labadore

I am so sorry that your beloved Jazz lost her fight with this awful beast , it is claiming far too many of our dogs My heart goes out to you during this very difficult time and my thoughts are with you as you grieve your beloved girl's loss. Run free at the bridge sweetheart and know you will be forever loved and remembered always by your family.

I just wanted the thread to stay focussed on the Physio subject and not veer into the surgery arena whilst I was still doing research on the surgical options vs conservative management whilst still trying to get his allergies under control under the guidance of Linda Vogelnest at Sash. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't proceed with the surgery straight away as the allergies needed to get sorted first as the poor boy was battling chronic ear infections and skin irritations and came to me in a pretty anxious state after being bounced around a few homes He has had a rough trot and just as we were turning a corner on both the allergies and anxiety issues, he ruptures his CCL Anyway we had the consult with David Lidbetter last week (Wed) which was great as he answered all the many questions and addressed the concerns I had :D and a couple of days later, I booked him in for a TPLO which was originally scheduled for tomorrow. However, yesterday I had to reschedule to Tuesday next week as I am a bit concerned about some itchiness he still has on left side which is the same side of his ruptured CCL so he uses that leg to scratch himself and I need to give him another week for the itchiness to abate. He has essentially been on an elimination diet for a few months to find the food/combos that work best for his allergies and since the diagnosis of his ruptured CCL, I have put him back on the Hills prescription Z/D with Kangaroo which seems to work the best for him in dramatically reducing his skin irritations and level of itchiness and his chronic ear infections have been cleared up with treatment and regular ongoing maintenance, so hopefully an extra week will do the trick with the skin irritations. The TPLO recovery will be traumatic enough for him without having to deal with itchiness that he may not be able to scratch. Am monitoring him closely and hopefully the skin irritation and level of itchiness continue to subside and we can proceed with the TPLO surgery next Tuesday. :) Great news about your Lab's excellent outcome, very happy for you both

Link below to a news article published today regarding SA CFS advising that pets should be included in bushfire plans in the wake of last week’s devastating Adelaide Hills fire: CFS says pets-should-be-included-in-bushfire-plans Article in full:

Merlin Oh my that poor baby doesn't bear thinking about what this poor cat went through and pain he must have been in until they found him Sending lots of healing vibes and positive thoughts his way and hope he survives after all he has been through. Best wishes Merlin for a full recovery

Doesn't seem so Jed as both petitions by two different groups have the same aim: to urge SA Government and RSPCA to conduct enquiries into the deaths of the pets and in the case of one of the petitions (on thepetitionsite.com website) they want changes to legislation in SA. If you follow the links to each of the petitions they clearly outline the aims of each petition. Petitions like these are normally galvanised into action by people/groups concerned that once the hue and outcry of a tragedy dies down, the necessary investigations are not carried out and no one is held accountable. There are so many reports abounding about this tragedy and facebook pages with extremely abusive messages which interestingly enough, most of the abuse is being posted by supporters of the kennels who are using disgusting language and tactics to intimidate and harrass the kennel's detractors to try to bully/frighten/bash them into silence There needs to be an enquiry to cut through the highly emotive issue of this tragedy to acertain all the facts of what happened/didn't happen for the sake of the grieving pet owners and their deceased pets and to prevent such a tragedy occuring in the future. Lessons need to be learned from any tragedy

Some further developments on this tragedy with calls for enquiries and action by SA government and RSPCA into this tragedy, along with online petitions, see links below to all the relevant info: Lawyers for Companion Animals - they are calling for "a commission of enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the neglect to evacuate these beloved pets" and "seeks guidelines for minimum standards to be discussed, ratified into legislature, and applied to animal boarding facilities in fire-prone areas in South Australia". Links to Petitions setup and these links are also listed on "Lawyers for Companion Animals" page in above link Petition setup by "Lawyers for Companion Animals" Petition setup by "Orange for Animal Cruelty Awareness"

