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All very third hand information about the type of dog and the owner (but apparently the Canberra Times doesn't need actual proof) , but it's good to see the comments that it doesn't matter what breed or size a dog is, the most important factor is the way it's trained and cared for. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/misty-the-cat-mauled-by-pitbull-20131126-2y6sk.html A Canberra pensioner has been left distraught after her little cat Misty was savaged during a vicious dog attack in Kaleen. Helen Forbes said her cat had managed to drag itself inside despite serious injuries. She found it in “terrible pain". “The vet said she had been attacked by a dog," she said. “The poor little thing was two days in the vet." It took another two weeks before her cat could get back on its feet but she is unlikely to fully recover and will carry the effects of the injuries for the rest of her life. The vet bill of almost $600 has meant Ms Forbes will forego the new refrigerator she had been saving up for. A couple who were driving passed her house and witnessed the attack provided a description of the dog and the owner responsible. Ms Forbes, who uses a walking stick, said she has seen the man since but had been unable to confront him. “He walks so quickly," she said. “I've called the animal services people at the government twice but they say I need to find out where he lives. But with a walking stick I can't follow him." She believed the dog to be a pitbull but didn't blame the dog for the attack. “A pet is only what its owner lets it be," Ms Forbes said. In 2012-13 Domestic Animal Services processed 1400 dogs. “Approximately 5 per cent, 76 dogs, of this total number were impounded for being allegedly involved in an attack or harassment incident," a Domestic Animal Services spokeswoman said. Since 2012 American staffordshire terriers have been at the top of the list for dog attack and harassment incidents while pitbulls have been fourth. Crossbreeds, cattle dogs and German shepherds rounded out the top five. “Statistically, these breeds are also among the most popular breeds in the ACT," a DAS spokeswoman said. “It should also be noted that there have also been attacks from smaller breeds such as Maltese, cavoodles and dachshund. “The most important factors in whether a dog is involved in an attack or harassment incident relate to the way it has been trained and looked after." Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/misty-the-cat-mauled-by-pitbull-20131126-2y6sk.html#ixzz2lqAmbgAL

I think it's a great idea for them to have it, but I also recognise that it is yet another thing for a police officer to have to carry. It all comes down to a matter of how much should be carried and how much can be carried, before it starts to impact on your ability to do a job. They have recently introduced load bearing vests to police officers after recognising that the carriage of general accoutrements (gun, handcuffs, batons and torch) on a belt causes all manner of problems. Add to that portable radio, speed loader clips, resus masks, gloves and all the other paraphernalia that is needed to stay safe and do the job and a police officer is typically carrying an extra 8-10kgs on their person every shift. In a perfect world, dirtbags wouldn't hurt the dogs or the police officers. Sadly, that is becoming less and less probable. Pathetic sentencing has its own part to play in that - there is no deterrent at all to those who do wrong and we all suffer the consequences. It's a shame Koda had to suffer before this was implemented.

I love your shingleback

Just saw this event advertised on Facebook - Police Dog trials with teams from across Australia and NZ competing. It is open to the public - At Campbelltown Sports stadium. https://www.facebook.com/events/166421973561824/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular A bit of info from the blurb if you can't access Facebook. Should be a great day out for anyone near enough to go ''Police Dog Teams from NSW, Victoria, AFP, QLD and NZ will be competing in various events to test the skills of the teams across detection and general purpose disciplines. Free admission, no pets please. The day will commence with an introduction of all the competing dog teams at 9.30am. 10am - 1.30pm - agility, vehicle searching, obedience and a special demonstration by our springer spaniels 1.30pm - 2.15pm - people screening 2.30pm - 3pm - capability displays and presentation of trophies The trials will highlight the skills of the handlers and their dogs - German Shepherds, Labradors and Springer Spaniels. It will be a great day!''

