BarbedWire

It's a great story Sheena. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-21/increasing-numbers-of-camp-dogs-raise-fears-of-further-attacks/6487536 Increase in roaming camp dogs raises fears of further attacks By Lucy Martin Posted 36 minutes ago Cedric Tait PHOTO: Djraindjin man Cedric Tait takes good care of his family's pets. (ABC News: Lucy Martin) RELATED STORY: Dogs put down after suspected attack on WA teenager MAP: Fitzroy Crossing 6765 The neglect and rapid breeding of some dogs in remote communities in Western Australia is creating the perfect storm for attacks, experts have warned. The death of a woman in Fitzroy Crossing earlier this year has thrown a spotlight on the issue. Although it varies, camp dogs are generally allowed to roam the streets and they rarely have collars. The local vet is often hundreds of kilometres away and it is difficult and expensive to get animals de-sexed, so they breed in large numbers. Some are well looked after, but others are infested with parasites and malnourished. Wendy Roberts from Broome-based organisation Saving Animals from Euthanasia (SAFE) said the dogs could also be very aggressive. "A dog is a pack animal and it's got the ability to hunt and kill," she said. "The way that the dog is brought up and the behaviours it learns are what makes a dog who it is. "Up here, a lot of the dogs have just got to survive. If they're not wiped out by worms, ticks or parvo they might get torn apart from a dog attack. "If they do make it to adulthood, they're protecting their status the whole time." In March an 18-year-old woman was mauled to death by a pack of dogs at a community on the outskirts of Fitzroy Crossing. Three weeks later, a man had part of his leg bitten off during an attack involving three dogs in the town of Halls Creek. Djarindjin woman Yvonne Sampi said a young relative of hers was recently attacked on the Dampier Peninsula. "I've got a six-year-old nephew that got bitten by a big dog at One Arm Point," she said. "It was very serious, he had to have stitches. "I am worried about children being bitten by dogs. There should be something done about cheeky dogs around here." Aggressive dogs need de-sexing, team says The Broome-based Nirrimbuk Aboriginal Corporation is funded by WA Health to visit Dampier Peninsula communities four times a year to treat animals for parasites, administer short-term contraceptives and put sick dogs down. The team, led by Chicky Clements, also steps in when residents complain about aggressive dogs but the politics of small communities can make that difficult. Dogs in remote communities are often free to roam PHOTO: Dogs in remote communities are often free to roam. (ABC News: Lucy Martin) "Usually they'll ring up our mob and say we've got a dog that needs to be put down," he said. "But then there's a lot of problems and politics, like who does the dog belong to?" Until recently, the Nirrimbuk team also got funding from the Commonwealth to de-sex animals in remote communities. "When we first started, it was nothing to put 30 dogs down when we did our three monthly trips and a lot of that was made up of puppies," Mr Clements said. "Today, we're going out and putting no dogs down or maybe three or four." But the Commonwealth funding has not been renewed and dog numbers are building again. WA Health Department's Matt Lester said authorities were working to come up with a solution. "We've approached Murdoch University with a view to getting some final year [vet] students to come and do surgical de-sexing," he said. "It would give them an experience of working outside of Perth and also be fantastic for the community and our program in effectively controlling numbers." Dog attacks occurring weekly in tourist town There is also a problem in Broome where the tourist season is at its height. Anika Wiggan said a pack of 20 dogs lives at the back of the town's Kennedy Hill community. "They very aggressive 'cos when one attacks they all attack," she said. "They attack, they bite, they've bitten a lot of people already. "There's a playground down there but we don't send our kids because we're scared one day they'll gang up and attack, it's very dangerous. "You cannot even walk past sometimes, you gotta walk past with a weapon to protect yourself." I can't turn a blind eye to the fact these pups need worming, they need tick treatments, they just need basic care and the people just need basic instruction. Wendy Roberts Broome Shire's ranger manager Ewen Ross said they receive five complaints about dog attacks every week. Mr Ross said his team was cracking down on irresponsible pet owners. "If you've got an unregistered dog you're really dealing with a ghost," he said. "There's no collar, no ID, no microchip so the moment we pick up an unregistered dog, it's basically ours. "Council is not a pet service, we're an enforcement agency, so picking up dogs, taking them to the pound, picking up dogs, taking them back to the pound — it's just not effective." The dogs are either sent to local volunteer group SAFE for re-homing or put down. Volunteer Wendy Roberts said the Animal Welfare League of Australia has donated money for the group to provide free dog de-sexing in Broome. She said the group needed long-term funding. "Dogs numbers need to be reduced now, yesterday, last year," she said. "Until we can actually de-sex enough animals to have a significant difference, you'll always have the risk of animals being a risk to humans and other animals." Ms Roberts was also concerned about the welfare of many dogs she treats. "I can't turn a blind eye to the fact these pups need worming, they need tick treatments, they just need basic care and the people just need basic instruction," she said. "A lot of people don't touch their dogs, except when they're kicking it out of the way." Ms Roberts believed most people were willing to look after their dogs, with the right support and education. "These dogs love their humans and these humans love their dogs," she said. "They just need to do it in a way that's acceptable." Topics: indigenous-culture, animal-attacks, fitzroy-crossing-6765, broome-6725

Sorry I think that perhaps you were being had. Actually I hope so. I have no other advice to give.

