Panto

http://www.care2.com/causes/can-threat-of-life-in-prison-help-stop-dog-attacks.html Can Threat of Life in Prison Help Stop Dog Attacks? by Alicia Graef August 14, 2013 9:30 pm New proposals in England and Wales could mean a life sentence in prison for someone whose dog fatally attacks a person. Under the controversial Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA), which was introduced following attacks in 1991, an owner whose dog attacks someone in public currently faces two years in jail or fines, or both, but government officials are considering changes in an effort to stop attacks and encourage responsible dog ownership. One of the major changes being considered is increasing the penalties for owners of dogs who attack, which some believe aren’t severe enough currently, especially in cases where people have died. Officials have released a questionnaire that will be open until September 1 to ask the public what they believe the maximum sentence for owners of dogs who kill should be, which could be 7, 10 or 14 years in jail or even life imprisonment. A 10 year sentence for owners of dogs who injure a person or kill a guide dog are also being recommended. “Dog attacks are terrifying and we need harsh penalties to punish those who allow their dog to injure people while out of control. We’re already toughening up laws to ensure that anyone who owns a dangerous dog can be brought to justice, regardless of where a dog attack takes place. It’s crucial that the laws we have in place act as a deterrent to stop such horrific incidents,” said animal welfare minister Lord de Mauley. The proposals follow numerous incidents, including the high-profile case of Jade Anderson who was killed at a friend’s residence this spring. No charges will be brought against the owner of the dogs in that case because it happened on private property, which is another aspect of the DDA that officials hope to change. According to the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the government acknowledged that a life sentence was severe and disproportionate to the offense, comparing it to sentences for causing a death by careless and dangerous driving, which are 5 and 14 years, respectively. However, some are welcoming tougher sentences. According to the Guardian, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that represents postal, utility and delivery workers, whose members suffer an estimated 5,000 attacks every year, and charity Guide Dogs, whose assistance dogs are currently suffering an average of ten attacks a month, both support such changes. Whether or not they’re fatal, the issue of dog attacks is unquestionably serious, but some are concerned about whether increasing sentences after the fact will actually do anything to reduce the number of attacks, which have increased significantly since the DDA was passed. “Unless you solve this problem of people not being able to control their dogs properly then I still think you’re going to see a rise in dog attacks and dog biting,” David Bowles, head of public affairs for the RSPCA, told the BBC. Others are supporting Dog Control Notices, which would give authorities the ability to force owners of dogs with questionable behavior to go through a training program, use leashes and muzzles in public, or alter their property to decrease the likelihood of an attack, among other things, which animal advocates believe is key to helping prevent attacks from happening in the first place. Anderson’s parents are welcoming changes to the law, but are also pushing for more preventative measures, including community education. With children being the most common victims of bites, educating communities about basic dog behavior and teaching children how to interact with dogs could go so much farther in dealing with this issue than targeting breeds or throwing people in jail after it’s too late. Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/can-threat-of-life-in-prison-help-stop-dog-attacks.html#ixzz2c6UaNPBN

incomplete journalistic research at it's best again!! Georgina Mitchell should have done a more thorough investigation before quoting numpties concerned citizens then :)

Some interesting points raised by a parent, I hope local residents don't take advantage of this privelige. Samman is this your hood?

Dogs allowed off leash cause waves at beach Date August 15, 2013 Georgina Mitchell Roam free: A woman walks her dog on Wanda Beach, part of which is now open to owners to bring their dogs at any time. Photo: John Veage One of Sydney's main ocean beaches has been allowed by a council to go to the dogs … literally. The Sutherland Shire Council decision has put residents, animal-lovers and conservationists at odds, with dogs now allowed to roam 24 hours a day on Greenhills Beach, referred to as part of Wanda Beach by some locals, under a 12-month trial. Dogs were previously allowed to roam free between the hours of 4pm and 10am, but access was expanded after community lobbying. Wanda Beach, now a 24-hour off-leash zone. Photo: John Veage The move, a rarity in Sydney, has prompted talk of beach boycotts and warnings of environmental damage. Adam Freeland, of Cronulla, said free-roaming dogs terrified his young son, so he was forced to break his years-long routine of going to Greenhills. ''I have a son who is handicapped, and for him to come face to face with a charging animal, that I'm sure only wants to play, can be intimidating and upsetting for him,'' Mr Freeland said. ''For me, there's a risk someone will get bitten, and unfortunately that's what I think it will take for something to be done.'' There are no size or breed restrictions for the off-leash area, but Sutherland shire councillor Scott Williams said he did not expect any problems. ''There has not been a record of any child being bitten from the existing hours of 4 to 10,'' he said. Michelle Lawson, who advocated for the 24-hour off-leash zone, said the beach has always belonged to dog owners and families have plenty of places to go. ''That area of Greenhills has never had anyone on the beach as a family or using the beach to swim - except the people that walk their dogs,'' she said. ''The owners are very responsible, and it's a community, so I'm not concerned.'' But Surfrider Foundation director Brendan Donohoe said beaches were an unnatural environment for dogs. The organisation, dedicated to the protection of Australia's waves and beaches, opposes the expansion of dog access to beaches, particularly in metropolitan areas. ''It only takes one irresponsible dog owner to cause mayhem in these areas,'' he said. ''The beach is a very dynamic area already with the waves, birds, balls, bathers, surfers and fishermen in play already.'' Mr Donohoe said the council decision had the potential to concentrate dog owners from across Sydney in a small beach area, affecting the habitat quality of the area and endangering any nearby ground-nesting birds. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/dogs-allowed-off-leash-cause-waves-at-beach-20130814-2rwvp.html#ixzz2bzdcDlDQ

