Little Gifts

I agree with the sentiment behind this and feel there has to be a positive outcome for rescue and a reduction in the number of healthy rehomable animals pts if more animals were desexed. The animals I am talking about are those where the owners can't or wont protect them from breeding and can't or wont responsibly raise and rehome a litter those pets might 'accidentally' have. So if by 'mass desexing' it means taking 'free or very cheap desexing to the masses' then I support it. I'd actually like to see all the camp dogs in remote communities desexed under a program like this. I don't have any stats for animals but if the human life expectancy in these communities is low (which is a fact from health reports) then it is likely to be reflected in the camp dogs stats as well. I also support a responsible owner determining the age of desexing or whether they even wish to desex. But a responsible owner would probably be able to fund their own desexing and not need a free or cheap program anyway. I know I'd prefer to pay so I can choose the vet who does the surgery. I don't think a one size fits all approach ever works for any problem and certainly support any org, including the RSPCA educating 'the masses' about responsible pet ownership at its most basic level.

Westiemum I have an SBT who is heading on for 17. She was diagnosed with dementia last year and we also went on the vivitonin. It made a noticeable difference. My old girl had some minor strokes in January this year and I made a pts appointment for the end of the month but she picked up again. In Feb I was in Cairns doing recovery work after the cyclone. It wasn't till March that I realised we had run out of vivitonin. I asked my sister when and she said while I was away in Feb. So my old girl probably hasn't had any meds for at least 6 weeks and is bright as a button again, better than pre-dementia. I'm thinking that one of the strokes may have unblocked a blockage that was interfering with brain messages. Her dementia was lots of aimless wandering and staring and toileting without thinking where she was. I'll tell the vet at our next monthly appointment but if she says to leave her off them then I will.

This only works for small dogs but I'll attach a picture of my boy in his jammies. It's a $5 babies onesie from Kmart. Just put it on backwards and the snaps do up along their back. Shaar, what a fantastic idea! What size do you get for a CC? And you just cut the feet off by the look of it? Maybe I'll look at getting some of those on special for the rescue dogs. Perhaps while I'm hemming the back legs where the feet have been cut off I can cut out a hole for peeing and pooping. They look cosy and comfy!

I've added a pic Of Ricky in her pj's Clyde. They're hot pink with black trim and black paw prints on the butt. No point me selling them as I have another female SBT who will wear them this year as she has outgrown some of the stuff she fitted into last year. I was also keen to keep them for the pattern as I have been collecting fleece with the plan of making some for rescue when I can pull my finger out. Full of ideas with no follow through unfortunately!

I got some off ebay from a lady here in Australia late last winter. I contacted her and told her my dog details and colour I was after and she made them and put the ad on ebay, I paid and they arrived quickly in the mail. Easy peasy and good price. My dog wont wear the damn things though because she doesn't like all 4 legs being lifted anymore. She's old so she gets a say. Sorry mumsy but she is only an SBT so they wont fit your boxer!

Oh Kirty that is so sad. Thank you for being there for Rex and showing him the love and care he deserved.

It is amazing how forgiving animals are to us humans. I don't know how long he was down that chute but I imagine it was dark and airless and very confined down there. It's like being buried alive. I don't understand the thought processes of some human beings when a phone call to a shelter could've taken the dog off her hands if she no longer wanted it. Patrick, I hope you live a long and healthy life with people who love you.

Mine all get invited up before jumping on the bed or any furniture. We are shorties in this house and I must admit all our lounges and beds were purchased because they suited our height (ie legs don't dangle in the air when you sit on any of them) so perhaps they are a little shorter than what some have? I have never even thought of the damage jumping off might do. I bought some stairs for my old girl a few years back but she refused to use them so I gave up. She is now lifted on and off the bed as she doesn't have the strength in her back legs anymore. Does anyone else have a dog that kind of oozes off the lounge onto the carpet giving themselves a stretch and belly rub on the lounge as they go? I can't be the only one with a goober like that.

