Little Gifts

So sorry MW. Dogs like Fleming teach us so much and help us aspire to be better human beings. Run free now beautiful boy.

I adore camping but our dogs hate it. One smart idea I had was to take one of those kids size beach shelter/tent thingies (similar to the one below) to set up outside for the dogs so they weren't tangled under our table and chairs during the day. We got ours for $2 from an op shop and the dogs loved it - they had a nice airy cave to watch the world go by from and felt a bit safer. They are light and take up little room when packed away, are quick to set up and provide shelter from the sun and light rain.

There's a number of shelters in the USA doing just that unless breed is known (i.e dog surrendered with pedigree papers). There's enough evidence around now to show that shelter guesses as to breed mix are generally inaccurate at best, so it makes sense. Those shelters are really happy with the choice and seeing increased adoptions. Interesting! But are they recording NO information about the dog in their database or just not putting it on the adoption pen notes - because that's a great idea. But what about dogs that are lost and found? Don't you need something to help people get their dogs back? The one I read about most recently was Fairfax Animal Shelter (awesome shelter, live release rate usually of 95%+), had a google and found this which seems to indicate they are removing breed labels from the software for adoptable dogs, but doesn't talk about strays etc. https://animalfarmfoundation.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/removing-breed-labels-easier-than-you-think/ I see what you're saying re lost dogs but the flip side is there have been numerous cases of dogs labelled by shelter staff as "X cross" and owner rings up asking if they've found a "Y cross" and the answer is no... but it was the same dog with two different breed labels given. To me it would be much less risk-fraught to instead ensure that all lost pets are listed online with good, clear pictures on the day they arrive. We have been going through this exact problem for weeks now. After mum died we had to rehome her cat. He's just your average tabby cat (desexed, microchipped and registered) but does have a distinct bullseye on his side. He escaped after 6 days of being confined indoors and we are 6 weeks on and there has not been one sighting of him. We have done repeated door knocks and letterbox drops around both locations. I used to go to the pounds every couple of days and look in person but now I check online every day - the 3 councils near me, RSPCA, AWL and a couple of specific lost and found pet sites on FB. Every now and then we will see a teensy pic of a cat that looks very much like him and I start calling and emailing. The RSPCA are by far the worst. One time I left 3 messages and 2 emails on day 1 trying to get more detail No response. Day 2 I upped the ante to match my desperation. What if his time was running out and he was going to be pts? I had no idea. And as the shelter was over an hour away simply hopping in the car wasn't an option. On day 3 I finally spoke to someone at another facility who transferred me through to someone at that facility and then someone else then went and looked at the actual cat and clarified it wasn't mum's boy. I would never want my pet to stay any longer than necessary in a pound but the details added for lost pets are so scant and the pictures are often small and dark that it is impossible to match online. And if they don't answer the phone or respond to messages for 48 hours what the hell are you supposed to do if you can't just drive there and check yourself? And some of the descriptors are interesting - who decides if your cat is a brown or a grey tabby? What if they are both or you don't know how to tell the difference? What about some identifying marks being included to help owners pinpoint what is not showing in the pictures? If the pictures were clearer I wouldn't even need to bother them with my queries. Same issue happened with a lost and found FB page. From the pic we thought we had found the cat only to find out the finders knew its history back to it being a kitten. A waste of a lot of phone calls and emails and not good for my stress levels.

This all just goes to show that a lot of people out there are clueless about many things dog so we shouldn't be surprised when they feed them shit food, have no clue how they get pregnant, don't know when a health issue is serious and requires vet treatment and don't understand about public doggy etiquette (leashing, humping, picking up poo).

I had a foster pup (sbt) that was returned to me when he was about 8 months old. He was on phenobarb to the maximum dosage possible for him but was still having terrible seizures and was walking around like a zombie and couldn't keep any body condition on him. By the time he was 2 years old it was all looking pretty bleak for him but my holistic vet worked with a local naturopath and we trialled a few things. Eventually one worked and he stopped fitting and was no longer on any meds by the time he was 4 but there was a legacy. He was terrified of so many things. He did some extreme damage to both my houses during a fear event triggered by the smallest of things (the garbage truck for instance). Surprisingly the damage he did to himself was fixable. He was rarely left alone for longer than a couple of hours and I was lucky I could go and pick him up and take him to work if a storm was coming or if he was having a special day. I usually dropped him at my parents or they would come and see him during the day while I worked. When he was 11.5 I came home from work to find him hardly able to walk. He'd managed to get his legs caught up in some wire mesh that he'd pulled off the frame around my back garage door (he'd chewed his way through the actual metal garage door already so the mesh was nailed in place to cover the damage). I took him to the vet and he'd done severe damage to the nerves in his spine and needed to be pts. So even though we managed so many incidents over a lot of years it was still the fallout from having epilepsy since he was a pup that got him in the end. It was a very sad ending for the gentlest of dogs. The fear that lived in him was immense. As for your other questions - diet didn't seem to alter the seizures. They took a lot out of him calorie wise and being on the phenobarb dulled his appetite so keeping weight on was a problem. It always took him a long time to be back in the present after a seizure. He went for a long walk everyday still and remained playful and active right up until his passing. We never had a seizure out of the house or in transit to anywhere. He seemed to know when one was coming on and he'd lay on the floor right where you could see him. They are messy events - loads of slimy frothy phlegm. And I don't recall him ever having one after activity.

