Dog_Horse_Girl

I'm so sorry Priss. There's nothing anyone can say or do to make it better. He knows he was loved. That's what counts. Be good to yourself as you come to terms with his loss. It's gut-wrenching stuff. Take care.

Mita, thanks for that. Check up this morning went well. Ruby had her last cartrophen shot (hopefully no more for 6 mths), and the anal gland is responding to the antibiotics, has reduced in size almost to normal, and isn't causing any more discomfort. Vet is super happy, as are we! I think I'll get some physillium from the health food store and try that with all the dogs. Having never experienced an anal gland problem before, it's a bit hard to know what's going on...but now we know. Our vet was just being overly-cautious I think, given Ruby's history.

Oh, that's bad luck. Is it just one leg which is lame? Ruby's still recovering from her cruciate surgery (the less expensive option, not the TPLO) but she's doing very well and has surprised us all (including our vet). I'd say a vet visit is in order. I know we had planned to have Ruby done by a specialist but after the unexpected splenectomy we didn't have the money so opted for our local vet to do it instead. See what your regular vet says first. Perhaps you can opt for a lower-impact option for your boy? Both financially and physically? Did you get him into any kind of rehab? We plan to get Ruby into the canine fitness centre for some hydrotherapy and water treadmill work. I can only wish you luck, it's heartbreaking to see them lame and in pain, isn't it?

I don't envy you in this terrible decision at all. Our staffy cross Ruby, aged 9, was scheduled to have cruciate ligament surgery the week of Christmas last year, when the surgeon discovered a large abdominal mass as he put her under for the second time (long story short, she had started seizuring under GA the previous day so they used a different drug the second time and while she still reacted somewhat to the second drug, the surgery went ahead). The phone call went along the lines of: Surgeon: "We've discovered a mass...in the abdomen." Me: "Okay, what does that mean?" Surgeon: "We're not sure, but we need to know if you are willing to have us investigate further." Me: "Sure, what do you need?" Surgeon: "Well, we need at least an X-ray, ultrasound, perhaps exploratory surgery, and if we find a tumour and it's attached to something, we'll need to make some more decisions." Me: "Okay, sure, whatever you need to do to find the problem, please do. When will you know what we're dealing with?" Surgeon: "Let's take a look. I'll give you another call shortly." It turned out to be a tumour on her spleen - in a split second, our whole world turned upside down. We had to decide whether to proceed with a splenectomy then and there, or whether to let her go on the table. A horrible decision to make when it's the last thing you expect. Of course the cruciate surgery was put on the back-burner and we opted to have the splenectomy and hope like anything it was benign. But we also decided that if the pathology came back bad, we wouldn't do more than keep her comfortable and happy for whatever time she had left. So it was a very tense week-long wait for the results. And thankfully the tumour was benign. Ruby has now also had the cruciate surgery and is almost back to her normal self. Of course now she's got a problem with an anal gland which we hope is just an infection...although our vet mentioned it might be a tumour causing the symptoms. This poor dog has been through so much, and we think she deserves to have good health for the rest of her life, however long that may be. Everything she's been through, she's managed to overcome and despite it keeping us broke, she's worth every cent. I wish you and your boy the best - only you know how your dog is within himself and only you can decide (with the best information and advice possible) how to proceed. We're here to support you, whatever decision you make.

So far, so good. The bum looks a lot better so the antibiotics seem to be helping - another checkup tomorrow then hopefully that's it for a while for Ruby.

Our poor Ruby - last night when we got home, we noticed that she had what appeared to be a cut near her bottom so rang our vet for advice. She said to bring her in as it was most likely an infected anal gland. So we took her straight in, confirmed the diagnosis, picked up some antibiotics and went home again. As soon as the gland had been expressed and manipulated, she seemed to feel better and with the medication started this morning, we hope it clears up fast. She goes back on Saturday for her cartrophen shot and we'll get the bum checked as well. Poor thing has just been so unlucky. **There was mention of the T-word (tumour) which we hope against hope is NOT the case. We have no more funds for that sort of treatment. The two recent surgeries have depleted all our savings and my OH is changing jobs so we are watching every single cent as a result. Please join me in hoping we are only dealing with an infection and not something more sinister.

