stellnme

I think anyone who involves someone's family in their Agenda has crossed a line. You are right, Steve, you don't have to have links to bikies to be scary - that wasn't my point, I was merely passing on the news. This will be my last comment in a thread which has become downright worrying. I can't believe anyone who owns rescue greyhounds or knows what has gone on can still believe that the industry is worth saving and greyhounds still need to race to make money for people - but that's my opinion, and you are certainly entitled to yours.

Two men arrested in Molong over the weekend and charged with making death threats to Troy Grant, his family and a staff member over the banning of greyhound racing. They've been given strict conditional bail. One apparently has links to a bikie gang. Obviously they are not among the "good men" of the greyhound industry?

So you don't think the lock out laws have merit, Mystify? I think the Doctors, Paramedics and Police would disagree. I'd also point out that if "Animal Activists" is the worst insult you could throw at people, many would wear that label proudly. Because you are involved in the racing industry, of course you are going to be against the Ban. Many people think differently. Many think the time to make money out of seeing greyhounds racing is long past. We have evolved past that. It sounds like you have a big problem with the Premier and anything he does. You appear to be clutching at straws.

Thanks, Its a she Jesse the timid needy obedient and inexhaustible Kelpie cross She's beautiful!

Wonderful photos, Canetoad! What breed is your black boy? All the dogs in this thread look so beautifully cared for - it's a delight to look at their photos. Well done to you all for being excellent owners.

HW, a lot of dogs are and have been dying unnecessarily for many years. The ban will save many more than are presently being euthanized in all manner of ways. The object of phasing racing out over 12 months is to allow as smooth a transition as possible and to enable many dogs who will not be kept by their owners, to be rehomed where possible. Many people are very well informed and their opinions have been formed long ago with experience of the misdeeds of the industry - the report was just what many have known all along. I hardly think that these people want to see any companion animal phased out - where did that come from? I remember the abuse that John Howard got from many quarters when he very bravely took his stance against general gun ownership. Many people didn't agree with that because of personal benefit but his decision has certainly been proven right. It will be a crying shame for the dogs if it isn't closed down.

Who did supply that poster then? I have found that the Telegraph's journalists are, in the main, very biased towards sustaining the "industry" - and why wouldn't they when multiple pages are given to racing results and coverage. The Telegraph has just run a dodgy poll where people could vote multiple times - and the shut down brigade won, much to the paper's disgust, I would imagine. Greyhound trainers and owners supplied much of the damning information in the McHugh report - and yes, I have read it. Do you mean that all the greyhound rescuers, vets and assistants who have witnessed and have knowledge of the wastage and cruelty and ex racing people who have withdrawn from the industry once they knew what was going on , not to mention Lyn White and Animals Australia who obtained the disgusting footage of small animal cruelty - which has been known to have gone on for many years, are mistaken? Owners will not have to hand in their dogs, they just can't race them. If the dogs are "adored" as they claim, then surely it won't be too hard to look after and keep them. Having lived in the country most of my life, I am yet to find anyone who doesn't want greyhound racing banned. It isn't the sport of the "little men" - it is a multi million dollar industry, not sport. Australia has evolved enough to not want greyhounds bled out at vets, used in dental experiments, shipped overseas to the death pits in Asia and put down in confronting numbers when they don't perform. The overwhelming majority of people simply don't condone it. Reading some of these posts here leads me to ask what side of the fence are some of the people on? This is the best chance to stop the cruelty to greyhounds and be in line with the rest of the world. That has to be such a good thing, surely? Why would you be looking for reasons for it to continue?

A beautiful tribute, Caz. May Charlie find grass to lie on and sun to warm him forever.

She will live on in your heart, Anne, and in your precious memories. Sleep well, sweet Olivia.

So many lovely dogs nearing the end. My heart goes out to all of you going through this.

No experience with this at all, Anne - just wanted to say how sorry I am that this has happened to Olivia, and hope all is as good as it possibly can be for her in her final days.

I'll bet Ms Healey is "beside herself at the moment". Of course she is - she got caught.

Lovely pictures and memories of sweet Lola. Always a hard call to make, Huga, but one we do for their sake. Hope she has found her patch of sun.

A beautiful tribute to your boy, luvmybulldog. Sleep well, little one.

Very worried about an overweight Chihuahua with possible diabetes doing a daily 40 minute walk. Even more worried that you were walking him 1-2 hours a day. Why is he on steroids when no testing has been done? Also, does he have a current ear infection - if so, I hope the vet is treating that. I remember you changed diets frequently with your dogs and you were advised to find one that they were doing well on and keep to it. I have a dog with pancreatitis issues who has been stable for some years with the correct diet and strict adherence to it - I wouldn't change her diet for the world. Maybe have a big talk to your vet about fine tuning your dogs diets to make sure they are on the correct ones for their medical conditions (once diagnosed) and that give them all the essential nutrients that your different breeds need - then keep them on it.

From RSPCA Victoria website - Can dogs be safely confined by tethering: "Dogs must never be tethered in conditions where they are vulnerable to extreme heat, severe cold, driving rain or predators." It goes on to state that tethering is a short term or temporary solution and that adequate food, water and shelter must be available. "Short periods of time - length of time tethered should be minimised. When tethered for longer periods (more than a few hours) they must be inspected at least twice a day - three times in very hot weather and be provided with daily exercise off the tether in a safe environment. Must comply with any State/territory laws or regulations." I think by stating that tethering "is not suitable as a permanent means of containment" it would appear that these dogs are not being looked after as per their guidelines and, as stated above, they have breached council regulations - at the very least.