Are there any puppy farms in the ACT? No puppy farms in the ACT. The Animal Welfare Act and associated codes of practice are regulated by the RSPCA, with some support from TAMS

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/people-who-sell-pets-must-adhere-to-code-20131020-2vvav.html People who sell puppies, kittens or other pets will face fines of up to $11,000 if they fail to adhere to a strict new code of practice. The ACT's first enforceable Animal Sales Code will come into force on Monday and apply to pet shops, breeders and anybody else who wants to sell a companion animal. The code will also cover some produce animals, such as backyard poultry, and animals sold as food in restaurants and markets, such as fish. Under the code, sellers will have to provide hygienic accommodation that meets the needs of animals. Commercial establishments will be required to employ staff with the experience and knowledge to properly care for the animals they sell. ACT Territory and Municipal Services Minister and Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury said RSPCA inspectors, police and officers of his department would have the authority to enforce the code. Mr Rattenbury said the code restricted the sale of animals to people aged over 16 years. "It's not that we don't want kids under 16 to have pets, it's about having that level of parental engagement and sharing of responsibility,'' he said. The code was developed by the government's animal welfare advisory committee in consultation with the industry. "This has actually come as a point of consensus so I think that's a real strength,'' Mr Rattenbury said. "Not only is it the first time we've seen a mandatory and enforceable code, but it's come up through a process of development that means there's 'buy' into it. That obviously increases its effectiveness.'' The Greens have previously lobbied unsuccessfully to have pet shops banned from selling puppies and kittens. Mr Rattenbury said members of the public wanted to be confident that animals they purchased had been properly cared for. "Across the community I think there is a concern of animal welfare. We've seen Woolworths moving away from caged eggs. These sort of large-scale commercial decisions reflect the fact that there is a strong community sentiment for animal welfare to be an important consideration.'' Mr Rattenbury said the government would investigate further reforms, including new regulations for the breeding of cats and dogs. Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/people-who-sell-pets-must-adhere-to-code-20131020-2vvav.html#ixzz2iJFJXDqz Link to the actual code http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/di/2013-223/current/pdf/2013-223.pdf

I did a google search on George Costi and the following info from Linkedin was all I really came up with. I couldn't find a way to search for him on the Qld RSPCA site. george costi's Overview Current State Operations Manager at RSPCA Queensland Operations Manager at RSPCA QLD State IOperations Manager at RSPCA Queensland Connections 13 connections george costi's Summary Extensive knowledge in Tourism, Hospitality, Food and Beverage Management, constancies include Philip Island Nature Park, several Chinese Tourism Facility and South East Asian Zoological Park. Currently employed as State Operations Manager RSPCA Queensland george costi's Experience State Operations Manager RSPCA Queensland August 2010 – Present (3 years 3 months) Wacol Brisbane Non - Profit / Animal Welfare Operations Manager RSPCA QLD August 2010 – Present (3 years 3 months) State IOperations Manager RSPCA Queensland August 2010 – Present (3 years 3 months)

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-rspca-chief-executive-michael-linke--will-resign-20131014-2vhy6.html Canberra RSPCA chief Michael Linke will step down from the organisation after more than eight years. Mr Linke, a former public servant and regional manager of Vision Australia, said on Monday he would spend five weeks in New York with his wife before considering new professional opportunities next year. Announcing the decision on ABC radio, Mr Linke nominated restrictions on fireworks in the ACT and organisational sustainability as his key achievements. “Now is as good a time as any,” he said. “The last thing I wanted to achieve was a secured future for animals in Canberra, which we did recently...” “It’s a very difficult decision. You don’t make these decisions overnight, lots of discussions with my family, with my close colleagues about the opportunities and the legacy I wanted to leave as RSPCA." It is not yet clear who will take over the role at the RSPCA but Mr Linke praised existing staff including president Sue Gage. He said current proposals to end factory farming in the ACT would offer further protection to animals. Mr Linke, 47, has represented the RSPCA in national and overseas forums including at the Washington, DC No Kill Conference, where he spoke about the successes of RSPCA ACT's rehoming strategies. A trained accountant, Mr Linke is legally blind. He lives with his wife, Mardi, a dog and eight cats. Last month, ACT government inspectors found concreting in rabbit warrens at an RSPCA site in Weston did not breach animal welfare standards but proved ineffective as a pest control measure. Mr Linke said on September 10 that the concreting had not posed any danger to animal welfare and was never intended to kill the ''scores'' of rabbits on the 20,000 square metre site. Despite the animal welfare concerns raised through United Voice, the union representing RSPCA staff, Mr Linke said the death of a small number of rabbits represented an accepted risk in order to provide better occupational health and safety for workers. Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-rspca-chief-executive-michael-linke--will-resign-20131014-2vhy6.html#ixzz2hfBHo0hO