Why not point out all the potential problems, and then say something like, "But of course none of these things will happen to you or your bitch, just like all of the people we've just discussed believed it would not happen to them." I also like the idea of taking her to the local dog pound, but take it a step further: make her sit in on every PTS that day. Tell her that each of these dogs does not deserve to die, and likely each of them was brought into the world for a purpose other than being put down by a stranger after having spent up to a week in a lonely pound kennel. Tell her that the "breeders" who decided to make every one of those dogs genuinely believes their pups are in loving, permanent homes, and that it would come as a complete shock for them to learn otherwise, but that even if they did learn of their former pups' fate, they would do nothing to change it anyway. Ask her if she's willing to act as heartless herself or whether she would step in and re-claim her pups when they needed her to.

Me too Obvious it was a language barrier problem. They also may have thought he was a nutcase/weirdo asking to bring a gay dog in There are some very strange people around. The fine was a bit stiff for what was a misunderstanding. It may have been "just a misunderstanding" but for anyone with a disability and reliant upon an assistance dog, this type of thing happening really infringes on their ability to enjoy activities that able-bodied people take for granted. A guide dog/assistance dog is for many disabled people, the only way they can get out and about. To be barred from any public place because of an assistance dog is not only illegal, but it's plain stupidity on the part of the person refusing entry. I have zero tolerance for idiots trying to stop the disabled from leading as normal a life as possible. Guide dogs don't need any paperwork to show what their job is, their harness is the clue...even for people where a "language barrier" might be a problem...surely they can SEE that the dog is guiding its person?

Oh, my own Ruby (staffy cross something) had a large mass on her spleen which was only detected when she was supposed to have cruciate surgery at Christmas time last year. The specialist rang to discuss her prognosis and plan of action, which was uncertain for some time. It took over a week for pathology to come back after the splenectomy. We were *so* lucky that it was a benign tumour. She went and had the cruciate surgery four weeks ago and is recovering well from that too. There is ALWAYS hope. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way...your Ruby is obviously as well loved as our Ruby. Sending hugs to you as well.

As per the thread title, thought I should post an update following her cruciate surgery and post-op recovery phase. It's been about 5 wks since the surgery and she's doing rather well for a 9 yr old. Arthritis is going to be a fact of life for her now, but with a combination of cartrophen and a joint-support supplement, we hope to keep her relatively mobile. Ruby's not as lame as prior to the surgery but she's not using the leg full time yet either. We also need to get her into some kind of rehab, either hydrotherapy (swimming) or underwater treadmill walking. The fur she had shaved from the first surgery in December is growing in nicely and now the leg fur is doing the same. She has quite a scar on the leg (never mind the one on her abdo!). She has had a few firsts in the past few days: she walked down our stairs the other day for the first time since we moved in last November, AND then last night she got up one step by herself. She seems to be a lot more affectionate with me lately too. I can't complain about that one little bit as she was supposed to be *my* dog but bonded with my OH from the moment she came home. I was always second-best but lately Ruby has taken a shine to me. I hope we continue to see improvement although I'm happy with how she is today, as it's a whole lot better than I expected. The vets are pretty happy with her progress too and everyone at the surgery loves her. The whole thing has been so worth it, just to see her on four legs again is pretty amazing.

Oh, now I get it! You come here, ask for advice, are provided with advice, then you say you didn't want that kind of advice and somehow none of this is your fault. Either you want advice and you act upon it, or you don't ask for it in the first place. More than one person advised you to stop leaving out cat food and to stop letting your cat outside, as both of these pieces of advice WILL help resolve the problem you report. Yet you say it's not fair and blah blah, poor me. This thread is full of great suggestions, but you don't want to put them in place. No, you would rather find us agreeing that your council rangers are hopeless, that you're merely a victim in a wider conspiracy, and that because nothing is your fault, you are clearly in the right and everyone else is in the wrong. So it would seem you are seeking justice rather than advice. As I said, good luck with it all.

Actually, most cats happily adjust to being kept indoors despite their owner's fears that it's unnatural, or too restrictive, or whatever other flimsy excuse they like to trot out as fact. Would you prefer to keep your elderly cat safe, or would you prefer to maintain a position in which you're merely the victim of a bad neighbour or lazy council? My family has lived in the area for a very long time, they still do (I'm the only one who has moved). They don't seem to have any problems with roaming dogs but they also don't leave dog or cat food out and they have spoken with neighbours previously about dogs which have been at large. Council rangers acted relatively quickly in the past as well; many dogs are impounded because they've been caught roaming. I'm not sure what else to suggest because whatever I have put in this thread, you've basically said it's not working or you shouldn't have to change the way you live to solve the problem. I guess you'll just have to put up with this dog roaming and the fear that it might harm your cat because you won't keep the cat indoors... Good luck with it all.

