koalathebear

mixeduppup, is the Cootamundra volunteer that they are talking about you? :)

http://www.youngwitness.com.au/story/1628587/rescue-groups-denied-access-to-young-pound/?cs=1540 Rescue Groups Denied Access to Young Pound A wrangle over the fate of Young’s impounded pets has led to a stalemate between an animal rescue group volunteer and Young Shire Council. The volunteer, Harden local Lisa Ryan, says she wants to work with council to re-home impounded animals but council says legal and budget constraints complicate the issue. According to council’s 2011/2012 companion animal report – the latest available – Young pound euthanised 169 dogs and cats, 78 per cent of those left unclaimed. In early March, Ms Ryan re-homed 12 dogs and nine cats from the pound in her capacity as a transporter for animal rescue groups. She arranged a vet to come to the pound to vaccinate the animals and provided them with fresh meat and worming tablets. But since a May meeting between herself, general manager Peter Vlatko and planning, environment and strategic services director Craig Filmer to discuss continuing the practice, she hasn’t been granted access to the pound. Ms Ryan sent an email to Mr Filmer in June informing him a shipment of donated bedding, dog coats and worming tablets was on its way for the impounded animals. Mr Filmer responded advising her that it was not her place to organise any operational functions of the pound. “They’re not open to proven workable solutions that are working in Cootamundra Council down the road,” Ms Ryan said. Ms Ryan said she received no thank you for her efforts and was disappointed by what she called their “entrenched” attitude on the issue. She said as weeks went by animals were potentially being euthanised. Mr Vlatko told The Witness the issue was on hold until a re-homing report was presented to council. “What we said to her was she doesn’t have any rights until council works out its policy,” he said. Mr Vlatko said the onus for the care of the animals should be on the owners in the first place and questioned why council should pick up the costs for their irresponsibility. Ms Ryan said this was an outdated argument and council was responsible for the animals in their care. “Revenue received by council for the care and management of impounded animals must be used as intended, including education, not blaming their community,” she said. Ms Ryan claimed the conditions at the pound weren’t up to standard and that a canine parvovirus – commonly known as parvo – outbreak was present during the times she visited. “It broke my heart seeing four beautiful dogs die,” she said. Mr Filmer said parvovirus was common in pounds and that council had a thorough sanitation process to deal with it. He said spending $100 to $200 on vaccinations to prevent parvovirus was pointless when most of the animals would be destroyed within seven days of arrival. Mr Filmer told The Witness council complied with state government guidelines in its provisions for the animals. And he said he was “deeply disturbed” at animal blogs labeling the council as “pet killers” when they were meeting their legal requirements. However, Ms Ryan insisted council was not meeting a requirement of the NSW Companion Animals Act which stated pounds should seek alternative placement for companion animals before they were killed. Mr Filmer quoted a sub clause to the act which stated councils should only do so if “practical”. “I’m happy to look at re-homing for the small percentage that may fit re-homing ability subject to time, budget and the work constraints of my ranger,” he said. Mr Filmer said while he was open to placing a list of the available animals on the council website, they were not keen to use social media or conduct a marketing campaign, as suggested by Ms Ryan. At Cootamundra Council, compliance officer Glen McAtear said an animal rescue volunteer implemented program – including a Facebook page and website - had led to them only euthanising dangerous dogs. “If we get a dog that is suitable for re-homing, it will be re-homed,” he said. Mr McAtear said he had just nominated the volunteer for an award in light of her efforts. Lisa Wright of Maggie’s Rescue - which received all the cats and eight of the dogs Ms Ryan transported from Young – said they’d all been re-homed apart from one pregnant dog living with her. The dogs included a Chihuahua she said went ‘viral’ on social media and a Pomeranian X Factor host Luke Jacobs’ sister adopted. “People are beating past our door to adopt them, so why put these dogs down?” Ms Wright said. * The Young Witness has also offered to run a Pet of the Week section in the paper free of charge in an effort to re-home the impounded dogs.

We started clicker training with the puppies today - they are very intense and focused so it's quite fun to see them concentrating hard. I made a little video for the whole litter.

The Constitution has nothing to do with it. The Constitution is the supreme law under which the Commonwealth Government of Australia operates, including its relationship to the States of Australia and is only amended by a double majority referendum of all States and Territories. This issue would involve changing State/Territory laws relating to animals and personal property.

They are VERY smart and human-focused - always alert and interested. In this video they are trying SOOOO hard to sit for their diluted Manuka honey, but can't quite control themselves. Tails are going crazy. :) It's hard for me to believe that a week ago, they were at death's door!

Thanks so much tdierikx! And thanks heaps for all of your support and advice - this in particular has been a really stressful time so I really appreciated the help.

