HeavyPaws

Every two weeks for the past four years I've driven past this huge trailer-trash looking property, and they've had a big sign {like a church sign or roadworks sign} at the gate advertising a different breed of puppy and kitten every month or sooner. If I slowed down enough and had a crane-and-nosy, I could see rows of runs behind the bushes and rusty cars, and sometimes I'd see dogs in this small paddock looking area. Please note that I DID think it was fishy, and I reported it to the RSPCA no less than three times a year since I first noticed it, every single time was "Oh, that's a worry, we'll look into it". When I ask to keep undated with the investigation, I've had a range of responses that go from "Sorry, that will be classified information" to "We'll send you an email" {never received a thing} Still they kept advertising all these different breeds and litters so obviously nothing was done about it. Last night I drove past it for the first time this month, and they have a puppy-kitten sign out but a lovely new sign next to it, saying _____ Boarding Kennels. Puppy mill turned boarding kennel? I'm afraid I don't understand if a place like that is even able to become a kennel. Should I make an effort to report it once again {I was actually going to pose as a potential customer and insist on seeing the grounds} or do you think this is perfectly reasonable and I'm actually a crazy animal-welfare nut who sees puppy mills in every darkened garage corner? Also want to add, I'm not going to say where this kennel is or what the name is. I don't want this to be a situation where the possible-puppy-mill sold the property to a respectable business owner who is going to renovate it into a lovely kennels, and I ruin their business by mentioning that they're a puppy mill to the dog community.

A Miami neighbourhood was left horrified on Thursday morning when they woke to find dozens of dead, headless animals littered along their street. In a scene reminiscent of a horror movie, the bloodied remains of the animals were laid out over nearly two blocks in the residential area. Decapitated goats, cats and different kinds of birds like pigeons and hens were strewn along the street in what some residents think may have been part of some kind of witchcraft or a religious ritual like Santeria. Police are investigating if the bizarre find was in fact something more sinister or an early Halloween prank. Santeria is a centuries old religion where sacrificial birds and animals are an offering during ceremonies as believers worship saints and feel they are cleansed of all evil. Resident Marioly Perez who woke when she heard screeching tires said she was terrified at what was outside her front door: 'Nothing had a head. I have never seen anything like this. It's scary'. Onlookers said that there was also a 'very large' animal that no one could identify. Some neighbours said they saw five people dressed in white and others heard a loud bang and the sound of a speeding car's tires peeling away. When they walked out of their homes they were faced with headless carcasses and body parts all over the road. Perez said as well as the unsightly images the smell was suffocating as it appeared the animals may have been dead for a while. Josefine Pita who also lives in the area said: 'We all love animals here. This is very, very depressing. You don't know what kind of crazy people are around your neighbourhood'. She added: 'It's very, very scary because you don't know if they are going to steal your animal'. Miami's Sanitation Department arrived to clear away the bodies and intestines while the Fire Department hosed down the street to get rid of all remnants of the blood. Warning, link to article contains graphic pictures, may distress Headless animals in Halloween prank

My old kelpie cross used to watch the sheep trials with my grandfather on the telly. As soon as the herd would go off screen she'd dash around the tv to herd them back. Moon gets put off by children wearing masks, particularly children she knows wearing masks. We took her to Kaylee's preschool at Christmas, all the kids were wearing reindeer masks. She knows all the children and will go to them if you say, for example, "Go to Mitchell!". That day they'd call her and she'd go to them, but look around like she wasn't sure this strange creature was the one who called her. She was very, very unsure and hid in the book corner for most of the day.

I can imagine the birds calling the hotline "I can't take it anymore! I'm gonna do a Bonnie!"

I have to admit, guys, ever since page 1 I have been dying to dog-prank you all, and post a hideous oodle-something and insist it's a very rare breed and lead you on for pages.

I've heard a million times what a great body she has. All the bogans are willing to tell me "Aww mate dat's an awesum dawg, she's got a huge head and it'd bite ya in two!" She's very stocky, very strong looking, plus being very tall for a bitch, and well muscled from daily runs, she looks like "one of those dogs". Plus people tell me she's the biggest staffy they've ever seen because she's 'blue'. Uhh nope..merle God only knows what they were going to put over her to get "big" puppies. My poor baby was traumatised! The burger went uneaten! Also, lappiemum, what's Deliverence?

Beat you with my story. Pulled up at a nsw service station, we were on holiday. I took Moon out of the back and walked her over to the designated dog tree. A guy followed us over and pulled out his wallet and goes "She's perfect for breeding, how much?" I must have looked like one of those paranoid mothers when a strange man walks past the playground, shoved her behind me with my hands holding her collar, stricken with horror look on my face and said "Not for sale, she's not for breeding" Anybody who knows dogs can see she's badly bred. She's merle, for one, has a saggy tuck, has ears that sit across her head like a bandanna, her front paws point inwards, her tail looks like a grey cricket bat and she has a back on her like a 30 year old draft horse. THEN His wife walks over and goes "Oh, we have a perfect match for her" "No, sorry" Husband pipes up with "Don't worry, the pups will be purebred, our boy's a Champion" Yeah, I totally believe that one. Now I'm trying to get around the tree with my 65 kilo, 37 inch high dog behind me, who's trying desperately to get to the wife, who's thrusting her half-eaten burger at Moon and coaxing "Here, puppy, come here..", while going "No, sorry, I'm not a breeder, no, sorry..." over and over The husband then offers to fill our car up plus $500 in cash for her right there. I say no. He makes that offer again and throws in lunch. I say no. So now it's lunch, petrol and gas, $800 and another $200 when they get home. NO. We finally end up piling back in the car and driving off, with him still shouting out offers.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but yes. She stops, listens, makes a strangled half-howl, and then snarls and turns sideways to bite her own legs. Once her teeth make contact she yelps, then crouches down whimpering. If she's facing a mirror or reflective surface she'll bark at herself until the howling stops. She also does it during the intro of CM shows. Maybe she was abandoned at birth by a pack of wolves, and has traumatic memories