http://www.governmentnews.com.au/2013/09/27/article/Federal-police-dogs-issued-bullet-proof-vests/JPYHZVDOKV.html Federal police dogs issued bullet proof vests Published on Fri, 27/09/2013, 10:00:50 By Paul Hemsley Dogs on the frontline of dangerous federal law enforcement operations are to be issued with special four-legged bulletproof vests as part of efforts by the Australian Federal Police to keep their canine best friends out of harm’s way when on active duty. A tender issued to the market by the AFP this week reveals the elite crime fighting outfit wants specialised body armour to provide ballistic protection for its police dogs performing high risk and public order duties within Australia and overseas. The protective wear reveals that the AFP is increasingly viewing its dogs as a valuable asset rather than an expendable commodity when it comes to dealing with danger. Dogs have for years been used by the police, customs, military and private security outfits as both a detection tool to sniff out explosives and drugs as well as a defacto weapon that can take a bite out adversaries. But an escalation in the use of firearms, especially pistols, has increased the risks of gunshot and ballistics wounds to dogs as well as officers on duty, especially when offenders are fleeing. The AFP’s preferred features for the dog vests also includes their weight to be no more than 2.1 kilograms, constructed with consideration of weight, minimised heat retention and range of movement, have removable ballistic panels for carrier cleaning and be available in both “black and camouflage” colours. But police dogs aren’t the only ones getting a treat from the AFP as their human counterparts are also receiving an upgrade to their protective equipment. The so-called “K9 ballistic vests” are one part of tender from the AFP where the overall requirements for a potential supplier cover a broad range of policing equipment including general duties ballistic vests, tactical operators ballistic vests, covert ballistic vests, ballistic helmets and shields.

We had neighbours years ago who used to let their dog bark constantly. They never told it to be quiet or did anything with it. Got to the stage where I would go over there at 3, 4 or 5 in the morning to tell them their dog was barking and please do something about it. I figured if I had to be awake listening to it, they could be woken up too. I was working shift work at that stage, so if I had a 6 am start, or had been on night shift and was trying to sleep during they day, I didn't appreciate listening to their dog barking non stop. Eventually they got the message and started putting it inside if it barked. I had to wake them up quite a few times though

I had a border collie who would leap in the air and catch birds on the fly. Only Sparrows and Starlings though. I had chooks that used to free range in the yard and one who made her nest and raised her chicks in his kennel. The magpies used to come down and share his meal. He never bothered the chooks or magpies and was fine with our cats and bunnies. The dog I have now has killed quite a few blue tongues that have come into the yard and he also managed to get one of our chooks. He was obsessive about the chooks and used to sit at the gate to their yard, so we ended up rehoming the chooks so it was less stressful on everyone. If he could get hold of the possums that pull faces at him from the power pole every night, I'm sure he would make short work of them.

Does your camera has GPS? That continues to work even when the camera is turned off unless you go into the settings and turn it off. It shouldn't be enough to drain the battery overnight though. I tend to leave my GPS turned on and it will last a few weeks before the battery goes flat

Pretty sure that was Hamish and Andy - Euro Gap year

Week 10 photo makes me think your washing may not be safe in the future... :laugh: Great collection of photos and what a fabulous idea

Its a bit late trying to close the gate after the bull/dog has bolted. Council should have checked the fences as soon as the dog was registered. One day Councils will do the job they're paid for. You're assuming the dog is registered. "Does not have a history with domestic animal services" could mean exactly that. It's not known to DAS because it isn't registered, rather than it isn't known to DAS because it has never attacked anyone before. Seriously, you're kidding. Right?? Why would I be kidding? I've read the same sentence you have and have interpreted it a different way to you. Surprisingly enough, many people don't bother to register their dogs. If they are well behaved dogs that don't come to notice for any reason, why would DAS even know that the dog exists? Until such time as it does come to their attention for some misdemeanour, it doesn't have a history with them.