I think extremists of any sort are always alarming and irrational and it's upsetting when they air these twisted views on a public forum. I own one purebred dog from a registered and responsible breeder, one rescue dog and one crossbred mutt. All are equally beloved in this household and I feel like I have a foot in each of the three camps (yeah I have three legs) so it's upsetting to me when people say all crossbreeds are evil/bad/stupid, all breeders are evil or rescue is akin to BYB etc. I think sensible rescue groups know exactly where the problem lies and that's not with responsible breeders. It's with: 1. Backyard breeders/puppy farmers who breed indiscriminately and do not take responsibility for the dogs they create. 2. People who do not desex their dogs AND do not manage their dogs and do not take responsibility for the dogs they create. With the group I'm with, the founders were very open about sourcing their latest dog from a responsible, registered breeder rather than rescue. Their other two dogs are from rescue but there was no backlash or hostility towards breeders because they know that those aren't the people who dump their dogs and make them someone else's problem.

Smudge yearns for the larger pen Nutmeg yearns for the larger pen Sweet Nutmeg Nutmeg the kitten :) Smudge - still yearning Puppies playing - Nutmeg's tail is going a million miles an hour Their littermate Griff has also gone home to his carer and Jinx and Jax will go home today. Sadly, little Narla had to be euthanised. Her body couldn't fight it any longer and it was kinder to have her put to sleep. Very sad for her carer and we are all angry about the reckless 'breeder' who allowed this litter to be born and then dumped at the pound.

Puppies are doing well. They came down with kennel cough, but are recovering well - appetites huge, energy levels and playfulness very high :) They are getting a little Benadryl in the mornings and evenings and I give them water laced with Manuka honey at 3am and 6am when they're toileted to ease the cough. The coughing is almost all gone. We dropped stool samples at the vet yesterday and it was confirmed that not only do Nutmeg and Smudge no longer have parvo - they are no longer shedding the disease - so that is a big relief. What this mean for us was that it was time to do our comprehensive bleach bomb blitz. Smudge and Nutmeg had another bath and we bleached their pen, crate etc, tossed out all of their current blankets, bowls and toys. We put them in a temporary smaller pen and they were not impressed and squeaking their disapproval of their downsized living quarters. I bleached the front steps and pathway, their toileting area ... There will still be residue but we've done what we can. This means no more fostering of puppies or unvaccinated dogs for us, but that's fine. As they are not shedding anymore, we'll let them play with our dogs soon. We'll wait until they have recovered from kennel cough, though. Notwithstanding all of that, all of our dogs (including the resident dogs) are being confined to the house until the end of the month just to make absolutely sure we don't spread anything anywhere. Some photos of the puppies now that they are on the path to good health. Nutmeg was attacked as a young puppy and her ear torn. The vet says her ear will always be creased like this, poor baby. Nonetheless, it gives her character. Smudge & Nutmeg Nutmeg & Smudge Little Smudgie Bedraggled Smudge after her bath Nutmeg wants to kiss you!

FB is just one of many fora though. The above seems to suggest that rescue shouldn't have access to the internet or any form of communication. Don't forget that defamation taken to its most basic is a defamatory statement made to a third party. This could be in person. The issue is the people in question not the media, which is value-neutral.

facebook is a tool, just like any other form of communication. I'm sure that crazy nutbags promulgated garbage even in the days when only papyrus was to hand. Telephones are used to make obscene and threatening phone calls but no one ever says that people shouldn't be allowed to use a telephone. Blame the crazies and the unscrupulous rather than the medium used which is in itself value-neutral. Used properly I think that facebook can be an amazing way to educate the public, let them know about the status of various dogs and let them see where there donations are going. I also like paragraphs - paragraphs are good and make big chunks of text easier to read :)

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Thanks! PM'd her earlier today but I think she might be busy so I thought I'd post here :)

Posting here because there are more people viewing General than the breed sub-fora. I was asked if I knew any reputable whippet breeders in the ACT region so thought I'd ask here for any recommendations. Please PM me if you don't wish to post publicly. They are an older couple who have had a whippet before. They are not in any hurry and are prepared to wait for the right dog. Thanks very much in advance!

Thank you so much everybody. Smudge was discharged today!!! :) Look at her tail go. They are both doing very well. On antibiotics and we will monitor them closely. Our dogs (both foster and resident dogs) will be in lock down for a month until they are no longer contagious so we're going to have to do lots of tricks training and obedience to keep them occupied. We are also keeping resident dogs segregated from puppies for a month. Also bought a tonne of this stuff - gel and wet wipes. Their four littermates are still on IV so we are hoping that all will pull through the way my two have.

Thanks T! They are VERY cute little bucket heads :) Nutmeg's doing well today - very lively and playing with her rope toys and a towel - those towels can be vicious. We are hoping to pick up Smudge this evening. Alas, there four littermates aren't doing so well so fingers crossed for all the babies.