DAS pound - Y33 is safe with rescue, with ARF.

I have used a thundershirt and I decided it did not really make much difference. I wonder sometimes if they work because when you first use them you are advised to feed the dog and make a positive association for the dog with the thundershirt. I also wonder about the scientific explanation for them because I have read that dogs don't like being cuddled and I assume a thundershirt would feel similar. I wonder sometimes if their success is because the owner believes they will work. I have also tried putting one on a reactive dog while walking and I think it just made the dog uncomfortable. I have not tried the collars. My dog's anxiety has improved since my own anxiety has lessened, but then my dog is not anxious when I am away so that may be a totally different ballgame.

Good news Y4 the second dog at DAS has a deposit. The first one Y33 is still in need and only has tomorrow to find safety. She is at the pound because of a marriage breakup and sounds like a gorgeous dog.

How beautiful. Go Henry

Sorry I have messed this post up, but Sadly the old girl Y4 has had her deposit fall off so she is again in need. Fingers crossed for her. Only has until Tuesday 3.00pm. See DAS thread in urgent rescues. YARD 4 Female Crossbreed Age: 10 + years Cage/Handling/Health - She came and sat for the lead to be put on. On the way to the yard she did a wee and very sensitive to any pressure on the lead. She has fly bitten ears and has what looks like a bit of a flea allergy around her rump. She is a little underweight, she seems to be lacking some muscle tone along her topline. She is incredibly responsive to any correction. She was happy to be handled Training - She knows sit, walks well on lead, drop and stay. She kept sitting in the heel position and will lean into the handler for reassurance. Wheelie Bin - She was unsure of the bin and sat and leaned into the handler for reassurance. Food Guarding - She walked away from the bowl as soon as the hand went into it. Dog to dog - With Yard 32 Vinnie she was really good and wanted to play and became more animated. When Vinnie was being silly she told him to behave himself but nothing sinister. Fence jumping pen - She did look at the top and attempt to jump however she is not as young as she used to be so she was unable to do it. She became stressed in the pen. Description - This lovely old girl is a loyal lady that wants to be with her people. She loves to be cuddled. She has great basic training and is great on lead. She at times seemed confused by the commands so we spoke to her in different languages and she responded most to European languages. She is underweight and has lost some muscle tone along her topline also. She is good with other polite dogs and actually became quite animated and playful. She is a gorgeous old duck that is so deserving at her loving home to live out her twilight years.

I hate the way people blame cats for the destruction of our native birds. Where I live there are a lot of currawongs - native birds - that kill smaller native birds. I haven't seen any small birds around for some time, nor have I seen any cats but I have seen heaps of currawongs.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-14/johnny-depps-dogs-unable-to-stay-in-australia/6468542 "Johnny Depp's dogs Boo and Pistol could be put down if they stay in Australia, Barnaby Joyce warns 612 ABC Brisbane Updated 10 minutes ago VIDEO: Barnaby Joyce says Johnny Depp's dogs can ''can bugger off back to the United States' MAP: QLD Hollywood star Johnny Depp is in trouble after bringing his two pet dogs into Australia without declaring them to quarantine. The Department of Agriculture is investigating after the discovery of two Yorkshire terriers - Boo and Pistol - believed to have been brought into Australia on Depp's private plane last month so their owner could resume filming on the Gold Coast for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Depp flew back to America in March for surgery on an injured hand and returned in the past few weeks. The department said any animal that was imported without meeting Australia's import conditions would be ordered into quarantine and would either be exported or destroyed. The department would make no comment on the individual circumstances of Depp's dogs. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the dogs could not stay. "There is a process if you want to bring animals: you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them," he said. "But if we start letting movie stars even though they've been the sexiest man alive twice to come into our nation, then why don't we just break the laws for everybody? "It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States." Earlier, on ABC 612 Brisbane, Mr Joyce said "if he doesn't take Boo and Pistol back we do have to euthanase them." "Just because he's Johnny Depp doesn't make him exempt from Australian laws," he said. "The way this works is if we are going to make an excuse for Johnny Depp because he's got a private jet and brought in his dogs than I suppose you have to start making exemptions and excuses for everybody. "The reason you can walk through a park in Brisbane and not sort of have in the back of your mind - what happens if a rabid dog comes out and bites me or bites my kid - is because we've kept that disease out. "I'll tell you how close it is, it's in Bali, it's just next door, so this is not fanciful stuff and therefore we're very diligent about what comes into our nation." "