Its a bit late trying to close the gate after the bull/dog has bolted. Council should have checked the fences as soon as the dog was registered. One day Councils will do the job they're paid for. You're assuming the dog is registered. "Does not have a history with domestic animal services" could mean exactly that. It's not known to DAS because it isn't registered, rather than it isn't known to DAS because it has never attacked anyone before.

:laugh:

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/money/shopping-and-legal/shopping/veterinarian%20costs.aspx 01.Mature market We’re pretty confident most veterinarians won’t try to sell you something you don’t need next time you bring in your four-legged friend. But the Australian Veterinarian Association (AVA) readily admits that, as in all industries, some individual veterinary practices are more profit-driven than others. So how do you know if you’re being upsold? It doesn’t help that there are no standard fees for standard services. The AVA says vets set prices in line with their overhead costs, and that such costs “vary widely from place to place”. National president Dr Ben Gardiner told us “it’s a free market, and if prices are too high the market will govern that. Customers will leave pretty quickly if they think they’re being overcharged.” The Australian veterinary industry generated about $2.5bn in revenue in 2012-13, mostly from tending to household pets. But that doesn’t mean vets are getting rich. In fact, rates of pet ownership are declining, so there’s more than enough supply to meet demand these days, according to some industry analysts. With less new business coming through the door, the theory goes, any revenue growth for vets will have to come either from charging more for the same service or coming up with new services. The upshot is that many vets are, more than ever, under pressure to extract as much money as possible from every customer visit. Price check One pet owner told CHOICE she was quoted $30 and $66 for the same vaccine from two different vets in the same area. Another said a franchised practice charged up to $300 more for the same procedure than an independent one. In other words, prices are all over the shop. Gardiner argues that upselling and overcharging hasn’t reached the level of a systemic issue as far as the AVA is concerned, but he also makes clear that the financial pressure on vets is increasing as the industry continues to modernise, and practices have to keep up with higher equipment and technology costs. According to an IBISWorld report released in September last year, 30% of the revenue that veterinary practices take in goes toward buying new equipment, well above the average overhead for other parts of the industry. In a 2011 paper published in the Australian Veterinary Journal, Dr John Baguley, then a lecturer in veterinary ethics and practice management at Sydney University, concluded that “revenue growth in recent years has been much stronger than demand growth” for pet care services. With more than enough vets available to meet pet owners’ needs until at least 2026, Baguley wrote, vets will have to raise fees if they want to grow revenue. Baguley, who is now Registrar at the NSW Veterinary Practitioners Board, declined to give us an update on the issue, citing restrictions of his regulatory role. But he did tell us the board doesn’t have the authority to regulate pricing and refers any complaints about costs to NSW Fair Trading. According to Gardiner, pet owners may be paying more because vets are taking a more holistic approach. “These days a lot of vets are looking at the overall health of the animal, and that means pet owners have more options for treatments. Vets are moving more toward preventative care. If a vet offers a range of options that could benefit the animal, I wouldn’t call that upselling. But if there’s a degree of coercion involved – if the vet plays on the owner’s sentiments and pushes things the animal doesn’t really need – we would consider that to be a violation of our code of practice.” He also points out that vets across the industry were performing about $30m worth of pro bono work at last count, or about $15,000 per practice. 02.Going corporate Our social media call-out on this issue yielded more than a few stories of apparent upselling and overcharging, but also some strong endorsements of trustworthy vets. Kerryn M said she shelled out $2000 to a large practice “notorious for upselling unnecessary tests”. After a regimen of blood tests and X-rays, anaesthesia and a two-night stay, the vet still hadn’t found the cause of her dog’s problem, which the vet assumed was abdominal pain. A vet at a smaller, independent practice immediately diagnosed the problem as back pain and prescribed an anti-inflammatory, which Kerryn says did the trick. “Some [vets] use your love for your pet to earn a lot of money, which just isn’t fair,” Louise P told us. Jo T seconded that point, saying “my vet tried to upsell so many extras I simply couldn’t afford. It makes you feel really bad when you say no.” Other pet owners also believed larger corporate-style practices were more likely to upsell than independent ones - a view substantiated by one of CHOICE’s own staffers, an expert in consumer law who switched to an independent vet after noticing suspected upselling tactics at a larger practice. Gardiner acknowledges the increasing corporatisation of the industry is an issue of concern to the AVA. “It’s certainly a change that needs monitoring. You don’t have to be a vet to own a veterinary practice. We’d be very concerned if any practice was instructing its staff to push a particular product based on any commercial relationship with the product maker, but we have no evidence that any such thing has occurred.” While vets are under no obligation to disclose commercial relationships, a couple of pet owners, and our staffer, recounted some upselling episodes involving Hills pet foods. Some of the company’s product offerings, such as those targeted to pets facing oral health, food sensitivity and weight control challenges, may seem unnecessarily niche to some animal lovers. According to a report by the Australian Companion Animal Council, annual sales of premium wet and dry dog food went from $333m to $486m between 2004 and 2009 and accounted for 44% of the $1.1bn in sales in 2009 (cat food generated about $581m). Greencross grows One of the main issues with corporate style vets, according to one independent Queensland veterinarian practice we spoke to, is that the high overhead costs are passed on to customers whether or not they need any of the high-end