Scottsmum

Good to hear there is no new news. ;) I think our dogs love us. I'm sure there are "parasites" who hang out for the free feed. I know there are less dependent breeds but all in all I think out dogs enjoy our company and love us. maybe not in that "i'd cross hell and fire to save you" kind of maternal love I feel for Scottie - but I reckon he thinks I'm alright - and that's enough for me. It took Scottie a good 4 weeks to really settle at home - we nearly returned him after the 2 week trial (I just couldnt) - but it was AGES - maybe close to 12 months - before the instructor at obedience commented on how healthy and happy he looked & how much he'd come out of his shell. Off topic - WM - you've turned me. I have always sworn no long haired dogs. and God almighty - not white - I struggle enough with B&W - but westies are in my top two "next dogs" because of you and Boronia :)

Pretty sure that's the same for all baby animals - biggest time wasters in the world :)

Hey Sars - Hope the appointment went OK. :) You know we adopted Scottie at an estimated age of 10. He did the bolt on us a number of times - but I think that's just cause he can be a bit of a dick. If he thinks he's been wrongly done out of a walk - he'll quite happily take himself for one. Which is how I assume he ended up at the pound. He came with no chip, no history, never claimed. All we know is the council area he was picked up and that he's been desexed before he found his way to the pound. He was Well cared for, has great house manners (wouldn't get on furniture ect) housebroken / trained - has never had an accident. He's got a fondness for kids - particularly young kids and girls. He's very VERY drawn to a particular race of people - if there is a group of people in an open pace (like an off leash) and there is someone from that particular race there - he'll go say hi. Especially in the early days - he'd do a head snap if she saw someone of that race. It was kind of funny, has always made me wonder. So I have made a story up in my head about who they were - I have no idea how he got out - maybe he bolted, maybe they got sick and taken to hospital.... maybe he was dumped. Who knows. I've often wondered what he'd do if his old owners walked through the door. But now - I'm pretty sure he's mine . I am as sure as sure can be his old owners wont show up out of the blue - I suppose they might spot him online but that would be a 1 in a million thing ... I think in our case - the bolting is him having fun, I do think he took a while to really warm to us as "family" and I do think he missed or was looking for familiar for a while - Its possible he belonged to a stay at home grandparent or something which might explain some of his separation issues too. But he's definitely settled and part of the family unit now. Hubby and I agreed that if he never came to "love" us we'd still provide all a dog needs including a warm and safe home for him to live out his years.

Haha first thing in MY morning is mopping the floor and changing their bedding. ha ha ha - yes you totally forget that part. Mine is capable of taking himself out for a pee and getting back into bed for cuddles. But they're still totes adorbs. ;)

I know I just keep posting hearts .... but naw they're so cute I think I've fallen in love with Mr Boofy. Lovely to have pop up first thing in the morning. They're so utterly adorable. :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