Yep, Moon. Oh, except for the afraid of moths thing. And the barking at sky writers. And how she attacks herself when she hears videos of wolves howling. And how she farts after smelling eggs cooking. And how... Ugh. Okay, she's not 100%.

Two of my relatives have made the {bad} decision to buy a puppy. Thanks to the recent puppy milling ads, they've done research and absolutely will NOT buy from anyone but a registered, responsible breeder. That's the only plus in this entire story. They're set on a particular breed, will not consider anything else. They love the unique look of the breed and won't sway from it. All my suggestions for more energy-suitable dogs were met with big "no, no way, it HAS to be....." At this point in their lives, I know a puppy wouldn't be the best thing for them. They've just declared their second bankruptcy and are thinking of selling their house to pay their debts off. They have no money at all, I've loaned them $2000 just this year so they could pay their bills and eat. Yet they desperately want a puppy, and when I brought up the money issue, outlining all the costs of a dog, they said they'd just lie to the breeder they chose and make them think they had plenty of money. The breed they've chosen is fairly cheap, and they've scraped together money to buy the puppy straight out, but they admit freely they won't have the money to desex, vaccinate, go to training or buy reasonable food. My question is. If you knew someone who would be an absolutely horrible choice for a puppy, who was planning on lying to a breeder regarding their level of ability to care for a puppy, would you call/email the breeders of that breed and let them know not to sell to the people of that name? Or is it one of those things you just shrug and say "Well, nothing I can do" and let them and the puppy suffer for their lie?

I once read an article about how far a range of people/animals walked. It amazed me that the average housewife in the 50's would walk up to 30,000 steps a day. They had a calculation for how much more a working dog worked than a farmer. Something like clocking up up to four hours extra work a day and a couple km's extra. And all for a pat and a bone!

I agree about the 'old times' thing. I grew up as a feral child on a farm and I learned early on to interpret dog body language. When the dog had enough of being run around the paddock by 10 screaming kids, we'd know when to leave it alone. It took being nipped a few times, but that was it. We were told "don't touch the dog's food", we did it, we got nipped, we cried and were told "See what happens?", we didn't do it again. We learned the emotional thresholds of dogs early on. We'd be stacked on top of the heeler giggling and poking and suddenly all back off because it let us know that enough was enough. If we ignored the warnings we'd get nipped and barked at. He loved playing but when he'd had enough the meaning was clear. Now dogs are something you can go into a store and buy, it's like a new baby "hug the puppy, chase the puppy, touch the puppy's food" and when puppy has had enough and is presenting signs of getting reaaalllyyy sick of being picked up and dragged around, kids have no idea what's going on and end up getting bitten. I've been called dog whisperer by my friends because I know when to leave the dog alone when it just bites everyone else. It's not magic, it's not whispering, the dog went stiff then stalked off to the corner of the porch. It's not some grand magic trick, it very clearly told me "NO MORE" and I listened. Yeah, if I follow it and bend down to pat it, it will bite me. Education starts in the home as well, with dog-savvy parents that teach their kids to behave around animals. Even my 4 year old can tell when a dog tied up outside the store doesn't want to be approached. She'll go around it in a large circle and leave it well alone. She's friendly and playful with dogs, and can get rough, but she's never been bitten. Why? because we've taught her dogs are animals, and they can hurt you if you don't respect them. She always backs off before it gets too rough, and she'll walk away from a dog that's giving her the warning to back off. I love the idea of groups going to preschools and teaching children how to behave around dogs

I'll raise on that. Earlier this year I saw a heavily pregnant girl smoking at the bus-stop....in her school uniform.

We have the dreaded Mr Bee. When Mr Bee first joined our family, it was because he was free. But his welcome was short lived when we discovered that apart from being about a forearm's length long, he made a loud "BAH-ZZZZZ!" when given even the slightest pressure on his belly. Moon was overjoyed that she had a new toy, and she second she bit on him she was in love. As soon as Mr Bee touches her mouth, she rears up and down and leaps in circles like a Spanish Riding Pony. She runs across couches, tables and benches, trailing a "BAH-ZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!" the whole time, tail whip lashing everything in sight, drool splashing everywhere, claws scraping on wood, and when she drops him she barks and barks and barks while play-bowing. Mr Bee was banished after an hour. Her sole birthday gift is the entire day in the backyard with Mr Bee.

I know they're at PJ's Pet Warehouse in Sunbury. I saw them there and was considering it, but decided that it would affect the noise.