Ruff Ruff escapes again- amazing recovery

Today, about 12.00pm I noticed a storm clouds rolling across the sky, and the first thing I thought of was how Ruff Ruff would be coping. I know how she hates thunder storms. Later in the afternoon the vet nurses told me Rebecca had rung to say that Ruff Ruff was missing. Rebecca had come home to see if Ruff Ruff was okay, but she found that Ruff Ruff was already gone. Rebecca went looking for Ruff Ruff but Ruff ruff could not be found. About 4.00pm I recieved a phone call from BCC to say that someone had found Ruff Ruff in Wood ridge about 20km away! That sounded incredible, how could Ruff Ruff gone so Far. They gave me a ladies number to ring. She said that she had found Ruff Ruff running around outside her unit and had no idea how Ruff Ruff would have got there. But then we got talking and found that she had been working at a house across the street from where we live. Looking closey at Ruff Ruff there was several grease mark and some skin abrasions. Ruff Ruff was defineatly not inside the car as this lady drove home. so the only reasonable conclusion we can see is that Ruff Ruff Climbed under the bonnet of this car to escape the thunderstorm and stayed there as this lady drove over 20km home. We are very lucky to have Ruff Ruff back alive.

Diagnosed a Heartworm postive dog today.

This afternoon I did a heartworm test on a 8 year old staffy. He had missed 3 years of heartworm treatment when his owners where battiling cancer. He was a healthy dog except for some tartar and plaque on his teeth. I do so many heartworm test and so many come back negative. Even when I was working at the pound, testing abandoned dogs, heartworm was rare. So I was quite suprised to come back to my heartworm test and find a positive reading. I also had a look at the blood under the microscope and found some microfliara, I have not seem any of those for a long time. The lady owner was quite upset but is keen to treat the dog, and she booked him on Monday for further tests.

Stupid Goverment Decision To Kill Amstaffs but set Pit bull Free!

Gold Coast City Council and the Hon Minister Desley Boyle set to Kill all American Staffordshire terriers and set Pit bull terriers free.

Are the American Staffordshire terrier and the American Pit Bull terrier one breed or are they two different breeds of dog?

It is generally accepted that the Amstaff and Pit bull came from a common blood line or stock, descending from the Staffordshire bull terrier originally.

The split happened when the UKC, United Kennel Club, preferred their Pit bull stock to be bred for gameness or performance and other dog groups wanted to move towards conformation and show qualities.

The American Staffordshire terrier was then line bred with the best of what was available within their registries to only other registered American Staffordshire terriers for the next 90 years, keeping this breed pure to the original blood line.

What I found out here in Australia, at least, because there is no national registry for the American Pit Bull terrier and as this breed is not recognised by the Australian National Kennel Club or groups like the CCCQ ect, owners and breeders had an open hand at what they were allowed to do in regards to improving or enhancing the look of their particular dogs.

When looking at individual breeders and their dogs, one will boast at how larger their blood lines head is or another will claim that theirs are the biggest most muscular Pit bulls in Australia, now looking nothing in anyway like the original American Pit Bull terrier from the USA, or in fact nothing like the original imported dogs to Australia.

With the introduction of the BITSA DNA dog breed identification test, many American Pit Bull terrier owners were horrified that their secret cross breeding program would come to light exposing how their dogs came to be so individual and distinct from the original imported blood stock to Australia.

After completing now over 30 DNA tests and working with the DNA lab in Victoria it had become indisputably clear that many of the once known  American Pit Bull terriers are now showing to be nothing but lookalike cross breed dogs, holding any number of breeds unlike the original cross breed combination which was the American Pit Bull terrier.

The American Pit Bull terriers breeders are not totally to blame for altering their breed or dilution of their blood line, as the prohibition on importing blood stock and the banning and destruction of good breeding stock by the Qld Governments BSL law 17A forced many if not all dogs to go underground. What choice did dog owners have? The blame rests still with this Qld Government who must hold part of the blame for all the consequences of this badly thought-out law.

With the American Staffordshire terrier, the BITSA DNA identification test shows very clearly, scientifically and without any doubt that a suspected dog either is a pure breed American Staffordshire terrier or an American Staffordshire terrier cross breed dog, showing what it was cross bred with, or just a lookalike cross breed, showing what dogs made up the lookalike combination.