At least your dogs get mistaken for other breeds of dogs. Tempeh is a Tang style pei with a very short horse coat. Most people think a pei has to be all cute and roly poly like in the toilet paper ad. If we come across a stranger Tempeh is usually pulling some kind of spazzy dewrinkled face with her ears all up periscope and people look at her and ask "what is it?" I usually answer "special".

You take the best pics of these doggies! You just have an eye for your subjects and you turn what could be a mundane shot about every day life into something so intriguing! Oh and I love some of the crazy ear shots of your new puppy friend! One goes here....one goes there.....

I found this page - perhaps you can find something that reminds you of the personality of this very special puppy? (I really like Annushka!) http://babynames.net/all/russian

I am no expert but do remember a rescue puppy that vets struggled to determine what was wrong with it. I recall poo being black and it ended up having coccidia. If it hasn't already been mentioned by your vet perhaps that is one to test for too.

I found this comment too which might clarify things for Asal - "In July 2009, representatives of the Australian wool industry scrapped an earlier promise, made in November 2004, to phase out the practice of mulesing in Australia by 31 December 2010."

At least this trainer might now be looking over his shoulder all the time worried any cruelty or neglect will be caught again. And if he does nothing wrong in the future then he can just live his life without worry. I'm not big on covert operations myself but there is usually a reason that triggers it. If someone decided to film what I got up to they'd be awfully bored. In relation to what happens at puppy farms or hoarders or some BYB's I have to say this - think about your own worst case scenario with your animals. Maybe one is a little overdue for a nail cut or a bath/groom. Maybe the dog beds are a little whiffy but it has been raining so you haven't washed them. Maybe you haven't picked up any poo in the backyard for a couple of days, maybe you just noticed one of their outside water bowls is a bit green (inside ones are fine). Maybe you came home from work to find one of your dogs had shredded a piece of furniture in the yard and you left it there overnight. Maybe you got caught in traffic and you are an hour late giving them dinner. You would never chain your animal for an extensive period unless the fence was broken. You would beat yourself up if they injured themselves on something in the backyard that you hadn't noticed. These are all normal things we might face because we lead busy lives. They are on our list of things to do and we do them as soon as we can. You still see, touch and interact with them in some capacity every single day because that is as important to you as it is to them. But with these abuse cases there are animals living in cages filled with weeks of excrement. Or they might be chained to something and surrounded by their own filth and human rubbish for days on end. They never have any bedding regardless of the season. There are no toys to chew on or play with. Their water bowls are totally empty. They are starving because they have missed more than one meal. Their hair is matted because no-one has looked at them or touched them in months. Their nails are curling under for the same reason - no-one has noticed or cared. If they get injured then they have to suffer on their own. There is no 'to do' list with their needs written on it. This is the difference to me and no companion animal should be subjected to even a minute of this kind of neglect. If very basic needs cannot be met over the long term then the animal simply can't stay there. Nothing is going to magically change if a person either doesn't care or doesn't have the mental capacity to care. All the support in the world will not make those kinds of changes sustainable if there is no desire or understanding. How come most people get that and the law doesn't want to? Owning an animal is a personal choice, not an essential need. A level of responsibility comes with that ownership whether you are making a living from them or keeping them as a pet - regular sustenance, adequate sanitary shelter for where you live and physical care as required to keep them well, otherwise go buy yourself a stuffed toy.

Gosh how exciting for you and I love the name! I'm glad she has come into your life.

This is unimaginable. Boronia my heart is breaking for you. That is more loss than anyone can bear. I hope you have people around you giving you the love and support you need. Run free together over the bridge little ones. XXX

I agree the media are just jumping on the greyhound issue but I'm thinking a kidney tumour would be terribly painful. I really feel for that particular dog and what it went through. Rest In Peace now Hellyeah Tom.