Awww Roo, the page has missed you :) This thread has been quiet ... I guess there are other places to also chat :laugh: Photos of my super models:

I don't want to get too excited too early, but it is looking as though Smudge and Nutmeg are going to make it through this. The vets all say that it was caught early enough that the prognosis should be good. We transferred them this morning from the emergency clinic to the normal vet. Here they are being carried to our jeep (which is going to be cleaned with bleach once we get them both home again): Here they are in the crate in the back of our jeep - on top of bleachable bathroom flooring from Bunnings: Here they are at the vet in their new isolation room: Nutmeg is doing better than Smudge but that's because she started receiving treatment even before she was displaying symptoms. Smudge is also on the mend so we will - touch wood - have them back with us tomorrow. We bought more bleach, gloves and panels today to bolster the segregation we have in the house. I have debated whether we should continue segregating them from our resident dogs. Post-recovery, the pups will be immune from parvo for a time but still be carrying and shedding. I've already told the agility and obedience club that we are absenting ourselves until such time we are in the clear so part of me is thinking we could probably let the dogs mingle in a few weeks even though they are still shedding - given that we won't be taking any of the dogs (including our own) outside of our house and yard. I am inclined to wait the full four weeks though, taking the pups to 12 weeks of age. Not ideal but my own dog Hoover wasn't socialised with any dogs outside of his own litter until 12 weeks of age and he turned out fine. Thoughts most welcome!! As for fostering, a couple of days ago I was thinking I never wanted to foster again ... now I've decided I will, but there won't be any more unvaccinated fosters given that we can't be confident we can eradicate the parvo completely, even with a bleach blitz. Thanks very much to everyone for your well-wishes. I am looking forward to posting happier photos of these two.

Thanks all. We are very upset but still hopeful that we got them treatment early enough. I slept near where they were to keep an eye on them overnight and was going out with a torch when toileting them at 2am to make sure that they didn't have blood in their stool. They were poorly when they got here but their stools firmed up in the short time they were with us and and they had excellent appetites and were very lively and attentive - showing no signs of illness at all. I had them vet checked upon arrival in Canberra. I had warned the vet then that they were high risk pups so made sure that we waited outside and didn't touch anything etc. They were totally fine then - good temperature, no alarming signs. We were going to wait for the weekend to pass before vaccinating to make sure they were stable. Last night, very suddenly, Smudge threw up four times and then lost interest in food and became listless so we took her to the vet immediately. The vet said that they were both in relatively good condition for dogs with parvo because he usually sees them when the disease is more advanced but the prognosis still isn't great unfortunately. Here they are at the vet's last night. Even then they were still making lots of eye contact, showing interest in the world around them: They are two little dogs who have so much potential - very smart and trainable. Learning to sit for food in a day and even learning to toilet outside only and not soil their pen i.e. they knew they were only to toilet when taken outside. I could tell that they would be excellent candidates for tricks/obedience etc because of how attentive and human-focused they are. Just hoping that they can pull through - and without permanent damage. Thanks again for all the kind words. I'll keep you posted.

Both puppies have parvo unfortunately. Fortunately, we caught it very early (because I was expecting it) and they are on IV right now. Details here. They have also been segregated from our dogs, although of course a full quarantine was not possible. Please keep the doggies in your thoughts.

I volunteered for them because I thought that they were Kelpies but when I saw them, they look more like border collie/cattle dog with a pinch of Kelpie. Still cute though!

I am so lucky that the owners of our fosters still keep in touch with us. I wanted to keep Ollie at the time, but the home he has gone to is much better than anything we could have offered. Smudge is the black Elbie clone with the up ears :) Nutmeg is the one that looks more border collie. They were terrified when we first met them but are now very friendly and LOVE cuddles. Nutmeg's been attacked by a bigger dog so one of her ears is a bit chewed up and she has puncture marks on her head but she is healing. As they are straight from the pound (something I swore I'd never do :p), they're segregated from our dogs and in a different part of the house on a bleachable vinyl floor and in a separate section of the yard, which we can also bleach. To be safe, they shouldn't meet our dogs until 14 days is up but as you can see, Hoover and Dodge would LOVE to meet them sooner :p This is them staring wistfully from another room at the puppy pen they can see in the distance

We ended up adopting him as a failed foster. Photos here :) http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/194978-elbie-hoover-dodge-friends/page__view__findpost__p__6084042

I'm between jobs so am fostering again. Meet Smudge & Nutmeg (both girls), who arrived yesterday We think they're about 8 weeks old. They're very smart and trainable so far. Learning to sit before food, really catching on quickly about toileting when taken outside and not soiling their puppy pen. They're currently in quarantine for two weeks so won't get to meet Elbie, Hoover and Dodge till then but they have seen each other across the way ... :)