With the court case run on the 29^th of March, 2010, BRISBANE SUPREME Court. CHIVERS Vs Gold Coast City Council. Ms Chivers went to trial to fulfil a magistrate order asking her to prove her dog was an American Staffordshire terrier so she may be allowed to return her dog to her home on the Gold Coast.

I was not only successful in proving this point uncontested, I also was able to prove that the method of identification used by councils in South East Qld in identification of suspected Pit bull terriers was knowingly false, and that the Qld Government staff, (Animal Control Officers for respective Councils) held no formal or academic qualifications clearly showing they could and would never be considered an expert, in any field in dog breed identification or experts in general under the rule of law.

However in a final twist, at the end of the trial, the GCCC Barrister entered a new submission, which was never presented to my Barrister until the very end of the trial, changing their whole point of view, stating they had admitted over the past 7 years they had got things wrong and now seen the light and found the truth.

Despite presenting expert evidence in some 15 to 20 trials, (Dino Da Fre Vs Logan City Council..ect) that the American Staffordshire terrier and the American Pit Bull terrier were two separate breeds and that with the training of their expert Debora Pomeroy and the 22 point checklist they could without any reservation prove that the dogs were two separate breeds, they now contend that they are the same breed of dog.

As this was submitted at the end of the trial, My Barrister without prior notification had 10 minutes to come up with a reply, thus leaving it to the judge to base his decision on what was before him, the court ruled that an American Staffordshire terrier and the American Pit Bull terrier were the same breed.

My Barrister was clearly blindsided, the rules or principles of natural justice, also known as procedural fairness, were developed to ensure that decision-making is fair and reasonable. Put simply, natural justice involves decision-makers informing people of the case against them or their interests, giving them a right to be heard (the ‘hearing’ rule), not having a personal interest in the outcome (the rule against ‘bias’), and acting only on the basis of logically probative evidence (the ‘no evidence’ rule).” And in a way the judge showed he knew this by his comments and not awarding any costs a clear indication that one side did not follow the rules.

How does this affect dog owners? As the Gold Coast City Council so cleverly tricked a Supreme Court Judge in giving a false ruling, by disobeying the rules or principles of natural justice, their win has given all Pit bull terrier owners a free get out of jail card. I will explain.

The GCCC’s win that American Staffordshire terriers and American Pit bull terriers are one and the same.

Here's the Kicker, there is a DNA test for the Amstaff, 100% accurate, the same test that all the American Staffordshire terrier clubs use to check the validity of a suspected members true breed, the same test the ANKC and the CCCQ use, that is the BITSA Dog Breed Identification DNA test.

Therefore there is a DNA test for Pit bulls...the Amstaff DNA test, so any other dog that does not conform to the Pit bull DNA test (Amstaff DNA test) must not be a Pit bull terrier.

With me so far....

Kill all the Amstaffs, a group of the dog community that have never caused any problems just so a dog called Tango could not be returned to the Gold Coast and win at all costs, has in effect made the GCCC set the Pit bulls free to breed/grow in number and really become a problem as the Pit bull terrier will never pass the Amstaff test.

Just think, when the Restricted dog owners (Gold Coast and South East Qld) find out that all they have to do is send a DNA test to the lab and should the results come back their dog is not an American Staffordshire terrier, they then, don’t have an American Pit bull terrier, no need to put the signs on their gates, no extra fees, compensation for the harassment /desexing their dogs, then the need for an explanation to why the GCCC falsely identified their pet wrongly in the first place?

Wow, Gold Coast City Council how smart do you feel now!

The QLD Government’s Honourable Desley Boyle, Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships who has had two terms as Minister for Local Government over the past 7 years, and  Mr Logan Timms, Senior Policy Officer of the Department of Infrastructure and Planning, have been placed in this situation by the GCCC. They are in a stalemate situation; it’s finally up to the dog owners in QLD to write to the Minister demanding that she fix this problem immediately, sack the GCCC or resign enabling hopefully another Minister to come up with a competent solution to fix this problem.