My 5 year old Lab boy is insured with Pet Insurance Australia (PIA) and has been since a pup and they have been very easy to deal with, process and pay claims quickly, acknowledge receipt of claim by txt and always send out the annual renewal details in a very timely fashion. I did originally insure him with Petplan but they took so long to acknowledge and approve the application when I lodged it online in Dec 2009 as this was whilst they were in the process of implementing a new system and they were in utter chaos (and obviously haven't learnt from that debacle implementation by the sounds of recent events ). Whilst waiting for the application to be approved, I obtained a copy of the Choice report comparing the Pet Insurance Companies at the time and noted that Petplan "reduced their benefit for older dogs when they turn 10 years of age down to 65%" and this concerned me as this is the time when chronic illnesses like Cancer start becoming prevalent. Having lost one of my Lab boys at 10 years of age to Cancer, this reduced benefit was a sore point with me, so I decided to insure with PIA who had full 100% cover for older pets. I realised that Petplan was the only insurance company at that time that had "no limit cap" on benefit limit per condition for the life of the pet and they will pay up to the annual limit each year, unlike PIA, where the annual limit of $15,000 per condition was the limit for the life of the pet and I figured that if my boy was ever unlucky enough to have a chronic illness that needed more than $15,000 paid, I would have to seriously consider his quality of life. Having already gone through this with my Lab boy who had cancer and his treatment for this included emergency surgery and chemo , I would not have put him through any more treatment not because I couldn't afford to (didn't have insurance with this boy) as I could afford whatever treatment was necessary, but his quality of life was more important to me and I wasn't going to prolong his suffering. PIA processed my online application very quickly and I received the approval and Certificate of Insurance a couple of weeks before I received Petplan's acknowledgement, even though I had lodged the online application with Petplan a good 3 weeks before I lodged the online application with PIA. Petplan had a cooling off period so I was able to cancel the policy with them. Since taking out the insurance with PIA, the only time it really increased was in the 2nd year and and that was only by a small amount due to some reasonably small claims and in 2013 I reduced the excess to $200 as haven't had a claim since 2011 and majority of my vet visit costs have been below $150 and also saves me having to complete claim forms for small amounts which could potentially increase the following year's policy costs. This year however is different, as I received his renewal notice in December and policy renewal kicks in tomorrow and it has increased by 29%, but they have made significant improvements to the Policy cover, primarily the change to the Chronic Condition Limit by removing the Limit and the pet will now be covered up to the applicable annual limit which essentially brings it in line with Petplan I pay my boy's insurance monthly through direct debit and a summary of the costs of his insurance (including GST and stamp duty) over the years is as follows: 2010 - $36.60 per month - $100 excess and 100% cover 2011 - $41.85 per month - $100 excess and 100% cover 2012 - $41.45 per month - $100 excess and 80% cover (20% co payment) 2013 - $40.01 per month - $200 excess and 80% cover (20% co payment) 2014 - $41.93 per month - $200 excess and 80% cover (20% co payment) 2015 - $54.15 per month - $200 excess and 80% cover (20% co payment) The increase in 2011 was due to claims in 2010 as he was pulling up lame a few times and then had xrays done by my vet who subsequently incorrectly diagnosed HD, so had his xrays and my boy checked by breeder, breeder's vet and orthopaedic specialist who were all aghast at incorrect positioning of boy for his xrays . HD diagnosis disputed by his breeder, breeder's vet and orthopaedic specialist and when he turned 18 months old I had both elbow and hip xrays taken by breeder's vet and I also had both hip and elbow xrays scored with excellent results. Anyway thought I would share my positive experience with PIA and relevant details :)

I am so sorry you are having to go through this with your beloved Rocky, it is an extremely and distressing time. I know only too well how devastating it is to make that call, but we do because we don't won't to prolong our sick babies suffering. My thoughts are with you all as you prepare for Rocky's journey to the Bridge.

I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved girl , my heart goes out to you during this very difficult time. Lovely tribute to your special girl and sounds like she had a truly wonderful life and will be sorely missed and you will have many beautiful memories of your darling girl Run free Ness , you will be remembered and loved always by your grieving family Watch over them until you meet again

Thanks Ness, I have done so much research on CCL injury and treatment options, my head hurts :D Thanks Wabbit, it is good to get details of doler's experiences with the recommended physios Thanks Jumabaar, this is one of my concerns as well with just conservative management, over time meniscal damage may be done. Since I posted last week, I have actually made an appointment with David Lidbetter for my boy next week for a consult to discuss all things surgical and have him examine my boy as well. Being the extremely knowledgeable and highly experienced animal orthopaedic specialist he is, he will be able to answer all the questions I have. Even though I am not keen on the bone cutting surgery options and have received details on the type of surgery (modified Paatsama technique) from the very experienced Vet I took him to for a 2nd opinion and he did the xrays and drawer test as well, from all my research, it appears that that the TPLO or TTA bone cutting options will be the only type of surgeries to return him to full function after the relevant recovery period. They also have a rapid (2-3 days) return to weight bearing unlike the Lateral Suture Techniques which is important for my bad back :D and the research indicates bone healing is more efficient than ligament healing. My boy is a typical ball/toy obsessed Labrador who just loves fetching/retrieving and is extremely focussed and takes his fetching activities very seriously :laugh: and I was advised by the 2nd opinion vet, during the consult and also in his follow report, that if he has the modified Paatsama technique surgery that it would be prudent not to have him fetching/retrieving as there is strong evidence that the right cruciate may rupture in the future. I had already curtailed/stopped his fetching/retrieving/playing activities since he first pulled up lame and know that with conservative management and the modified Paatsama technique surgery option that fetching and highly energetic activities won't be happening which makes me very sad for him as fetching activities and energetic outings were the highlight of his day as they are for my other Lab boy. I have also been minding a friend's 3 year old Lab for a few weeks, who is very playful and fetching mad as well and I feel so bad putting my injured boy in the crate and taking the others outside to play fetch or taking them to the dog parks and other outings whilst he stays home. He understandably gets upset and also can't join in when the other two rumble and play rough, I have to keep him out of harm's way. Luckily they all love to lie down and play bitey faces and necks on the carpet and rugs in my office and family room, so at least he can partake in some play which isn't aggravating his injury or doing him any harm and I vigilantly monitor this play and interaction as I am home and he goes into the crate when I am not home. Even though prior to his injury he and my 5 year old Lab boy played a lot together and had lots of dog park and other outings, having our Lab visitor these last few weeks has really brought it home how much he is missing out on. The 3 of them get on so fabulously and genuinely love each others company and play so well together and I don't want to deprive him of all things that Labradors love to do so much, hence having to seriously consider these bone cutting surgery options. Anyway I am looking forward to the consult with David armed with my folder with all the info and questions I have compiled :laugh: Post surgery recovery will be a key topic of discussion with David as will potential of CCL injury in other leg and then I will followup with Physio treatment options which hopefully will include some hydrotherapy. Will give an update after my visit with David next week.

What an awful position to be in GD and it is wonderful the offers of help you are receiving. Good luck in your house and job hunting and hope you find both very soon. :) Jed, this pic is soooooooooooo cute. Don't you just love the boys, no modesty :laugh: Your boxers are beautiful, love their colouring and beautiful coats

But sometimes people have to put there pets in kennels for other reasons then holidays. I did recently because of my daughter's wedding. Usually the dogs come with me to her place, but this one time she didn't want them there. I wasn't going to go against her wishes nor was I going to miss my only child's wedding. So into the kennels they went. Yeah lots of other reasons why dogs are kennelled. A few years back, I had to urgently rush back to NZ when my younger sister died and I had to put my 3 Labs into the kennel during this time and kennels have always been my first option if I have ever need to go away whether it be emergency trips, business or holidays outside of OZ. I had another emergency trip back years ago when my mother was seriously ill and subsequently died and this was during the busy xmas new year period and the kennels were full, so I had to find an alternative option for my Lab boy I had at the time and was lucky enough to do that thru one of the pet sitting businesses where they get minded in the pet sitter's home. However that may not have been an option if I had multiple dogs at the time. Reason I personally have used kennels is that I know my dogs are in a safe and secure environment being looked after by dog knowledgeable people. Hmmm this tragedy makes me rethink that somewhat

This what I don't understand and quite frankly am angrily amazed at, why would you as a kennel owner, be off fighting fires, when your priority obligation/responsibility is to protect the pets in your care. Of all people, firefighters should know how unpredictable fires can be, so if they owned a kennel why would they be off their property fighting fires. Pet owners are entrusting them into their care and paying money for their business to keep their pet's safe. Even if they ignored all the warnings that everyone else was heeding, despite the fire not being at their doorstep and not evacuating, it is gross negligence at best to essentially abandon their duty of care to the pets in their care and go off fighting fires away from their property

Can we have rolly eye man back yet? I don't even know where to start on this BS. I am unclear about which bit you think is bullshit Steph. Do people think it appropriate he had, apparently, left the property to fight the fires leaving his 16 year old daughter in charge? Imo he should never have left his daughter, regardless of the animals. This info may not be correct, I am just commenting on what's been said here. More that this person is "following up on lines of enquiry" and griding that axe real hard. If the guy was fighting a fire elsewhere and the roads closed on him, I'm not sure what Labradore expects him to have done? I highly doubt half of what has been said here and on facebook is fact, and it bugs me its being taken as gospel and speculated on as such. Its like vultures picking over disaster, who benefits if fault is found with the owners? People are gung ho finding things to pick at and frankly its a terrible loss for everyone, I'd like to leave it be and let it work itself out. The Facebook jury does more harm than good. I'm sure there will be an investigation by proper means in due course. All the speculation is doing in the mean time is making life miserable for kennel owners, pet owners and making it harder for them all to get back on their feet when its all done. I feel for everyone but most of all the pets, those who didn't make it and those who did. Just awful, I'd rather spend my energy wishing peace to those who didnt make it out and a speedy recovery to those who did. My "line of inquiry" is to further investigate a volunteer firefighter's options/obligations available when it comes to that firefighter owning a business in a high fire risk area where the business is a boarding kennel full to capacity with pets over the busiest period of the year. Throw in the reports that his wife was also away on holidays (as I mentioned previously, this was posted on Facebook by the owners' BIL's cousin who was defending them on Facebook, I read his post), so who is the responsible adult left in charge, their 16 year old daughter? (once again this was posted on Facebook) and does the firefighter have a choice on whether he goes off firefighting. From my information, based on our business here in Sydney having a volunteer firefighter employee who reported directly to me, they have a choice as he would always ask if he could have time off to do his firefighting duties and we would organise other staff to cover his absences and each time he asked, he advised that if we could not cover his absence, he would not go. He has been involved in firefighting activities both full-time and as a volunteer for many years, and never expected that we would give him the time-off each time, but we did as we all worked as a team to cover his absence in his critical role in the business. Not sure what happens in SA and what position he held, hence my "line of inquiry". All this aside, he owned a pet boarding business and as a duty of care, his first/priority obligation should be to protect the pets entrusted in his care by their owners. It is unbelievably ignorant to say "leave it be and let it work itself out" (your words), this is the era of social media and of course there will always be speculation good and bad when tragedy occurs, it is the nature of the beast. Boarding kennels need to be held accountable for their action/inaction that results in any pet deaths, particularly mass deaths as in this case and there needs to be an investigation into what transpired here, that point we both agree on. In the meantime, just because we have differing views, does not mean that I cannot have my say, just as you can have yours.

According to posts that the owners made on their Facebook page which has now been taken down, they posted that a number of owners had contacted them on days prior right up to the day before the tragedy about picking up/organsing to pickup their pets as they were concerned about the extreme/catastrophic conditions and they were advised, their pets were safe despite the fact that other animal owners in the vicinity were evacuating their animals and offered their help along with other offers of help from people who sensed the danger. They advised on Facebook that these posts were to update owners/people due to the number of phone calls they were receiving. When I have boarded my dogs in kennels, the forms/information you fill out requires emergency contacts to be contacted in emergency situations and this would have been one of them.

Can we have rolly eye man back yet? I don't even know where to start on this BS. I couldn't agree more, would have been all I would have used in this reply.

Two reasons: Firstly I was responding in chronological order, Secondly, alpha bet's post was very lengthy and I was tired and wanted to re-read it with fresh eyes in the morning so I could respond appropriately, which I have.

typical immature response when people can't articulate their argument/point of view, they lash out instead. Your responses about the owners of the kennels has not be pleasant. Alpha Bet, I truly appreciate your expressive post. Thank Dog you and your family got thro' that horrific ordeal. Purpose of forums is online discussion, so of course we are not always going to agree/like what another posts but one must live in hope that posters can post their views/opinions in a mature way and avoid name calling. :)

Thanks "alpha bet" for your very informative post and thank dog you, your family and all your charges survived the horrible nightmare you were confronted with. I will include the info you have provided in the educational pack I am currently compiling. What stands out for me is the level of preparation and work you and your family did to ensure the safety of the pets in your care and most importantly, both you and your husband were onsite "doing everything possible" to ensure the safety of the pets in your care.. If kennels decide not to evacuate when it is safe to do so due to some/all of the reasons you have outlined in your post then the very least pet owners like myself would expect is for the owners and their families to do everything possible to protect our pets in their care like you and your family did. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case in the TTG kennels tragedy with the husband reportedly out fighting fires as a CFG volunteer and wife away on holidays and apparently no supervising adult left in charge. Yes I know myself and others that dare to question what he was doing out fighting fires away from his property when he should have been helping protect the pets entrusted in his care are being crucified, as apparently being a firefighter volunteer absolves you from any other responsibility. I am following up on this line of inquiry as well.

typical immature response when people can't articulate their argument/point of view, they lash out instead.

So what was the purpose of the post below? as the way I read it is that kennels do not have large dog trailers as they can't afford it, hence the request for donations I will be rectifying this and embarking on a crusade to fully educate myself on all things regarding "boarding kennels" and will probably use social media to educate Pet Owners on boarding kennels and if required, agitate for change to better protect our Pets in boarding kennels.

Should be part of the setup costs of a kennel business and should have been factored into their business plan which should include an evacuation and disaster recovery plan. It is starting to sound like kennels are not prepared for emergency evacuations, which is quite frightening, given the amount of boarders some of these kennels have over a Xmas period. Would be interesting to find out what a kennel's obligation is for evacuation planning and carrying out an evacuation in emergency situations.

Or perhaps rethinking leaving their dogs in kennels in urban fringes at the height of the Australian bush fire season? After all, ultimately who is responsible for the safety of my dogs. IMO it's me. Evacuating a kennel is logistically extremely challenging. Getting dogs and cats out is difficult enough. Having somewhere to take them is the other big ask. There are risks associated with transporting and relocating pets, particularly in emergency situations where volunteers with varying degrees of skill and judgement must be used. You want a cast iron evacuation plan? Then be prepared to pay a hefty premium for it. It won't come cheap to the kennel owners. I'd like to see people not vilifying the kennel owners for what was, in hindsight, an error of judgement. They have lost everything. They thought they'd be safe staying. They were wrong. That is a situation that has confronted many many people confronted by bush fires in this country and my guess is they wont be the last. Sitting in judgement on the internet without full possession of the facts is what I expect on social media. That doesn't make it right. It certainly is not compassionate, nor helpful to those who have suffered the loss of their pets. Mourn what has happened, hope that other kennel owners learn from this tragedy and cut these poor buggers some slack. There will be a time to ask questions and gather facts but now it's all too raw. Have a heart for pity's sake. They are suffering enough. I have seen zero evidence to suggest that they didn't give a damn about the animals in their care. The kennel is responsible for the safety of the pets in their care!! We (pet owners) kennel them to keep them safe whilst we are away!! As I said in my previous post, majority of boarding kennels are located in rural/semi rural areas, so technically any of them could be subject to bushfires when the extreme/catastrophic conditions exist, so they need evacuations plans "in case" they ever have to evacuate the pets in their kennnels during an emergency situation. Initially, I did feel sorry for them (see my original post on page 1) as I know they also suffered personal losses, but between the interview I saw with the owner in the news programme over the weekend stating "they didn't do enough" along with an absolutely distressing graphic image in the burnt out kennel which should never have been shown on the news or in newspapers as it was extremely upsetting and I cannot unsee this image and stories starting to come out that he was out fighting fires as a CFS volunteer and his wife apparently overseas (this was initially posted on their facebook page by their brother in-law's cousin trying to defend them), then who was looking after the kennels in both their absence?, their 16 year old daughter according to Facebook This may explain why NO pets were saved by the owners or evacuated when it was safe to do so. You expect me to have compassion for this kennel's losses, when by all accounts they neglected their duty of care to the pet owners that entrusted their beloved pets into their care who paid a terrible price for their negligence . I will save my compassion for these poor devastated pet owners and their deceased pets who died in the most horrific circumstances.