products or services being offered. The practice requested anonymity, saying the head vet had recently been censured by the state veterinary board for speaking out against vet franchises. The biggest veterinary franchise in Australia by far is Greencross Ltd, which as of August last year owned 81 veterinary practices across NSW, Victoria, SA and Queensland, and was listed on the ASX in 2007. The company has indicated it aims to acquire another 200 practices, which would give the corporation 10% of the vet market. Greencross generated $82.6m in revenue in 2011-12, a healthy share of the overall consumer spend. According to the ABS, the average Aussie household spent about $5.47 per week on veterinary services as of October 2011. Sketchy oversight Our investigation confirmed what some pet owners may already suspect: the Australian veterinary industry is essentially unregulated from the standpoint of customer service. Gardiner estimates that 70% of practices have at least one vet who is an AVA member, but only about half of all vets are AVA members and thus bound to its code of conduct. The code holds that vets “should make reasonable efforts to identify and avoid potential or perceived conflict of interest”, but doesn’t say anything specific about upselling or overcharging. And with growing operating costs and stiff competition for new customers, it seems reasonable to assume the $720 annual AVA fee may be an obstacle for vets surviving on thin profit margins. According to Gardiner, the AVA “is not the police of the veterinary industry” and doesn’t conduct regular surveillance activity. So he was unable to give us an official update on a follow-up from our previous investigation. We asked: are vets following AVA guidelines issued in 2009 recommending core vaccinations only be given once every three years instead of annually? In that investigation we found some vets and vaccine manufacturers were using annual core vaccinations as a source of revenue, despite mounting evidence that such jabs pose a health risk to pets. Unnecessary vaccinations was a point of concern for two consumers who responded to our call-out for this story. And another CHOICE staffer, Mary G, recently received a reminder notice for core vaccinations for her cats even though they’d been vaccinated a year earlier. Since the AVA isn’t set up to take complaints from consumers, Gardiner could only say “we haven’t been given any reason to believe vets aren’t following the new guidelines.” 03.Is it necessary? CHOICE consumer law expert Katrina L suspects she’s been on the receiving end of at least two upselling incidents that left her $1437 out of pocket. In the first, she paid $819 for X-rays at a corporatestyle practice to determine whether her 10-year-old Shetland sheepdog had bone cancer or arthritis. The vet later said the treatment plan would have been the same in either case, but didn’t explain why the X-rays were necessary. Katrina’s experience is similar to that of another consumer we heard from, Andrea E, who said she was “recommended tests that cost a lot but wouldn’t have changed the treatment plan”. Katrina’s suspicions were further aroused when one of the vets in the practice recommended a teeth cleaning and gave her a detailed demonstration of the teeth-cleaning power of Hills Oral Care dog food. The vet also recommended an expensive glucosamine supplement targeted at canines, but a different vet at the practice admitted there was no difference between canine and human glucosamine supplements and gave Katrina directions on the right dosage for her dog, quietly letting on that “the principal vet here kind of likes to sell the products we have here”. Katrina booked an appointment at an independent vet for the dental clean, which cost $618 and required putting her sheepdog under with general anaesthesia. She wishes she’d consulted with the local vet first, who said her sheepdog’s teeth “really weren’t that bad". Be on guard With the veterinary market facing a decline in new business, some vets have had to increase and diversify their services in order to shore up their revenue streams. New services on offer may include some of the following, and may or may not be advisable. Be sure to ask questions and, where appropriate, get a second opinion before agreeing to any expensive or invasive products or procedures for your pet. - Acupuncture - Canine dentistry - Chiropractic services - MRI scans - Oncology - Lens replacement for cataracts - Cardiovascular surgery - Nutraceuticals (dietary supplements that combine nutrients and pharmaceuticals) - Premium pet food - Parasite preventatives - Grooming - Geriatric care - Behavioural advice and training While there is no comprehensive list available from the AVA or other veterinary agency, we’ve identified a few common areas of upselling that you should generally question before approving. - Unnecessary diagnostic tests that don’t affect treatment decisions - Over-vaccinating - Big mark-ups on products sold by vet practices Is your vet well-equipped? - Does the practice have certified (Cert IV) veterinary nurses? - Does it have up-to-date anaesthetic and monitoring equipment? - Does it have any objections to you looking around the hospital if you ask to do so? Got a gripe? If you believe you have a well-founded complaint against a veterinarian practice about upselling, overcharging or anything else, contact the veterinary board in your state or territory. NSW Veterinary Practitioners Board of New South Wales; 1300 366 653; Complaints Officer, Mary Lydamore; [email protected] WA Veterinary Surgeons’ Board of Western Australia; Registrar, Dr Sue Godkin; (08) 9317 2353; [email protected] Tasmania Veterinary Board of Tasmania; Registrar, Anne Horner; (03) 6223 8071; [email protected] Queensland Veterinary Surgeons’ Board of Queensland; (07) 3087 8777; Senior Veterinary Officer, Dr Laurie Dowling; [email protected] SA Veterinary Surgeons Board of South Australia; (08) 8331 9433; Contact Officer, Sue Millbank; [email protected] ACT Veterinary Surgeons Board of ACT; (02) 6205 1700; President, Dr Kevin Doyle; [email protected] Victoria The Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria; (03) 9620 7444; Registrar, Dr Sally Whyte; [email protected] NT Veterinary Board of the NT; (08) 8999 2028; Registrar, Bernadette McKirdy; [email protected] Contents: 01Mature market 02Going corporate 03Is it necessary? View as one pageAdd to favourites Sign up to our free e-Newsletter Receive FREE email updates of our latest tests, consumer news and CHOICE marketing promotions. First nameLast [email protected] up View as single pageComment on this article