That would work - not sure where in Sydney they drop off to? If it is a weekday pickup I can make arrangements so it is either with someone or left accessible but safe for pickup.

Any chance there is anyone going through Sydney? Or possible transport legs we can connect up? We have some towels + coats from our tracksuit drive we can donate. Please PM me if I am not responding, I don't check here all that often.

wow! is that... no... wait... is that... a bath for the dog??? wow!! cool

no worries, pls PM, would hate to muss a request, as I don't check here regularly! :)

if not done by this weekend I can probably do it sometime this weekend in daylight. Pls shoot me a PM if I can be of assistance.

that sounds wonderful! what area is this retirement village in?

I think it would be a fair point if you bought into a pet free apartment because you're highly allergic. I interpreted what Trisven meant as they should be allowed to choose in a dog/pet free environment as much as we're allowed to choose to live with our dogs, but I don't take it she means discriminating against registered assistance dogs, just empathising with people who chose it because it was pet free and how unfair they might think it is.

or better yet, move. to somewhere where they are not restricted. I'm wondering if a lot of them are tibetan mastiffs, being so popular with the chinese... (eta: unlikely, they're very expensive there)

agreed, though she does see strata type situations like this day in day out due to her job, so perhaps it's fairly common? the article in the link directs to another forum where 'plenty of forum discussion on strata pets etc', which I thought best not to link here.

