~Anne~

My sentiments exactly. It needs professional medical help, not Internet advice.

Please ensure you tell her that Benadryl will do nothing unless the dog is coughing. Also, if the dog isn't in pain, she is taking a risk of a bleed by giving it aspirin, and for nothing.

Triple post!

Double post.

Agree. When I ran my rescue, a good number of the dogs that came into my care were private surrenders. My service was called Pug Rescue Sydney. I suppose, looking back, I could have called it rescue and rehoming. Adopters were informed of the dogs background and how it was acquired however. There was never any doubt about the dog and it's history unless it came from a pound. I used the term for all of them, however, for want of a better word. The same with the word 'adoption' re a thread here recently. Sure, the dog is being bought and sold but adoption is the common term and I used it just as easily. There was no intention to mislead or cause an emotional response.

On further reflection, why aspirin if he isn't in pain? I might be wrong but I suspect your friend's concern about costs is why this dog is not being properly diagnosed or treated. I suspect she has been relying on the internet for advice instead of a vet. Were X-rays really taken? Were 'syringes' really taken? I'm not so sure it's the vet that is the issue, I think it is your friend.

I'm glad to see you are receiving help. A quick comment on the bolded bit above. Why Benadryl? In Australia, Benadryl, is a cough suppressant. We do not have an antihistamine here of that name to my knowledge if that is what you meant. I have read of several people giving dogs Benadryl in Australia because of advice given on forums from people in the US.

Totally agree Nic.

In my experience people have a pair of dogs like this for one reason and that's intimidation factor which usually comes with allowing the flexing of some muscle being signs in the dog they appreciate, then one day sadly this happens. It's not a breed bash I am speaking, it's a genetic configuration in dogs like this that people throw together to create a tough factor not unlike they did years ago with GSD's and Doberman and the breeders of these type of dogs are responsible for the tightening and targeting of Bull breeds within the BSL structure as too many are purposely bred for aggression where the aggression is in the wrong place in the dog's character for usability and stability necessary in a family pet. Are you serious with this comment! Surely not. :laugh: I'm trying very hard to look at it seriously but it's impossible. Do you honestly believe that people who own multiple dogs, which might be considered strong or large, only own the dogs to intimidate? Who or what are they intimidating and what kinds of dogs do you think they might have to accomplish this intimidation?

I'd fly. Travel time is much, much shorter which means less stress.

I didn't expect discounts, I negotiated them as I would anything in business.

Personally, I think you and Dogmad have got it round the wrong way. I think DOL is a hell of a lot calmer these days. The dust ups of days gone by were memorable! I think I'm still carrying some scars. :D

I'd say the article is spot on. I agree with almost everything the writer says. Rescue has morphed into an unhealthy beast and I'm not sure that anything is on the horizon to tame this beast. I agree with much of your postal well Steve.

Your farewell sounded lovely Bindo.

I don't think I've ever purchased a puppy that didn't spend a fair whack of hours by itself. I haven't had a puppy for a long while though. Boof was my last and he is now 11. Boof spent anywhere from 6-12 hours alone on a very regular basis until we began to foster rescues when he was around 6 months old. He is a very well balanced dog. I've never experienced any problems with him. Partly I guess this is because of his breed and his temperament. I agree that this was not ideal and recognise that it could have resulted in issues. I think I'm knowledgable enough to know how to manage such a situation however. Life is rarely ideal. I worked right through bringing up my children too and managed this just as successfully. :) I have no plans to have a puppy again. I prefer older dogs as I feel they are less work and more suitable to my family and life. In having said that, if I did ever get another dog, puppy or otherwise, there will be a time when it would be home alone for up 12 hours a day. I re-homed my rescues based on many factors. There were no black and white rules. Each home and each dog were assessed on their own merits. I know of rescues and breeders who see only black or white on different issues and I think it is shortsighted. Most though seem to recognise that a balanced perspective is the wisest view.

So has NSWAR moved? Re: Rozzies comment http://www.lithgowmercury.com.au/story/1283520/giving-pets-a-helping-hand/

Lillypilly, you seem to be mentoring Rachelle or at least you were vouching for her intentions. Are you still in contact with her?

I doubt very much they could disappear overnight. In fact I'd pretty confidently say they couldn't. A simple test you can do at home to see the presence of crystals is to get him to urinate on newspaper. Place the newspaper in the sun until it dries then hold it up to the light. If there are crystals, you will see the light glittering off the dried urine. Someone has wrong or faulty test results. Could either test have been compromised? ie contaminated somehow? If your dog is having trouble urinating I'd suggest the crystals are possibly large and causing a blockage. Either way he needs a retest and he needs the issue of painful or difficult urination to be resolved. Taking a sample directly from the bladder is the most accurate way to test.

I was only looking at this thread earlier after hearing reports that she's left people with animals and gone underground. It's certainly not sounding good. Perhaps the poster that came under fire for airing her grievances against this person is not the evil person she was accused of being on here.

Thank you everyone. Your support is very comforting. It's great to hear the experiences from others too who have gone through similar or the same procedures with their dogs. Boof is booked for the 30th for the removal of the spleen and another X-ray of his lungs to ensure there is nothing else there. It was difficult it coordinate an earlier date due to various things so we have to keep him wrapped in cotton wool for a couple of weeks to ensure he doesn't have another bleed.

It turns out the growth on his spleen is now over 8cm and has doubled in size. I should know the date of his operation after today. I need to coordinate a suitable date so I can take time off work to be with him. Initially I had hoped we could just do chemo to shrink the tumour but I have been advised that the risk of a bleed will be too great. The spleen bleeds are apparently also painful and I don't want him in pain.

I have one who hates his nails being clipped and he will not accept the dremel either. I think I'd be worried about a vet who recommends a GA for nail clipping too!

When they said sedate, are you sure they meant 'general' ie putting him under or were they perhaps referring to light sedation ie giving him a sedative such as ace, Valium etc. If it just a sedative, I'd do it. It means less stress for him and you and his nails trimmed. I'd seriously doubt they would be suggesting anything stronger to trim nails anyway.

My apologies, I read your post wrongly and thought they had offered you another pup. The rest of your post is an over reaction in my view. Possibly warranted given the stressful situation you have found yourself in, however, no one is saying you are responsible. Most have looked at it from a detached and objective view point. When you seek views on a public forum you should stress that you only want views you agree with if it upsets you to see a range of views, some opposing. Many who are responding in this thread are not breeders. I am not a breeder. We all have differing views and we all are looking at the situation from different perspectives. I think you should remain being a member here. You may not always like the responses to your posts but you will most certainly get very broad range and many, many very credible responses from knowledgable people.

I don't want to turn this into a euthanasia thread but determining his life and the quality of life is not a 'he's worth it' issue. ALL dogs are worthy of a life but it isn't always the best thing for them. A car is not a living breathing thing. You cannot compare a dog that is made of living cells to a car. I can understand your anger, your grief and the stress at the situation you have found yourself in but sometimes there is no fault to lay. If you gave birth to a child with severe congenital issues and you didn't set out to achieve that, would you also be so harsh on yourself? Some conditions cannot be screened for. Some conditions cannot be prevented. Of course there very well may be a slack ass breeder in this situation who has done the wrong thing. In which case, they should offer you compensation. They've offered you compensation with another pet even though they believe they did all they could to ensure healthy pups. They at least are trying to negotiate some kind of offering which is better than being told to piss off. It's always hard with pets because you become attached though and that feels like a slap in the face. You love the one you have. It is hard to look at the situation objectively because you are so close to it. Your pups issues may be a twist of nature. Only you, the breeder and maybe a judge can work that one out to a conclusion however.