I'll start this by saying this is my own personal take on it - no rescue experience here. I've had many jobs over the years - two jobs recently in not for profits (within the last 6 years) and I think the biggest thing is - you need to be calculated in your fundraising strategy. If you're fundraising for a cause with a face you often have a better chance of success. There's some research which suggests things / places / charities associated with sick kids often get better public donations than places which offer a (needed but) "boring" service. In my own life - I suppose - this extrapolates out to my chosen animal charity being the shelter I got my most recent dog from - there's a face/place with a strong association to me & I want to channel my support to help ensure people can continue getting service from it. I also worked for a charity which assisted people living with a neurological disease. Families of, and people living with the disease were often the most driven fundraisers. Now on the flip side, after going from working for a charity which focused on incurable neurological disease I went to a NFP organisation which focused on campaigning for a very specific environmental cause. We didn't deliver any programs other than one which earned an income and kept the rest of the organisation solvent. All operational costs were covered by large corporate sponsors, running on the 'smell of an oily rag' and this one program which was profitable. Now you could argue the two were equally important services - they were to me. I have people in my life who live with the disease in question - I like knowing they have services and assistance in place to help them cope. But the environment is also important to me and I know knowing there is an organisation out there which is campaigning for it. So what's my view on pet rescue raising? / fostering? kittens. I'd hazard a guess that the people who run pet rescue do it because its a rely important cause for them - they've lost pets or been reunited with pets before and have that tie to the product they provide. So having someone show up with orphaned kittens would tug on the heart strings. I'd say - they should be careful they promote that - they could see an influx of pets being dumped on them - but that's another issue. Had they turned them away they'd have been blasted as uncaring. As a side note - I found a kitten once after I adopted Scottie and couldnt keep it - it was hard to find a place which would take it (4 local vets said no, a cat based charity said no and I couldnt get to the shelter to drop it off and the rangers wouldt come and get it ... long story short a vet nurse took pity on me and took it in telling me she's tell her boss I dumped it on the door and to please never ask after it - I know it was cared for and adopted - I did casually ask after it one day when i went in for flea treatment). So, nice people who run a service... they'd still need to fundraise. I think the kittens give PR the "face" they need. Consider this - you jump on PR, find a pet you like the look of (I just did this - there's a few) You click on the dog and it gives you the name and number or a link to the rescue group website. I'm so focused on my finding my few family member that I don't think twice about PR, their rnning costs or the service they've just provded to me. Yes there's a donate now button, but they don't tend to get a lot of love, I might come back after I've found my dog and donate but I'm more likely to sling those few dollars to the shelter or group I got the dog from - as a thank you for caring for my dog while s/he found their forever home. So how doe's PR fundraise? I actually don't know their business model but I know it's not easy. Pet rescue can't ask their contributing charities for money - well not for donations. They can charge for a service, but that charge needs to be capped and reasonable. They could sell product - but that's a horrible job to manage. Stock control and cost of keeping merch is insane and often more of a time waster than people realise. So even if there is an income stream (fees for listing) it's likely it just generates enough to keep the platform running - with little for extra. So they find a face. They find a way for people to directly engage with them and give them some time in the spotlight. (plus they're doing good things - which make them feel good) - had they passed the kittens on to "generic moggy rescue" and highlighted the kittens plight it would have been a similar outcome but all fundraising would have been driven back to generic moggy rescue - effectively taking the chance to FR away from PR. I don't see this as a conflict of interest - as I said - the people running PR are likely to be experienced. They'll have mates in rescue who can assist them with knowledge & supplies if needed and really cat shelters are so full that someone hand raising 2 kittens is likely to be appreciated not cause irritation. More to the point - its really in all rescues best interests to keep something like PR running. There's over 9600 pets listed there at the moment. This listing service means I can jump on and see a huge range of dogs - not just what happens to pop up on my feacebook feed or is sitting in the shelter the day I happen to walk in. It also means that the peopel who run rescue are freed up to fun their rescues - which is a blessing if they're less tech savvy or not into social media. So that's my take on it. Please feel free to pull my analysis apart but that's the way I see it. Sadly incurable neuro disease was much easier to fundraise for then keeping the country litter free - especially when we didn't actually get up and pick up litter ourselves. Raising kittens is more attractive than running a really well functioning online service. I wont go into terminology and tactic - maybe they could have worded it better. They do have to be careful sayign things like "we need $1000 to raise kittens - but I wont go there - for now.

Just beautiful

He's very patient with her :)

Utterly adorable. Her & naughty puck destroyer of carpet

Happy Birthday to both of them!

I had a post but looks like I didn't post last year so I needed to start a new one. Today is 3 years without my Princess, Priss, Piggy, Piglet, Piggin. Jeepers, Guin, Guinea Pig. For a long time I missed her so much it was paralysing. Every day. I even cried the day we adopted Scottie - I thought I was doing some terrible thing against her. I still miss her, an awful lot - but Scottie fills my heart so it doesn't ache so much. Guin was a 15th birthday pressie - probably not the wisest choice of 'gift' for a kid who wanted to go off to uni and travel and explore. What she was, other than "my dog", was a constant. She was there for every exam - school and uni. A move from the country to the city - first boyfriend, actually all boyfriends ... you get the gist. She was a companion there through thick and thin.. What you forget while life is happening is that your distinguished grey pup was once a spunky black and tan spunk. *Lets collectively forget the brow ring 18 year old me 'needed'. ;) So here we are my girl. 3 years without you. I adored you. Still do. But thank dog there's no shortage of naughty of fox terriers in this world to help heal the heart.

I'd say its just automated. Having wirked reception at a vet i tend to cut slack ;)

Lol @ puck :)

I've a story 3/4 written :) Awesome. I'm loving it. Can't wait to see how it unfolds :)

Id be thinking about pain - early arthritis hips, spine

I'd go insane trying to keep all the balls in one place - he can't help himself - toys MUST be strewn around the yard.

Week 9. Something I stockpiled. Uni placement is beyond exhausting. 2 weeks ago Scottie and I went to "bark in the park" - It was kind of lame, and full of people letting dogs off leash - from massive labs to the most terrified toy poodle who did the bolt. Anyhow... It had one GREAT feature: __9 by Superspanger, on Flickr

Hey Gapvic - Do you have a story mapped out? Or a basic idea where you're going - or no freakin idea ?

Fenzi academy is all online & positive. Moght be worth a look

I struggled to find them & ended up using a high sided soft bed

Love it snook. Loving this entire thread.

I bet he does still have a puppy license. Who could get mad with Don ?

It's great when you discover the lights on late somewhere.