAT dog.

Thankyou Kendra. How sad to think of your little one missing his "girlfriend".You would hope that as in humans they are able ponder the happy memories thay have of the one that has gone. I know it is a hard to decide if the other pets in the family should see or sniff the body of the pet that has died.I have heard advice from both sides of the discussion.But who is right and who is wrong? My pets have often seen or sniffed the body of a dead mate and have not reacted badly...so far. I try to think of the happy times, but it is too raw just now and only brings me to tears. I know in time, I will be able to do this.As they say, time heals all wounds, just for some it takes longer than others.

I am happy to donate to help vet bills for the rescue groups I am familiar with, and know they are doing a good job. I would hate to think that a dog with a health problem, that can be fixed is left to die in the pound and only healthy ones are chosen. I know that sometimes the health issues dont surface until the dog is examined by a rescue groups vet,as the pound didnt know about the problem or have a vet check done before the dog was permitted to go to rescue. Even if they take out a dog specifically that they know has a problem and endeavour to help it, I would support them.Sad to think of them being left to die because of money. I have adopted a dog with special needs and would hate to think that she may have been left in a pound because of costs in treating her. Healthy dogs dont necesarily ALL make good companions,some can be DA or HA, and a dog with a health problem can still be a wonderful companion, so to just save only the healthy is not the way to go, in my honest opinion. From what I have seen and heard the public like to be able to help financially with vet bills.They know that they cannot always help in other ways but donating money is something that they can do. The groups I support I do so because I know them and know that they are honest and have high rescue and rehome rates and are reputable. I know there have been dogs with vet bills of many many thousands, and I know I have pondered the thought that ALL that money could have helped MANY MANY dogs, so I do see where the OP may have been coming from, but in the end, have been pleased to see those particular dogs treated and rehomed. I dont know to whom the OP was referring as I am not familiar with a lot of rescue groups work. How do you choose who is to live and who is to die if you are a rescuer? You just do what you can I guess.

I'd rehome the husband and get another foster pet. :laugh: You could always put him in the free to a good home advertisements. Mine is very supportive and we would have so many dogs and cats if I took every one he hears about. I do all the work with them though....his support doesnt extend to that. He will play with them and cuddle them though and pay for anything that is needed. Makes a difference.He doesnt complain which is important too. It would be awful to try and work in rescue if you had someone who did not support you or was actively against it.

Thankyou for sharing your experiences, so sad to read them. My cat is only eating tiny amounts,a fraction of what he used to eat, and wants to be with me where ever I am.He is here now sitting on the desk beside the keyboard. It must be hard for an animal to understand what has happened ,and where their friend has gone. Grief is a dreadful feeling for humans, so now I see it is so for our pets as well.

I am interested in opinions of whether pet owners believe other pets in the family mourn or grieve when another pet dies. I have had 2 other pets pass away in the past year and my other pets have not appeared to miss the pet that died. But having lost another pet, a cat,last week, after she was killed by a car,her litter mate seems to be grieving her passing. They were 10 years old and great mates, so I am not surprised but wonder how I should handle this and if others have experience in this situation?

Thankyou for this info. Has there been a lot of success with the treatment? With long term benefit? Where do vets get the donor cells from?Whose dogs do they use for this?

I meant in general, treatment for any condition. I heard there had been trials, but no positive outcomes. I know of a couple vets that have taken it on board and are treating clients pets, but havent heard of anyone....yet...that had thought the cost worthwhile. The latest I heard from another vet is that it had not proved successful overall, and there were not enough positive outcomes to say it works.

I have heard a lot about stem cell research in dogs and thought it was the next big thing, but recently I have been told it may not be. Has anyone has any success with this procedure? How expensive were the treatments?

Isnt this similar to NSW laws on pitties? At one stage Councils were going to seize pitties after they announced a cut off date for compliance with the law. I dont think they did enter homes, but the threat was there. Quite a few were put down in NSW by their owners because people could not or would provide the secure enclosure needed to house their dog. All seems to have gone quiet in this state in this regard.There are supposed to be no more pitties bred since the law came into being and the dogs cannot be rehomed if they come into a pound, only be returned to their owner, if they owner chooses to reclaim their dog. They are supposed to also wear a special collar and a muzzle. Maybe this all has changed???

I bought one in the USA last year for $6.95 and I really like it. Works well on my pooch.

Yes a photographic record is essential. I have been guilty of not doing this often enough,or putting it off. A recent death of one of my pets has reminded me to take very opportunity for that special shot, so I leave the camera handy.

Without thinking, I buried one of mine in the plastic body bag, but I did rip the bag down one side to pat her before we buried her. However, the shrubs I planted over the site,have never done well. We buried her down deep, but I worry sometimes that the plastic has caused an issue for the roots of the plant. I have toyed with the idea of having the spot dug up [by some one else of course] but feel awful disturbing the body. It was back in 1991, but I dont think I would ever be able to face the prospect of having this done. I think too about leaving the property and them behind if I ever move. Of recent times I have had my pets cremated.

I have had all of mine who have died recently cremated, as we ran out of room in our backyard, where we could dig down deep enough, especially for a large sized dog . For tiny kittens I can still manage to find a spot. I do sometimes wonder what the next owner of our home will think if they dig up the backyard!!! However, a lot of people cannot afford the cost of private cremation, so it must be sad for them that they have no other option. I have been told that the bodies of pets from vets, in metropolitan Sydney, are taken to a special area at the tip, not in general waste area. If you do have them cremated and and dont want the ashes inside the house.You could put them in a pot plant[ still in the container of course] and if you move take the pot plant with you. I have had friends like OP that regretted the decision later that they didnt either bring the body home for burial or have the pet privatly cremated, and wanted to get the body back. It tormented them for quite a while.Which does not help the grieving process, as it is just something else to make it harder to come to terms with the loss of a much loved pet.