Some good photos on the link http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/22/border_collies_hired_to_chase_canada_geese.html Border Collies have been hired to solve a geese problem at a federally operated research farm in Ottawa. BORDER CONTROL BIRD DOGS PHOTO / A border collie bred and raised by Border Control Bird Dogs in Stirling, Ont., chases away pesky Canada geese. By: Curtis Rush News reporter, Published on Wed May 22 2013 Border collies, known for their intelligence and tenaciousness, have traditionally been used to round up sheep. However, the dogs are good at throwing a scare into pesky Canada geese too. They are so effective at chasing away geese, in fact, that they are being counted on to stop the destruction that has been going on at the Central Experimental Farm. The farm, located in Ottawa, has a scientific focus as the location for laboratories and research plots for the federal Department of Agriculture’s Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre. About 10 scientists manage 400 hectares of land at the farm, where crops such as soy beans, corn, barley and wheat are grown for research. The focus is to develop better crops for Canadian farmers, who are always looking for better yields. Last year, the damage from the geese was estimated to be about $250,000. The geese eat the crops. They either eat the young shoots in the spring or the grain in the fall. The droppings, however, are not a major issue for the crops. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada representatives have tried various methods to control the birds, including decoys and human patrols. Fireworks can’t be used because of the noise since the farm is located close to public spaces. Nothing has worked. This year, they hired border collies, and the early results look promising after about a month. “There is only so much that humans can do. We just don’t walk as fast as dogs do,” said Marc Savard, director of operations for the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre. He said it is “depressing” for scientists to see their crops destroyed by the geese. Gareth Williams and Heather Williams, who operate Border Control Bird Dogs in Stirling, Ont., were hired on a one-year contract to get the job done. The cost for two dogs: $44,000 per year. The dogs, working with a handler, patrol the farm five days week. They work three hours in the morning at dawn and return to work three hours at dusk. Since April, about 1,500 nuisance geese have flocked off. “So far so good,” Savard said. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed.” Border Control Bird Dogs, which has about 18 dogs that are bred and trained in Stirling, has been operating for more than 10 years. “We just solely concentrate on geese management,” Gareth Williams said. Their border collies have been used to control geese populations on golf courses, at cemeteries, city pond areas and at universities. Anywhere where there is a goose problem. The border collies move the geese away by what’s called hazing, Williams said. “Rather than chase the geese away as a normal dog would do, they more or less stalk the goose and that makes the goose think it’s a predator,” he said. “It’s an environmentally friendly way to get rid of the geese. It’s kind of fighting nature with nature. It’s making the goose feel uncomfortable and threatened so hopefully it will move off.” This program doesn’t work overnight. Williams said repetition is at the heart of the success of it. “You have to educate the geese to get them to move,” he said. The border collies have to be trained as well. They are so smart that if you don’t keep them busy, they will find other ways to amuse themselves outside of the work they were hired to do. “It’s good that they are such an intelligent dog,” Williams said. “It’s bad that if they are left to their own devices, they will find their own entertainment.” There are always at least two border collies on site with a handler. “When I left the farm yesterday, we had zero geese,” Williams said. However, he added that the geese will come back in the fall because the experimental farm is on the birds’ migratory path and transient geese might drop in. “Our job is to run around and keep them off the crops as quickly as we can,” Williams said.