Hoping Daphne will be okay...I always worry at this time of year, dogs and chocolate are not a good combination.

I have family living in the same Shire and have lived there myself some years ago. As it's a semi rural area, dogs do wander but if they're reported, the problem usually stops, eventually. In looking at the council's website, it would seem that you need to report the dog as being "unleashed creating a nuisance" and then the council takes action. If you're not happy with the action council rangers take, lodge a complaint in writing. You can do this via e-mail. Why aren't you keeping your cat (and its food supply) indoors? From your descriptions, this dog is a large one capable of inflicting serious harm on your cat, never mind that both dogs are making off with its food (which you continue to leave out for the dogs...), yet you're not taking any action to halt this behaviour by keeping the cat and its food inside? Why don't you change this and see if that makes a difference? :D

It would seem Caboolture (also in Moreton Bay) is worse. One dog is permitted under some circumstances and it would seem nearly impossible to keep two. Three? It would seem there is no provision if you have three dogs. Crazy Daisy - Brisbane City Council is the most dog-friendly jurisdiction here that I've seen. That's the main reason we're looking to stay in the BCC suburbs, everything I've seen from the other council (Moreton Bay) is virtually anti-dog once you have more than one or two dogs.

No, I've just checked the council website for Moreton Bay, Pine Rivers Shire...and have copied and pasted the relevant part here: Dogs A Permit is required to keep a dog:- (a) on an allotment less than 300 square metres in area; and (b) for more than one (1) on an allotment greater than 300 square metres in area but less than 600 square metres; and © for more than two (2) on an allotment greater than 600 square metres but less than 4 hectares; and (d) for more than six (6) on an allotment greater than 4 hectares; and (e) at any residential premises on, or which involve the use of, property used in common with others. This is the council adjoining our boundary with BCC and it covers a huge area in Brisbane's northern suburbs.

I just don't get why humans in Australia are so much more feeble and prone to such poor health than humans in the USA, Europe or the UK. I mean, apparently you can travel with your dog/s overseas and they're allowed in hotel rooms, and in restaurants, and in public transport, and you don't exactly see headlines of masses of people coming down with something because of other people's dogs. Yet in this country, my goodness! "You can't possibly mean you want your dog to stay inside the room with you, we just couldn't allow that," is something I've heard more than one motel owner/operator state and they cite "health regulations" as being responsible for that position. I wonder how people with allergies who live overseas (in more dog friendly places) can manage their debilitating illnesses, being as they are, surrounded by dogs, when the same illness here triggers such a wave of sympathy and an automatic ban of dogs from pretty much every public space imaginable. Melbourne has to be the most dog-friendly capital city we've lived in. Dogs are allowed on public transport, in some restaurant and cafe type establishments and in many holiday places including inside hotel rooms. Most cafes in certain areas have dog water bowls put out the front and some residents also leave dog water bowls out for people walking their dogs in the area. It's a real pity the rest of Australia can't follow this excellent lead. And I'm convinced that QLD is just so far behind the times because of the restrictions placed on dog owners for no good reason; it makes no sense at all.

\Do you agree with the requirement whereby you have to get a 3rd dog then apply for a permit and if rejected re-home one of the dogs???. If the council requires it, then unfortunately that's the law. I would think that anyone who has an additional dog (above the usual permitted number) who is concerned about not receiving permission, should really sit down with their neighbours AND the council officer responsible for granting the permits first. I also think this is where choosing the suburb where you plan to move to is crucial - we could have accepted a property in another suburb with a different council, but after speaking with that council's animal control officer who issues permits, I decided it was not worth the risk of having the application rejected. Therefore we chose the house we are renting on the basis of having had the same conversation with BCC and having near-certainty that in our circumstances, we would be granted the permit. When we move from this house, we are only looking at houses within the BCC suburbs for the same reason. When we fall below the numbers that require a permit, then we can re-consider but whilever we have more than the required limit, we'll stay safe and remain within the boundaries of BCC. On the question of cost, yes it's around $300 every year for the three dogs. This is for the permit ($172) and their registration fees ($37 per dog at the moment). I don't begrudge the cost, but it would be nice to only have to pay for the permit once (and perhaps a smaller annual fee to then retain the permit). The requirements to obtain the permit are not that stringent here so I can't really complain when compared to other Brisbane region councils. For example, in other parts of Brisbane, the block size for keeping two or more dogs is over 700 square metres, which is getting impossible when the average block size in those same areas is less than 400 square metres. In BCC, the minimum block size for a three or four dog permit is 400 square metres. We're living on a 470 square metre block here, which is more than adequate considering the dogs spend 90% of their time inside the house!