Know the feeling Yep, been there got the t-shirt too. Very disappointed to see you join in this silliness, Little Gifts. Be disappointed. I have my reasons for saying that too and apologies don't mean much when the same thing happens over and over.

Know the feeling Yep, been there got the t-shirt too.

That was just the most amazing memorial to two very special and different girls. What a full life they have had with you and so many funny and wonderful memories you made together. Such a tragedy to lose them so close together but maybe Daisy had to make the way for Penny. Wherever they are at least they have each other. I'm sorry for your pain.

Were they bantams because it sounds very appropriate for a lot of scary bantam roosters my mother owned over the years! Feisty little buggers!

Met 2 deaf cattle dogs at a rescue event called Stone (adult) and Pebbles (puppy).

I desperately want to name a dog Floki (with accent!) from Vikings! It would have to be a 'special' dog just like his namesake. Chimmy - When I was a toddler we had a JRT called this which came from the chimney sweep song in Mary Poppins which came out around the same time. Phobie - My very first dog of my own was an OES who I named Phobie (said Fobie) as I thought that was how you spelt and said the name Phoebe. Hey Dog/Gordon/Ian - One of the funniest we had was a corgi/shephard cross I took on as an adult who had been named Hey Dog by his previous teenage owner who had sensory and intellectual disabilities. Over the years he lived with us he also responded to Ian and Gordon which were names of friends we had back then. No idea why but maybe they were also trialled by the original owners before Hey Dog stuck. Ricky - Female SBT named after Ricki Lake by the original owner. Bundy - Male SBT also named by the original owner because he was born in Queensland but relocated to Vic. Stussy- My current SBT arrived with no name (and had never had one apparently). She wouldn't respond to all the girly names I wanted. In desperation my friends and I were sitting around saying names at her and someone said the surf clothing brand name Stussy and she responded. Tempeh - Our shar pei was Dimples as a foster and when she became a foster fail I wanted to give her a Cantonese name that described her personality. I did loads of research but she was having none of it. We came up with Tempeh Soya Bean Dean (Tempeh being an asian food item made from soya beans and Dean being our surname) and because the 'temp' and 'dimp' sounds are similar. She also responds equally to her nickname Doodle Bug. If anyone ever hears of another Tempeh I'd love to know. I wasn't planning on having a food named dog but it happened!

When snarly faces and bum holes collide!

Now I know who is who I can confirm I am a member of Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band! He is divine!

I'm confused. Is the one with the white socks, chest, around the snozz and stripe up the face Sargent Pepper (first photo in post 46)? So very cute! I was so excited there is a a Rocky as Rocky Raccoon is my all time favourite Beatles song and I don't think it is that well known as it is one of their sillier tunes. If I had Rocky I tell him how a very famous band wrote a song for him once, a long time ago.... Promise me you are singing Beatles songs to them!

My neighbour walks in the morning and I walk in the afternoon. We don't live on the same street but he passes both our houses every walk and if either of us are out in our cars we often come across him too (as well as on our own walks when we cross paths). We have both seen his dog try to stop to poo and been made to walk on. We have both seen the dog drop poo and the owner make no effort to stop or pick it up. He wears summer/minimal clothing all year round and I've never seen a poo bag dispenser on him or the leash or dog so even if he does keep a couple in his pocket both of us have seen pooing and no stopping and picking up. Never said anything to him about it as the poo is usually on the bitumen rather than people's front yards or pathways. My neighbour and I saw them recently go by her house on a midday walk, in the rain and the poor dog looked desperate to poop. The look on its face made us both burst out laughing. That's what got us talking about what we see of his dog walking regime compared to ours (ours aren't the same either but we have different breeds who have different stimulation outside of walks as well).

Seriously? I can't talk to a dog loving neighbour about another dog owning neighbour and ponder the difference in our exercise regimes? I was just wondering what others think and do. The differences in what people do have been quite interesting. It has started me thinking I should vary the intensity on our walks so we have some fun sniffing stuff and some more serious focused exercise. And have you ever lived in Queensland during summer? I never leave the house myself without water and if I think my dogs need a small drink on a hot day to tide them over till we get home then they get one out of my bottle. It is still winter here yet next week it will be 27 degrees. Perhaps you can't imagine what it must be like in summer in the middle of the day with no shade doing exercise on a hot surface? That's about the only actual issue I have with this situation and if I ever saw him or his dog in distress I would offer assistance and not berate him. PS I have edited the title to better reflect my actual ponderings as I don't think he is over exercising his dog in distance terms but can't personally support exercising any dog in the heat during the middle of the day.