Totally inspiring. In my early seventies and still fit perhaps I can fit in one more. :) BC? When the old guy was going around with the border collie he even had his back turned while the dog was jumping. Those dogs were so well trained and loving every second. Just amazing. I love agility.

What a wonderful photographic journey record. Thanks for sharing and Hoover is a very lucky dog.

I should also say that I am impressed by those posters on this thread who have recognized that it was time they moved on from rescue and let someone else take over when they were finding the work too demanding. Unstable rescuers also think they are irreplaceable.

Perhaps if they can't take someone questioning their motives they are too fragile to be doing rescue anyway which is my point that some shouldn't be doing rescue. So much of what I see on rescue facebook pages is just ego stroking which some rescuers seem to thrive on. Some of the emotional irrational posts are also very upsetting. For these rescuers (and they are only some) all dogs in pounds are there because they have been abused (which is just not the case) and they need to be saved. One has to wonder where some of those poor dogs at the pounds eventually end up when rescuers save them with no plans beyond walking out the door of the pound with the dog, while congratulating themselves on having saved a poor abused dog from being pts and anticipating all the ego boosting accolades when they can announce that the dog is safe.

I think some rescuers are clearly disturbed before they start rescuing. Rescue seems to attract some unstable personalities who need to bolster their egos by showing the world what good people they are. If you read some of the Rescue facebook pages some posters seem to be in their own little world and have their own mission to save everything and to attack anyone who disagrees with them. It's quite scary. Please I said 'some' so don't jump on me. I know that many rescues are well run by very stable responsible people and they do a great job.

Yes, Winograd's U.S.-centric book is used like a bible in some circles. And the 'no kill' message gets translated into literally save everything with a heartbeat. I think there's a lot of factors that go into burnout and the vicious infighting between rescues, activists, members of the public and pounds; doesn't help. Rangers for example, get absolutely slammed if they mark a vicious dog as not for sale. Some crazies go as far as death threats. And I've seen it. NFS dogs getting all the attention while the other dogs get ignored until the last moment if at all. Then there's the poor vets. I like to give my vets presents to let them know I appreciate them. Sometimes it must be so tough.

I have been thinking further and LG I remember, when I was younger, people who had lots of animals (like 20 or more) and how other people thought of them as crazy animal lovers and they made donations of food or money and even left unwanted animals on their doorsteps. I think those 'crazy animal lovers' were all women who lived alone. I do wonder about this case in the ACT. Was he a hoarder? Or just a cruel callous guy who should be condemned? Just wondering some more.

Powerlegs I find your links to animal hoarding very interesting. It is also interesting that you apply them to this case in the ACT. It is all food for thought. Thank you for those links.

Whippets and whippet mixes are some of the most popular flyball breeds :) Do a youtube search for whippet flyball and you'll see thousands of great videos! Okay I stand corrected. I don't do flyball. :)

If 100m meters is a bit far over what distance did you dog outrun a whippet? Just wondering. Yes at the dog park after a ball. I think my dog has border collie in her mix. I can't recall seeing a whippet doing flyball and some of those dogs are fast over a short distance. eta probably around thirty metres

This sounds like great fun. My small mixed breed flies. She has outrun a whippet and she can outrun a kelpie if there's a ball in it. Don't live in Vic though. A pity! eta maybe 100m is a bit far for her though. :)

In the ACT dogs over six months have to be desexed unless the owner has a permit to breed. Yes but I disagree that not desexing a dog is neglecting it. I think the law was brought in to stop backyard breeders and to do something about unwanted dogs arriving at the pound and leaving in green bags. I guess it is neglect if the dog has unplanned litters. I just wish they would enforce the laws already in place. If it is illegal something should be happening. Otherwise there is no point to the law.

I know that name from years ago. Why did they let it go on so long? more Without saying more it would be helpful for this to be posted on some of the fb rescue pages. That link is disturbing Powerlegs. I hope they follow up on it this time. Why can't authorities just enforce laws and why isn't the RSPCA involved in this? I am so angry. Such cruelty!

In the ACT dogs over six months have to be desexed unless the owner has a permit to breed.

Thank you for this, It is very helpful.