IMO it's not overly responsible to not register all the dogs at your property/household. All it takes is one person to make a report to council, or for one of the dogs to escape/be let out, just once, and then the council investigates and fines the owner/s for not having their dogs appropriately registered. It took us a few months to get the required permit. This was primarily because Ruby was very sick and we didn't know if she would survive. We also spoke to the immediate neighbours, none of whom had any issues with our dogs. We also keep the dogs inside the majority of the time, they're never outside without supervision, and we have padlocks on both gates. The second I knew Ruby was going to be okay, I applied for the permit and paid for the application and their registration (total cost of $320). I do not condone anyone not registering their dogs if it's a requirement where the dogs are kept.

Yeah what is with that !! I would love to see if i can apply for a third dog, but it worries me in re; to that condition :p Me too! In some councils, you obtain the permit then the dog, and in others, it's the other way around...has me scratching my head there. In the council area we lived in in Darwin, you had to get the dog first...then the permit. But if just one neighbour didn't like the idea of having three dogs in the area, then potentially you couldn't get your permit. It's the sort of situation that leaves people wondering exactly where they stand...and what if you move to the area with your three dogs which you've had in previous areas without a hitch and then one of your neighbours objects? How do you get around that, apart from having to re-home a dog? ;)

Our three are basically inside dogs. They go outside to toilet and have a bit of a stretch and walk around. But they're 10, 9 and 6 so not overly active any more. And Ruby's not active at all with her cruciate and arthritis issues now. I think it really depends on the dog, their energy levels, their requirements for mental stimulation, whether they have access to interactive toys or people to play with, and when left alone, how long they're alone for at a time.

If only the regulations were uniform. It makes life a bit of a challenge when you move from place to place as we have done. In Melbourne, we would have had trouble obtaining a permit for three dogs but as we adopted Molly literally right before the move, we didn't worry about it. In the ACT, you can register three dogs without a problem; it's only when you add a fourth that you need a permit. In NSW there are no dog limits so you can keep as many dogs as you like, assuming they cause no problems. In QLD, some councils restrict the numbers to one or two per household and getting a permit for more can be impossible. In others, it's not a huge hurdle to overcome, and BCC seems very dog-friendly compared to its neighbouring councils. In the part of Darwin where we lived, despite requiring a permit for more than two dogs, most people don't bother registering ANY of their dogs unless/until they get caught. It used to be that the BCC did home checks and neighbour interviews, but I think that went by the wayside...I know that Moreton Bay still does them though, and the attitude I got when I enquired (before we had found this house) wasn't very welcoming of three dogs at all. NAO, I'm not surprised that council gave you a different permit to the one you applied for! The woman I saw was a bit taken aback that we had a greyhound as a PET...and even more surprised that she is desexed...never mind that Lilly is ten yrs old now. I did mention that greyhounds make fabulous pets and that if the lady was considering her next breed, a greyhound could be ideal.

It's actually a relief that we still have three dogs. Ruby wasn't doing very well for a while...hence my reluctance to apply for the permit...just in case she didn't make it. I know others who went through similar things - applying for a permit only to have one or more of the dogs get seriously ill and die. I know we should have got it sorted out sooner but when Ruby got diagnosed with cancer, it felt wrong to put the paperwork in somehow. I think I had to be sure she would make it and now I am. She should be around for a few more years at least...thank goodness! ;)

If I had neighbours like this, and a cat that I let wander about outside, the first thing I'd do is keep the cat indoors. Ringing the council to report the dogs at large should work over time. In the meantime, keep your own animals safe, inside your property, and keep doing the right thing. Council will either get sick of coming out to attend to these dogs, or the owner of the dogs will get rid of them...if you're lucky. If not, the neighbour might try to retaliate somehow. Be careful. ;)

Just an update to let everyone know about Brisbane City Council and applications for a dog permit. You need a permit to keep three or four dogs in BCC areas. With Ruby being so sick (we didn't know if she'd make it through the cancer then the knee surgery) we put off getting the permit and registration...didn't want to jinx anything I guess. So a few weeks ago, I went to the local library and customer service office, completed the paperwork, handed over the payment ($320 ) and waited for the council to respond. I was told it's usually a formality unless the dogs are known to council or have been identified as dangerous previously or if there's no proof of desexing. As none of that was the case, within a week we had rego tags for all three dogs. And a couple of days later, our permit arrived! ;) So our dogs are legally registered! And Ruby is on the road to recovery with the knee so it's all good.