This strikes me as odd too. The ridge on a ridgeback is a pretty dominant feature. It's a pretty hard thing to confuse, so if a dog is scanned and the microchip records say it is a mastiff, and it doesn't have a ridge (I don't know whether this dog did or not, just going on the article) why on earth would the pound staff think it was a ridgeback? Looking at the photo in the paper (face only) it certainly doesn't look like a ridgeback. It all sounds to me like someone trying to make DAS look bad so they can tell their kids that "those nasty people killed your dog" rather than "Sorry, I was slack and didn't do anything in time and he paid with his life"

And a support page on Facebook

A POLICE dog stabbed during a violent arrest in Adelaide has undergone emergency surgery and is in a stable condition. A man has been charged with numerous offences after the arrest at Elizabeth Vale on Sunday. Police say they were chasing the man on foot around 7.30am (CST) after the attempted theft of a car and break-ins at several nearby homes. Police dog Koda was released to stop the man, who was armed with a knife. Koda detained the suspect, who allegedly stabbed the dog twice. The German shepherd was rushed to a nearby vet by his handler and has since undergone emergency surgery and is now in a stable condition. The 30-year-old man, of no fixed place, has been charged with attempted aggravated robbery, four counts of theft, aggravated serious criminal trespass in relation to two homes, aggravated assault of police, property damage and injuring an animal. He has been refused bail and will appear in Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Monday. Elizabeth Police are also appealing to the Elizabeth Vale community to help locate a woman that may be experiencing a medical emergency and is known to the arrested man. She was last seen at 8am near Semley Street, Elizabeth Vale, where she was asking for medical assistance. The woman is described as Caucasian, about 28, with long brown hair wearing a blue hoodie, black jeans, medium build, and about 36 weeks pregnant. Police have concerns for her welfare and ask anyone who sees her to call police on 131 444. Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/police-dog-stabbed-in-adelaide/story-e6frfku9-1226703608498#ixzz2cyl3yzJJ

I went looking for the story on that website, and then followed a few links to other stories. Geez, they have some pretty sensational crimes being committed over there.

I'm hoping he only arrived in the last day or so, otherwise those jeans have been sitting around for a looonnnngggg time :laugh: