Her Majesty Dogmad

I think that for a weekend, I would try Don't Fret Pet - they have minders all over the place and you can give your criteria for your dog and they'll match you up. I wouldn't recommend Meadowmist or many other places to be honest. It's getting cold at night and it would be nicer for him to be in a normal home. My colleague at work with a French Bulldog took him to the same place recommended on here earlier, the pet resort on the central coast (not to be confused with the other places with similar names in greater Sydney). It is fantastic and I recommend it to anyone happy to drive a bit further.

If anyone can help with a homecheck in the Cairns area, please let me know.

It's really sad and not uncommon unfortunately. I've been minding a little dog for a week after her owner was rushed into hospital and no family/friends to help, no available boarding as it is Easter holidays. She's going home today but I'm not sure what the future will bring due to the circumstances. My heart goes out to your friend and all the people that find themselves in this heartbreaking situation. We can all only hope that we are never in that situation ourselves.

Unfortunately one pound alone in Sydney has 57 cats and kittens this week, it's peak season for unwanted cats/kittens. I'm happy to help advertise the cat - need a good picture and a great description. I'd do a yard check and vet ref check and do my best to make a good match but I can't take the cat personally as I have dogs who don't like them. Last year I did find a wonderful home for a 10 yr old purebred cat and 2 younger cats. It was quite quick for the 10 yr old surprisingly but the younger cats took longer.

Stan - you don't look 7 yrs of age LOL, happy birthday!

Me neither - no dog is 100% I believe. I also rescue and rehome Whippets and Italian Greyhounds(as well as other kinds of dogs) and they are NEVER 100% - we tell people that all the time and only try and do adoptions to people that get it. Some prospective owners don't believe or agree with it so we don't rehome. Our Facebook page constantly has missing dogs (not dogs from us). Sadly not all of them make it home.

Great news!

Italian Greyhound males frequently pee on their front legs, it gets very smelly so I used to wipe my boy's legs down all the time with an unscented wet wipe.

My foster carer found someone great via ebay, i'll see if I can get the details. I ordered something from an etsy wholesaler who specialised in Italian Greyhound clothing (they are very variable and have an unusual shape). The first package I got was a mistake and the person donated the belly bands (made for a different breed) for me to find someone that could use them. The coat finally arrived (this was all coming from the US so took weeks all up to achieve), and the only way I can describe it would be that it might have fitted a very long Dachshund with legs in the wrong places .... I was exasperated with the whole process and I won't bother going overseas for coats again.

Pretty much the worst shelter in the state, as far as kill rate goes I noticed there's also a little 11 year old terrier cross. Seems like a lot more oldies around than usual. PAWS just had an application from Launceston so we sent them this information, really hope they get along there, the dog they applied for was a more mature male.

That does look like him. I wonder what happened to the girl?

That is not a good representation imo. Dirty (So many people say this about this facility), dogs escape (the very public case of the bulldog that the facility has not supported the medical costs), dogs get returned from boarding/training with wounds and emaciated (one of my rescues). Free range facilities aren't a good idea imo, attacks, injuries, too much exercise etc. What makes a good one? Not 1001 dogs, you need smaller numbers to ensure you know what's going on with all the dogs in your care. Well built kennels that are always clean. Big exercise runs with an appropriate number of dogs in them with size appropriate play mates and not over exercised etc. People who monitor the dogs in their care i.e. are they eating, are they injured etc. The training methods should herald results and the facility be honest and transparent in what methods they actually use. This is spot on advice and some of us have heard about the escapees from this particular place on Facebook etc. When I see the videos of masses of dogs roaming around together, I personally find it terrifying. I have worked in a facility with up to 20 dogs in an enclosure and I can't tell you how awful that was when a fight started.

Have shared it around. There's a 9 yr old wirehaired fox terrier at the Launceston RSPCA, poor boy ...

SOS have had an enquiry from someone with a house at Hawks Nest, NSW. Is anyone able to help with a homecheck please? It's for a pair of littlies. Thanks

The standards are different simply because like everything, rescues are run by different people with different ideas, goals and experiences. It's like anything - I work in a large organisation - you might have 50 managers in the company, all of whom have different ways of working, different ideas and plans. I had worked for Sydney's largest private rescue for about 9 years before I set up a rescue. I was already rescuing and rehoming dogs - very carefully matching them to homes. I set up a rescue for Italian Greyhounds because of my experience with the breed rescue in existence (in VIC). I adopted a dog from them. He was dead 2 days after he arrived. He'd been in their care for months with no vet treatment, even when he was obviously in great pain. Nothing was asked of me, I simply had to pay for his transport from one state to another - it was freezing and he endured a long road trip inadequately clothed and froze. To go back to goals - my goal is to ensure optimum health for a dog, to assess in foster care for however long that takes, housetraining, assessing a home carefully and making a match - this involves several steps. I can't comment on all rescues as I don't know them all but I do know some whose goal is to get dogs in and out as fast as possible. I know some who will give anyone a dog, the first person that enquires - they sound nice so that's fine, they can have the dog - no "match" is made as such. Some people like the kudos that being a rescuer gives them, some want to save every dog on death row and I know that not every dog should be saved - as sad as that is. Some want only puppies because they are pretty easy to rehome - everyone wants a puppy ....

Yes, not all rescues are equal that is for sure. I myself have written to a few other rescues for one reason or another - sometimes asking for help for a breed they specialise in, sometimes offering help for a dog they have. The truth is I rarely get a response at all although I did get threatened by one large group - who shall remain nameless - for offering help. Not a good look. I do yard checks for other rescues and recently someone who I did a yardcheck for - who ended up with a dog from another rescue contacted me and asked for some behavioural help. I can only believe that the rescue concerned has placed the dog and that's been the end of the story. We've definitely all come across rescues who place dogs ASAP without having got to know the dog at all, doing proper checks and so on so the dog ends up compromised, the people end up with a pet that isn't right and sometimes the dog is dumped again, sometimes rehomed by the people themselves etc, especially when the original rescue doesn't want to know. It isn't the point of rescue IMO. When I take on a dog, I see them as my dog for the rest of their life so I always tell new owners if something happens, the dog comes back to me.

As someone who rehomes 3 different breeds that very commonly suffer from separation anxiety, some dogs simply cannot live alone and there will be a time when all householders will be out - dinner, weddings, birthdays and so on. Those are the times when an experienced rescuer will know that the dog will cause trouble due to anxiety so no matter what, I simply don't rehome these dogs as only dogs. I'm sorry that this put your sister off rescue in general and I don't think it's very fair. One of our jobs is to ensure that we are making the right match and sadly for some people, if you read a profile that says must have another dog then this is usually because it is known that the dog can't live alone and yet this doesn't stop applicants trying to convince me that their home is different, their home will be ok because they've decided that dog is the one they want. I also rescue other dogs and some dogs take such constant joy in play/interaction or comfort being with another dog that I don't rehome them as only dogs either .... Nothing wrong with getting a dog from a registered breeder however :)

Can't help but very sad to hear this.

It can be frustrating, I'm not sure which state you are in or which rescues you've been applying to or where you've seen the ads. If you are looking on Petrescue, you can make a complaint if you don't hear back from a rescue group. I agree that it isn't good enough not to get a response for weeks ... I'm on Petrescue and I make sure I respond to every single applicant - even if they've only written one word ... From my side, when I get a Petrescue enquiry I have generally answered or asked a question about the dog and NEVER get a response, don't know where they go but presumably they've found another dog. In today's world we are often expected to answer an email or call within minutes which isn't humanly possible, many of us do have to work day jobs and have normal responsibilities to manage on top of that. I know that isn't the case with you but if I ring people only a few hours after they sent me an enquiry, they've often found a dog already, somewhere else. Are you looking for a particular breed? I do general rescue as well as breed specific rescue and perhaps I can point you in the right direction?

I looked at this through a private provider and it cost more than I could afford. I'll watch this thread with interest!

That's how I see it too. Having been in rescue for quite a few years, I was with one large Sydney group whose oldies were as expensive as the younger dogs and they had little or no interest. Sure, every now and then a very special home came forward, prepared to pay the fee but these great homes are few and far between and it's much harder if the dog requires medication or special diets, care etc. 5 years on and I moved to a smaller rescue group (sometimes I rescue the dogs and advertise them through them, sometimes I've fostered the oldies). This group charges a seniors fee and honestly, the dogs don't generally take all that long to find a home although I've just had two exceptions but generally speaking they find great homes within a few weeks/months. Some groups ask for "donation only", especially for very old dogs. A 13 yr old Rotti is pretty elderly for the breed so perhaps a reduced fee would really help.

I think there's a specialist vet in Taree - she may have to do a drive, I hope she's up to that. Xrays are not that expensive, if she's not willing to pay that then she surely won't undertake further work, this dog will eventually be in a great deal of trouble. Rescuers would start with xrays and consult with somewhere like SASH or similar (there are other ortho vets around).

Sorry to be blunt but as a dog rescuer who takes on dogs with various illness sometimes, I don't think your sister sounds like a suitable owner for this particular dog. She didn't even do the basics.

My neighbour would keep them busy with his large dog that he lets crap on everyone else's nature strips and on the pavement. He used to take her to the sports oval and do the same, now he can't be bothered. I'm always picking it up off the pavement. Even if he's standing right there he just walks back up his driveway. Yes, he's a major a--hole in so many ways ... I'm sure I read about a town in Spain maybe where the DNA testing was done and poop was posted back to the owners ... it was a while ago.

JRTs can be like that Lorely, if people don't quite understand them it is alarming of course. An old boss had 2 JRTs and they did exactly what you described - she said they used to pick them up and drop them in the pool - it was the only way to get them apart. Not all are so excitable as JRT Rescue will tell you but they need to be properly managed and perhaps it is the case that the owner's son isn't that experienced with the breed? Best leave it to JRT Rescue to assess them I think, I hope the male isn't put to sleep.