We had a rescue staffy of 12 weeks come to live with a rescue staffy of 13 years. They are now almost 4 and 17 respectively and they still play rough, bashing into each other, mouthing (teeth bared bitey face!), heavy nudging with snouts and paws, gruff barking, all that. They play on the bed first thing in the morning and at night while we are trying to watch tv. We have had no accidental injuries in either dog, no yelping when things got out of hand and the games tend to be ended by the older dog making a more agressive bark or walking away. As the play seems to happen in front of us there is always a human to stop things if they got out of control, particularly with one dog being so old now, but the dogs themselves have managed naturally with very little intervention from us. We also have an 8 year old husky x shep and she and the younger dog playing are the ones we have to watch. The husky closes her jaw around the younger one's snout and when the younger one tries to wiggle it out she gets little scratches on her face. Plus the husky grabs her inner back leg and flips her like a poddy calf. There is more of a power struggle going on in their play so we watch it closely and stop it with commands to the husky when she is getting a certain look on her face. It seems more power play than natural play and there is some squealing from the younger dog when she wants to 'give in'. Mind you she is drawn to playing with this dog but again it happens when we are around so we monitor it. The husky doesn't like the older staffy either and does air nips at her when she walks too close. They have never played together or even as a group of three, but travel in the car together, walk together and share a bed together. No fights. I think it is more an age thing between them.

We had a corgi x GSD rescue. He looked like a long haired GSD puppy as an adult with a slightly longer wheel base. Don't know much about corgi temperaments but this boy was playful, dog friendly, nosy, liked to be guard dog (but not aggressive) and also liked his comfort and cuddles. We'd often find him stretched out on someone's bed with his head on the pillow thinking he was invisible. He did have arthritis problems in his back legs as he aged. Because he was a rescue he came to three names - Gordon, Ian and Hey Dog (all discovered by accident).

Tunagirll please tell your sister to do two things. One - If she and her child have asthma then it is important to know what their triggers are so they can be managed. People die from attacks. And Two - given she is after a family pet, she should look for a breed of dog that is suitable to her family, household set up, activity levels, etc and work with the breeder to identify a pup that is the right fit, ie a dog with the temperament or attitude that her family will love and care for for the next 10+ years. Colour is the last thing that people should use to choose a pet. Just my opinion of course but I think focussing on colour can mean a person misses the right dog for them. I hope it all works out for her, but seriously she needs to know what her asthma triggers are regardless of what she does with the dog situation.

They look like the same ones I buy from KMart for $12. They dry quickly and mine have stayed fluffed up despite repeated washings. I have been happy with them and you can never have too many dog beds!

I'm very happy about Di and AWDR! I met her and her husband and some of the dogs late last year and she does a great job coordinating a rescue service from Cairns that operates across the country! Simple and effective idea!

How are you finding them all PP? Do you have some kind of search term thing set up? Could it be worth bombarding these sites with statements to make a buyer think they might be getting ripped off or wasting their money? That's the only reason I can see that would put a person off. I was thinking things like "Blue staffies are not rare. Follow this link to see how common they are (and put a link to the DOL for sale page for staffy pups)" or "Buy one from a breeder for half the price here (and put a link to the DOL for sale page for that breed)" or for cats something like "It only costs $100 to desex a cat. It will cost you $300 to raise a litter of kittens if you don't." Obviously I just made the prices up. Or "If your dog gets out and it isn't microchipped, desexed and registered it will cost you $300 to get it back." Again I made the prices up. Or "Even if you only feed your dog PAL it will cost you $800 a year to feed it."

The fleecy rugs also dry so quickly. I always buy a few when they are on special at the end of winter. The dogs don't care about the colours! I've got another idea for dog beds for larger dogs or multiple dogs. I was searching on ebay for a camping stretcher bed (for humans) and you can get them quite cheap, they can be hosed/washed, they take hevy weights and they fold up if you need to put them out of the way. I just bought a king sized one for $30 but there were smaller ones on there going cheaper than that. They are all camping brands so I suspect the canvas quality will be much better too.