'No dog' rule overturned DateJuly 3, 2013 - 9:44AM Jimmy Thomson A court decision allowing a “hearing assistance” dog to stay in a pet-free apartment building may have set a precedent for other pet owners trying to fight apartment owners who are dead against dogs. Leading strata lawyer Beverley Hoskinson-Green, a partner at Makinson d'Apice, said the case was a “road map for anyone wishing to get around legitimate by-laws banning pets from strata schemes”. Larry the Jack Russell was last week given court approval to live in a pet-free Pyrmont building after his owner successfully argued that he was a hearing assistance dog, trained to alert him when there was someone at the door or when a fire alarm had gone off. Under NSW strata laws, "no-pet" by-laws can't exclude assistance animals, including guide dogs and hearing dogs. But Ms Hoskinson-Green is concerned that other dog owners will use this legal loophole to get their pets into buildings where they are clearly not welcome. "All you need to do is take a hearing test which is entirely subjective – if you don't want to hear the noise, you don't press the button – and suddenly you have a hearing impairment,” she says. “You then train your dog to bark at the source of any noise and, once you do that, your dog is a 'hearing dog' and can remain in the strata scheme.” However, Ms Hoskinson-Green stressed “that was not the case with Larry's owner, who presented long-standing audiometry reports demonstrating hearing impairment". Strata lawyer Suzie Broome, also of Makinson & d'Apice, who ran the case on behalf of the owners corporation of the apartment block, explained the by-law banning pets was on the books before Leone and Dan Drexler bought their unit in the strata scheme. When Mrs Drexler brought Larry into the building she was asked to remove the dog but refused. “She then made application to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal for an adjudicator's order that she be allowed to keep her pet,” says Ms Hoskinson-Green. “Mrs Drexler withdrew her application before it was considered but soon after the Owners Corporation received a notice that Mr Drexler had a hearing impairment and that Larry the dog had been trained as a hearing dog.” The owners corporation successfully applied to the CTTT – which adjudicates on strata disputes – for orders that the dog be removed from the strata scheme. However, an appeal tribunal later accepted Mr Drexler's assertion that Larry was a bona fide assistance dog and reversed the decision, saying the owners corporation had failed to prove Larry wasn't a hearing dog. Mr Drexler, a building inspector, said his hearing had been damaged by years of working in the construction industry. Furthermore, Larry had been certified by the City of Sydney Council as an assistance dog, meaning he was allowed on public transport and into shopping centres. Suzie Broome said she found it "bizarre" that a dog trained to run away from the hearing impaired person and bark at the noise, could perform the function of a hearing assistance dog. “Larry was not trained to go to the hearing impaired person and tap or paw that person to attract their attention – quite the reverse," she said However, District Court judge Philip Taylor disagreed and found that Larry satisfied the definition of a "dog used as a hearing dog" and upheld the CTTT's decision. Ms Broome told Fairfax Media that, regardless of the facts related to Larry's case, the definition of “hearing dog” was too loose. “To me, if a dog hears someone at the door and runs to you, it's a hearing dog,” she explained. “But if it hears someone outside and runs barking to the door, it's just a pet.” Ms Hoskinson-Green has good reason to fear an epidemic of claimed disability related to attempts to keep dogs in pet-free buildings. She was involved in a similar case when a dog was removed from a "no animals" strata scheme in Cape Cabarita on the Parramatta River. “In that case, the dog's owner had a doctor's certificate that the dog assisted in relieving the symptoms of a head injury sustained some time previously,” she told Flat Chat. “However, there was other evidence that the dog's owner went to work, did the shopping, played tennis and went to the gym – all without the dog. “The CTTT adjudicator concluded that the dog was not an assistance dog as contended and required the animal to be removed from the strata scheme.” Ms Hoskinson-Green said she is a dog owner and supports current moves to make it easier for strata residents to have pets. “While there is a developing movement for the rights of owners to keep their pets in strata schemes (and I'm very much in favour of that), there are circumstances where owners simply do not want to have animals in their strata scheme. “In the Cape Cabarita case, there were at least two owners who had suffered injury from dog attacks as children which had left them traumatised. In both cases they had carefully checked the by-laws before they purchased their apartments to ensure that the building was “dog free”. “Strata schemes are really the ultimate democracy and I'm a great believer in abiding by the will of the majority,” she says. Suzie Broome adds that the irony of training a dog to bark so it could stay in a strata scheme – where the most common complaint about dogs is their barking – wasn't lost on her, her colleagues or owners. Hearing dogs are a genuine and valuable help to their owners but they are usually trained to alert them by tapping them with their paw when they hear a noise. Some assistance dogs are even trained to knock the phone off the hook, triggering an automatic emergency services call, if their owner collapses. Lions Hearing Dogs Australia – a charity that trains and provides hearing assistance dogs – recruit their dogs from rescue kennels and it takes six to eight months to train them. One dog highlighted on their website could tell when its owner was about to have an epileptic seizure, 20 minutes before it occurred. Hearing Dogs Australia decides which dog goes into which home – the hearing impaired person doesn't get to choose the dog. You can find out more about Lions Hearing Dogs on their website. http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/no-dog-rule-overturned-20130702-2p9qc.html

perhaps this should be in the cruelty section...

I hadn't thought to check if ingredients had changed, but panto's fur isn't as nice this year and she's had upset tummy more often recently. I had put it down to one-off possibilities of tradies leaving food behind or the fact she is getting old, hadn't thought it could be her food... I wonder if ingredients had changed? Doesn't look like it and she still eats it as normal.

he's stunning!! will keep ears peeled, paws crossed for him!

Will keep an eye out, im near wynyard

oh geez louise!!! I just hope they changed their minds, or maybe someone in the family was having a bad moment and threatened to give them away but didn't really mean it.

if she's good with other dogs and needs a stopover in sydney on her travels pls PM me.

We've had another successful workshop! And we are working on a network to get jumpers out to dogs that need it, got some lovely ladies helping us in the background ( ). Pls do PM me if you can identify a pound/shelter which would be happy to receive it, or if you might be able to help us transport some by way of joining you on a journey you already undertake, or if you regularly meet up with someone who does transport! Our little workshops made it into the Daily Telegraph today - http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/city-east/chippendale-workshop-turns-old-tracksuits-into-pooch-pullovers/story-fngr8h22-1226669482966 And little Pepper is on the cover of this week's Central Magazine!

what a lovely offer!!

Happy to do up a poster for the little mite if this will help, any chance of more photos?

We are taking it on advice from a professional :) He's well regarded, I am just not sure about naming people on a public forum is all. I am considering taking some myself!! :laugh:

Just started Panto on it, so no results yet, but wondering if anyone else has had experience with it for their furkids? http://www.emed.com.au/index.php