Of course other kennel owners are coming out in defence of this kennel, surprise surprise. Majority of kennels are located in rural/semi rural areas so could be subject to bush fires during extreme/catastrophic weather conditions and they need to have evacuation plans in place to accommodate the safe evacuation of all pets in their care. This is particularly important during the busiest time of the year which is also when these extreme/catastrophic weather conditions can occur. As a dog owner who has used kennels frequently over the years for one or multiple dogs, I expect them to take preventative measures to ensure the safety of my beloved pets. The whole reason us pet owners use kennels is to keep our pets safe whilst we are away!. Many of us are fully aware that evacuating a kennel full of pets in an emergency situation is a difficult task and therefore it should not be left until the last minute when fire is virtually on the doorstep or when it is unsafe to do the evacuation. I think after this horrific tragedy, there will be many pet owners (myself included) asking kennels for full disclosure of their evacuation plans in emergency situations. Why is it that some kennels will evacuate as a safety precaution long before their kennels are exposed to any danger, if at all and others play russian roulette with our pet's lives Yes we were not there and we are sitting in judgement on the internet, but how are we as pet owners meant to feel when there are many reports of this kennel being offered help to evacuate when other animal owners were evacuating their or their friends animals in the same vicinity as the kennels and the kennel owners own admission that they didn't do enough. They didn't save any of the pets, they left them locked in their kennels to die in the most horrific conditions The fact that 40 dogs survived was only due to the kennel block those dogs were housed in being spared from the fire. You see it all the time in bushfires, the random nature of fire with some buildings burned to the ground, others next door completely untouched. Inaction, wrong decisions have consequences and no doubt the kennel owners will be living with their wrong decision making for the rest of their lives, but so will the poor pet owners losing their pets in the most horiffic circumstances Yes hindsight is 20/20, but kennel owners have a duty of care to be "extra cautious" during extreme/catastrophic weather conditions during their busiest time of the year and these extreme weather conditions were forecast days in advance. In this technological era, where there is a wealth of information at your fingertips, people can't use ignorance as an excuse of not keeping abreast of weather conditions and impending emergency situations and especially businesses like kennels in bushfire prone areas.

Really where it did it say that? As a kennel owner full of pets over the busiest time of the year, I would have thought that his duty of care was to protect the pets entrusted in his care. I did see an interview with him on one of the tv channel news programmes over the weekend and he said "we (as in kennel owners) didn't do enough to protect the pets" , which is essentially what many on facebook and forums are saying and quite frankly I was quite dismayed and angered by this admission. It doesn't seem to appear that they took their duty of care to those poor pets entrusted in their care seriously enough. Surely to god, living in a fire prone area, during the busiest time of the year for a kennel, would make you extremely cautious about fires and how unpredictable they can be, coupled with the fact that you are a CSF volunteer, you should know better and it should make you even more cautious, so why would you take a chance and risk the lives of these pets entrusted in your care and hold off evacuating until it was too late. Add to this, you are being advised/witnessing other animals around you being evacuated and offered assistance to help you evacuate whilst it was safe to do so and you advised concerned pet owners the day before not to come and pick up their pets when it was still safe to do so (they actually posted this on their Facebook page as I have been reading it since I became aware of the tragedy ). Looks like their Facebook page has been taken down as just went to check it again this morning and it is no longer there! All in all with so many wrong decisions made by the kennel owner, it seems to be gross negligence on their part and whilst I don't agree with posting abusive messages on their Facebook page, I can understand the anger directed at them over this, as pets entrusted in their care dying in horrific circumstances that could have been prevented if they acted/heeded warnings early enough, is an extremely emotive subject. . It still fails to amaze me year after year that people and businesses fail to heed the numerous warnings via television, internet, txt etc of the catostrophic nature and unpredictability of bush fires and leave it till it is too late to evacuate . It is bad enough people putting their own lives in danger by not evacuating when it is safe to do so, but for a business entrusted with the care of many beloved pets during their busiest time of the year, it is gross negligence.