Well this just all makes me feel sick. What hope is there for animals to be valued as living, feeling things that need their basic needs met when people are advertising them like unwanted furniture. The one below really got me for some reason: (NAME), i have tried inboxing u twice, not sure if u are receiving them or not. I would like to get in touch with u as i might be going to parkes on thursday and i may be interested in getting 1 or 2 of the kittens. cheers nichole Monday at 10:52pm · LikeUnlike. Yep, might get one. Or two. Not pre-planning. I'll decide on the day if I happen to be passing by your suburb. You can bet someone like that isn't going to fork out money on desexing! I feel this is worse than people seeing a cute animal in a pet shop window! These people are pursuing animals sight unseen and with the smallest bit of info about them! They are making a decision about these animals lives even though their interest will move on to some other interesting online thing in 5 mins time. Seroiusly, I could vomit right now. This can't be ok!

Fifi I am only for keeping an animal alive if it is viable to do so and that includes from the animal's perspective and the owner's perspective. I've spent thousands on the rescue dogs with issues that I chose to keep and I will continue to do so as is needed. That is just who I am. I am not immune to their struggles and had one boy pts because he gradually damaged nerves in his spine that could not be fixed. It broke my heart. The old girl I have here was booked in for pts on 29/01. I still kept the appointment but the vet and I agreed that it wasn't her time, that she had picked up again. She is sitting under my chair right now 6 weeks later. Maybe some of this for me relates to my childhood. My parents used to have a theme park that was also full of animals that people had discarded - animals that would've been killed, animals that some people may have thought looked freaky. But we loved them and cared for them and even when the park closed the animals stayed with us till they passed on in old age. We had things like livestock born with extra legs, wildlife that had lost body bits from traps or car accidents or fences, beakless and wingless birds. I think nature is fantastic how it naturally culls the sick and weak but if an animal continues to survive then I'd prefer their future is informed by a full assessment by a knowledgeable vet before I make a decision to end their life. And this is of course about me and any animals in my care - I am not proposing my position as being right for others, just showing a different perspective and why I feel like I do. I remain ok about the plans for 2 of the pups based on the video but am not so sure about the one who didn't move much. And I also don't want to see the bitch or dog these came from breed again.

I thought the same Jaxx. I remember seeing some man with a GR or lab pup on an Aussie show (Bondi Vet maybe?) that had to have frames around all its legs and they had to be screwed regularly to make the limbs straighter. I cried thinking you can't explain that kind of ongoing pain to an animal and I doubt I could do it because of that - how much intervention is too much? The dog seemed to accept things quite well though and still ambled around like a pup. What the Bionic Vet is doing is very informed and ground breaking stuff for animals. It did not seem experimental. He is very clear on why he is doing it and at what point he stops and has lots of technology available to him to do it. The show on that cat and how quickly it recovered mobility - even jumping on its first use of its new legs, was quite amazing. It showed no signs of pain and even the vet was shocked at its progress. Not sure I could do it but the cat now has a life that wasn't possible before. For some owners and animals it will be the right thing to do.

I agree with you Anne. My position on things was that the dogs were alive and in need and that the time to pts them has passed but I was a little scared to say it. I think breeders and rescue have every right to decide if an animal is viable enough to live according to their own beliefs, values, ethics, whatever you want to call it. I've read on here about breeders doing everything possible to save a pup without knowing if it would be healthy long term. Same with rescue spending money on very ill animals with no guarantee of long term health or survival. Everyone does their best at the time. Having worked with physically and intellectually disabled young people I would readily take on an animal with special needs meeting the costs and doing my best in conjunction with my vet to know when human intervention wasn't enough. I can't be the only person willing to do that for an animal. I can totally understand the arguments presented against this idea when there are so many dogs in need, but my personal values mean that once something is alive it deserves a chance. For those of you who have watched the video I am surprised by the strength and mobility of two of the pups but the third one looks more dependant. That dog's future concerns me more than the other two at present. I also wondered what someone like the Bionic Vet would be able to do with their missing legs? To me I would want to know what is happening inside their skeletal and muscular structures and if their organs were ok before deciding on pts, but accept that others see things differently.