Nothing to do with pig hunting. Apparently the dogs are always chained to their kennels. Apparently (again) the majority of dogs are from pounds "rescued" by a "rescue", and left on an ex's property.

DD, I missed the February post about Danny turning 17. What a grand age for a beautiful boy. We all hope for a few more years, sometimes even a few more months, but all we can do is love them, look after them and carry on until unfortunately we have to make the hard call. My beautiful Stella is 15 now and I am so aware of her fragility - she can't see or hear too well, can't get up on anything and we make allowances and look after her all the time. I'm hoping that the news from the vet was positive and that Danny will be wagging that tail for a long time to come.

I thought microchipping is mandatory?...obviously not. As a side note: I wonder whether eye scanners (like some mobile phones provide instead of finger print scanners) could be also used to identify dogs. If it would work there would be a database with the code each scan provides for each dog instead of the microchip number. The big advantage would be that you could identify any - registered dog - just via your mobile phone (if the phone has the feature)...might be handy... Privacy issues here surely? Considering the general public isn't allowed access to microchip databases at present.

The RSPCA is certainly not the only organisation that takes dogs in Australia. Even if it was, 50,000 undesexed dogs sure would produce a lot of puppies, would it not?

Unfortunately, Willem, it's not the majority who are pretty keen to use surgical procedures - and I wish it was, but those who choose to desex do it in many cases to protect their animals from health problems, including not having to go through pregnancy and birth with the associated risks. I've been involved in desexing programs for years and the people who took advantage of a bit of help to desex their pets,overwhelmingly genuinely cared about them and realised that the animals would be better off being desexed and taking away the problems of escaping (or other dogs coming into the yard), being hit by cars or being mated and then they have puppies to find homes for. They are the responsible ones. In my experience the vast majority of owners of oops litters give them away to neighbours, relatives, friends or the first person to put their hand up - and so the cycle continues. Good for you that you are responsible and look after your dog seemingly very well, but many people don't. In answer to your point that desexing causes health problems, all of my dogs and cats, except one who had to be put to sleep at 10 years, have lived very long and quite healthy lives - 17, 18 years on average. I have seen many horrific health problems in undesexed dogs, though. When I take on an animal I also take on all the costs associated with owning that animal and if the place I live in requires x amount for registration, that's what I pay - otherwise I wouldn't have an animal. Anything that encourages people to desex their animals (and I'm talking about the general public here - not good breeders or people like you), will only benefit the animal.

Thanks, Lisa. Shall go find Frankie & get his details put on the Tibetan Spaniel Australia Rescue Page. https://www.facebook.com/tibbierescueaustralia/ I found a local newspaper article which seems to say Frankie is owned by the lady from the rescue group. http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/3826193/calling-heaven-pets-feature-on-new-pok/hone-bo Mita, Frankie is not a Tibbie - there may be something way back in his history, but definitely not a Tibbie. He is however, an awfully nice dog!

first: when you read my first post (#10) in this thread you will recognize that I'm actually carefully evaluating (all based on the information provided by the OP) whether it is worthwhile to a) apply additional stress to the dog for a long-term benefit, or b) whether comforting the dog (= avoiding any stress) for increasing his chances of healing would be the better option. The OP never said that the dog (11 years old) is dying - the health issue stated was a pinched nerv, which is usually not deadly, but could require to apply some adjustments to the environment of the dog to address his limited agility. second: a statement like '...Feelings and emotions are not something that you can reward so responding when he barks isn't reinforcing the behaviour...' is in many aspects at least misleading - this is a public forum and this thread gets read not only by the OP and the people who respond (well, I admit that it seems that even some of the latter ones don't spend much time on carefully reading), hence why not pointing it out?...while this is a public dog forum, sometimes I get the impression it is more about 'comforting' and 'pleasing' the dog owners instead of providing some knowledge for people really interested in dogs. People here are providing knowledge - many people have great experience and knowledge of dealing with senior dogs, and everything isn't out of the dog training manual. The OP states the dog is 11 and has medical problems which puts it in the category of needing different advice than a one year old fit dog that is barking to come inside or go upstairs. Yes, it is a public forum but that doesn't give you the right to be rude to people who just may know more than you do, and it's not about you all the time - the OP asked for advice and experienced people are answering.

Sometimes, Willem, when you are dealing with a sick or anxious, deaf, blind or traumatised senior dog, the text book training goes out the window and you provide compassion, care and whatever else it takes for that old dog to enjoy the last weeks, months or years of their life. If you have ever seen a dog come out of a shelter or puppy farm in the worst possible way, you would know that at that stage dignity doesn't exist. Survival does.

It's okay to be sad. They were such a part of our lives and there is no magic time limit to stop feeling the loss. Sometimes, some little thing will bring back a memory of my animals that have passed on and even though it might be years since they went, the sadness is still there. They live on in our hearts, Ruffles, so don't ever stop remembering and loving him. Sending hugs.