Sheridan

I met Guiseppe the bergamasco at last year's Canberra Royal. He was amazing. Is he related to your pup?

My Grumpy was nearly 17 when he died and Miss Mini is 12. Dogs of age age are brilliant but there's just something special about oldies.

'Oh, how sad,' Sheridan said with complete insincerity.

Except he's not listed as a cross breed, he's listed as a wheaten terrier (full name: soft-coated wheaten terrier) which are the colour of wheat.

I have a Google alert to let me know if there are any wheaten terriers that turn up in rescue. I haven't found one yet that has come close. This one, for example. You see, Starting Over Dog Rescue in Victoria, the name "wheaten terrier" comes from their colour, the colour of ripening wheat. If you are selling this dog as a wheaten terrier, then I'd suggest you get your eyes checked. http://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/346175

Were I the managing editor of Slate, I would fire her, not give her a reference, and report her for animal neglect.

Allow me to cheer you all up a bit. I know someone who has an elderly dog. When she was pregnant she asked for advice about gettin a pen. I said it might be a good idea. That way the dog would be safe. She said, 'Not for my dog. I was thinking of putting the baby in there. I don't want the baby to bother the dog.'

I think it's likely that a lot of people who work there think they're making or will make a difference. People choose jobs in animal welfare because they want to help. Some of the stories, and some of the more tragic ones, are from former staff who did make a difference at least for a time holding dogs being pts. I wouldn't work there and I would have difficulty working in any pound or shelter, even a low kill one. I once had a very unpleasant conversation with someone on FB who posted that well known 'letter from a shelter manager'. I got flamed for pointing out that it didn't matter how a dog got to a pound; once there the pound makes a choice: to kill or to save. Her response was typical of someone who believes because of overpopulation, dogs have to be killed. I see LDH like this: killing dogs to 'save' them and of course, the view that there are bad breeds who don't deserve to live (e.g. See Smith's view on pitbulls). It's a very old school line of thinking that is out of step with popular and sensible opinion. Until LDH changes it's thinking, it won't change at all.

Terry, sounds quite odd. Check the prefix with Dogs NSW and contact Troy, as Persephone has suggested. Have you received the pedigree papers?

If even a few of the stories that have come out about LDH are true (and I have no doubt the majority of them are) then the management and board need to go. While I agree that there needs to be some in depth examination of the reasons why dogs end up in pounds and are not reclaimed it's not an either or. LDH can be investigated. Overall, pounds can be put on the spot for not being no (low) kill. And an examination about bad owners, dogs ending up in pounds, and education can happen. Not either or.

My Grumpy had dementia and Cushings. It was challenging at times.

I fell in love with Miss Mini before she came to live with me on a permanent basis. She stayed for a weekend. While sitting on the couch with me on the floor she snorted into my hair. Instant love.

In regards to the petitions, I think there are enough unanswered questions to at least include what happened at the kennels in an overall bushfire inquiry. I doubt there would be a separate one.

I have no idea what happened or if it was anyone's fault. The person who lit the incinerator on a hot day, possibly. One thing I am pretty sure about is that despite some pet owners being supportive, others who lost their pets won't be.

I really don't know what to write. Here's the link. http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/dozens-of-pets-perish-as-tea-tree-gully-boarding-kennel-and-cattery-hit-by-adelaide-hills-bushfire/story-fnl1ee8j-1227173720337?nk=871bee8dff82a17571c34574e760644e

Well, just saw some good news. After some heavy duty sharing on social media the post about the dog reached the neighbour of the owner. Dog now home, thankfully.

Here's a scary one from over the weekend. A dog was picked up in Lara, near Geelong, in the GAWS catchment area. For some reason, the finder took the dog to a vet who then transferred the dog to LDH. No idea who or where the vet is but the dog is now at LDH where the owners would not think to look. Plus, the dog is a large brindle bull type crossbreed. What are its chances?

Well, you know it would be nice if you actually responded to those posts. You certainly ignored mine, which was from the perspective of someone who did get through an interrogation and ended up with two amazing dogs. How about responding to those sorts of posts of which there have been several instead of just complaining that people are picking on you? Did you think that people would just agree with you and sympathise? Here's a tip: this is DOL and that never happens. It's up to you if you respond to a breeder's request. I pointed out that if you did it could be brilliant. I'm sorry if that doesn't agree with your set view but you know? It could. It's down to you.

I don't post often these days but the OP reminded me of the time I was looking for a wheaten puppy. My dad and I went to the Melbourne Royal to look at the kerry blues. I'd said I didn't want another kerry if I saw the boy we'd lost earlier that year. We spoke to someone at ringside (none of this 'Come back to talk to me when I've finished showing'). After a chat, we were invited back the next day to meet some wheatens. My then 72-year-old dad saw a wheaten and said, 'I want one.' I spent two hours meeting people and their wheatens. First step. I got referred to a breeder interstate expecting a litter. Called left a message. Spent over three hours on the phone, indeed, being interrogated by the breeder. First question, 'Had I had any Irish dogs before?' On being told we'd had several irish terriers and a kerry blue the breeder judiciously said we 'might' be able to handle a wheaten. Second step. Next we had to go to Melbourne to spend a day with another breeder so we could be observed on our interaction with his dogs. We would be on the bottom of the waiting list if we were approved to go on the list at all. We spent the day 'interacting' and were approved. The point of that story, OP, is what the interrogation does, all the hoops you go through, whether it's a photo or, as we did, be observed interacting with the dogs, is let the breeder know if they can trust you. We got a puppy from that litter. We went from the bottom of the list to the top of the list because we showed through our discussions and meetings that we could be trusted with one of the breeder's puppies. The breeder trusted us enough that when the breeder needed to rehome his precious elderly boy, he called me. DOLers know that dog well: he was my Grumpy. You may not like the hoops. If you don't there are other options for you to obtain a dog. If you want to be trusted with a precious little life, jump through the hoops. Believe me, when you have one of those puppies in your house, you'll be willing to jump through those hoops all over again. It's a marvellous thing. Best of luck.

Grumpy started having shaky legs and it was from Cushings.

Wow. Aren't all those celebs with pocket dogs going to feel stupid when this gets out. Assuming it DOES get out. Hah. It's been 'out' for years. They don't care.

This seems to be a peculiarly Australian complaint. Dogs don't actually need backyards.

I don't often get time to post on DOL but ... Don't be ridiculous. Following your 'thought process', my little girl should have stayed with her previous owner, unhappy and at the bottom of a pack instead of being treated like a spoiled princess at my place. And my beloved boy should have been kenneled for months on end or more when his breeder had to go overseas on business instead of being treated like a king at my place because you think dogs have to stay with their breeders. You know nothing of particular circumstances of breeders or why they decide to rehome. Utterly ignorant post.

Has the vet discussed Protein Losing Enteropathy with you? It's often caused by gut issues where the glomeruli is damaged and causes protein to leak from the intestines.

You are most welcome :) I know some people poo-poo holistic vets but I wonder if there is a good one near you that you can get a diet opinion from. I think they specialise more in diet than traditional vets? Which is all very nice but do they specialise in diets for an everchanging disease? That, as I said before, is the problem with homemade diets. They have to change as the values change. I would have though someone who specialises in diet - whomever this yes, is would be able to modify the diet according to the progress of the disease? Based on your reasoning, please tell me how a static product like K/D copes with an ever-changing condition. I haven't poo-pood KD I am simply offering suggestions. It sounds like jaybeece is certainly capable of doing the required research and also more than capable of discounting any suggestions I have made. Yes, she is.