You went from an afghan to a crestie?

That makes me so sad. That's all Wags's life was worth?

What I think is odd is that the owner rang the police and the police told her the dogs had been seized. The council does not have powers over and above the police. The police are the only party that should be able to enter private property and seize something under legal grounds and they'd need a court order to even do that. Our legal system is based on innocent until proven guilty so council by laws do not have the power to contradict that either. If the owner had been made aware of the allegations and agreed to keep the dogs safely confined until an investigation proved it was them only then could the council seize those dogs legally. My older sister works on land rights legal cases. Not Indigenous land rights but those where say a council or some environmental plan tells a farm owner what he can and can't do on his property. Numerous council by-laws and state govt laws (expect in Qld) contradict our constitutional and contractual laws and they threaten us with powers they don't really have. Unfortunately not many people fight this stuff as it needs to go to the highest court. So at its very basic with this case - the council enters a binding contract between this owner and her dogs if they accept her registration for these dogs ie they are accepting that she is the owner of these dogs. Under constitutional law they are not recognised law enforcers so they are in fact trespassing and stealing her property by entering and removing these dogs without her approval. It's an interesting area of law.

Molassesslass you live in Logan and I live at Beenleigh so I'd be surprised if we didn't have the same type of gecko. I have asians at my house and I know this because when I was a kid we had the native ones and they look very different (more rounded). The native ones would have a heart attack if discovered in the house by a human but would gather round outside lights eating the bugs. They have the ability to change colour to blend into the walls and background. I've got loads of asians here (no natives) and they only started to develop after I stopped getting an annual pest control so like someone said, if you kill off their food supply then they will move elsewhere. So get the pest control people in but don't mention about the geckos! I have had a ssevere asthma attack from pest control spray so prefer the gecko system but don't have a problem with the dogs. I do know someone who is terrified of geckos and can't sleep if she thinks one is in the house, so we all have our little likes and dislikes. For instance blue tongues scare the crap out of me!

carrying a full basket of wet washing my then staffy pup got in the way and I fell butt hard onto the concrete trying to avoid standing on her. I promptly developed an abcess on the base of my spine. Felt like a alien trying to claw its way out. It started to leak and I had an emergency op on it then had to have drains hanging out of it for 7 weeks then some pigs bit put back inside the clean drain holes so I wouldn't spend my life as part sieve. That was 3 years ago and the worst part is that the abcess ate a third of my core body muscles so I will become incontinent from both ends as I get older! YAY! Still love my naugthy dog to bits though. She was only a rescue at the time but is my heart girl.

I can see where you are coming from Fifi. People expect perfect specimens of the breed coming from a breeder but would still be horrified to think of a breeder pts'ing a deformed dog. But in reality what else can you do with it? Like you say, if you tried to sell them or passed them on to a shelter then you'd be damned for not taking responsibility for what you created. But if you personally bred and decided to keep and raise these pups (or sourced suitable forever homes for them yourself) then I doubt rescue would have a problem with it. Don't know enough breeders to say how they would feel though. The main difference here is that rescue willingly takes on many dogs with less than perfect bodies when they have no other option. To rescue, these pups are already alive and if there is someone out there willing to make the necessary adjustments in their lives to raise these otherwise healthy dogs then they deserve the same chance as any other dog. These pups don't necessarily know there is anything wrong with them and if they have the strength to get around with 2 legs or can successfully be fitted for a cart then some would say why not. Rather than a different set of rules I think it is a different set of circumstances responded to under different sets of values. Breeders breed with a specific purpose while rescue rescue in a response to a need.