There is currently a case on the GCCC "Whereo" and "Mo" who were both placed under a destruction order by the Gold Coast City Council, Animal Management (Cats and Dog) Act 2008, section 127, Destruction Order.2010/01, Both dogs have been tested for Breed identification, known as BITSA which you are familiar with, and the results are:

Mo:  Boston Terrier/ Golden Retriever
Whereo:  Staffordshire Bull terrier/ Boxer

Both do not hold the cross breeding to be American Pit bull terriers (or American Staffordshire terriers either, same thing) so how is it that they were identified as American Pit bull terriers or restricted dogs or how have they broken the law?

The first of many back cases to come forward.

The Gold Coast City Council's way of fixing a problem is to make the whole thing much, much, worse, just out of spite. The Gold Coast City Council, head of Animal Control Geoff Irwin, has over stepped his authority (Abuse of Power). (Putting out fires with petrol)

This Supreme Court decision has in effect, with the introduction of BITSA DNA testing, made the BSL section of the Animal Management (Cats and Dog) Act 2008, unworkable, therefore powerless and Ineffectual.

Just to show you, that not only do we know that the DNA test works here in Australia, but even in the USA their are other affected dog owners who have problems with councils trying to falsely identify their pets as Pit bulls.

Bad luck the whole world uses the internet and asked for help.

Open this and play from half way through, 3:25, Logan Timms, I think you will get the point.

Make sure the sound is on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1ZI2hKZJEs

Have fun watching
 

Mr Logan Timms, Senior Policy Officer of the Department of Infrastructure and Planning, has been made fully aware of this case for well over a month and has done???

Contact Mr Logan Timms on 3033 0594 or email logan.timms@dip.qld.gov.au , logan.timms@dlgsr.qld.gov.au .

Contact Minister Desley Boyle on (07) 3227 8819 or email LGATSIP@ministerial.qld.gov.au  or PO Box 15031, CITY EAST QLD 4002.

Contact Mr Dale Dickson, Chief Executive Officer, Gold Coast City Council, PO Box 5042, Gold Coast MC 9729, gcccmail@goldcoast.qld.gov.au

Contact Colette McCool, Directory of Community Services, Gold Coast City Council
cmccool@goldcoast.qld.gov.au

Yours Sincerely,

Kylie Chivers co/owner of Tango

kylielou@msn.com

How is this going to effect your members, any ACO who has used the false syetem of identification of a suspected Pit bull terrier, by way of the 22 point checklist, may loose their house.

I have just finished watching Hachi

I have just finished watching Hachi, the loyal dog, a beautiful story about a dog's love and loyalty for his master. It was a very moving story and certainly brought a tear to my eye. If you love dogs , you would love this movie. I have heard of stories where dog know when their owners are coming home, it certainly something you could not teach a dog. There was something special about this dog, The owner could not teach him to play fetch, but Hatchi knew when his owner was coming home and would always wait. I love dogs for their sense of loyalty, a sense of loyalty in dogs is often greater than it is in Humans and that is why we love them so much. This is definitely will be one of my favourite movies.

What kind of Dog household do you live in?

Below is an article from Dog diaries about the kind of house hold we live in.

My house hold is more like a B household, maybe a C, Our Labrador "Rainbow" sleeps outside, but "Ruff ruff" sleeps under our bed,Our dogs mostly eat Eukanuba Dog Food, but also get plenty of treats, such as liver treats and pig ears. If I was home for the day , like the weekend the dogs might get walked twice daily, usaully it is to the same spot, a big park where they are free to run. But some busy days they can also miss out.

Please read the article below and tell us about your dog household.

Leave a comment telling us how pampered your dog is to win a Chew Toy and Food Bowl! The most original comment will win! Be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you about your prize. The promotion ends on the 19th of July and the winner will be announced on Friday the 30th of July 2010.




Obviously each of us love our pooch dearly, and want to create the most loving home environment, yet lately, what experts are calling ‘petocracies’ are becoming more and more prevalent in Australian households. A Petocracy is a pet-democracy…where your furry friend has equal (or sometimes more) say in the way the household is run than its human inhabitants. To find out if your home is a petocracy, take our fun, easy quiz and discover whether you’ve been usurped as ruler of your roost!









It’s bedtime. You:



a) Put your dog outside for the night

b) Send him to bed in his dog-bed in the laundry

c) Let him curl up at the foot of your bed…he’s a good foot warmer!

d) Plump up the pillow in your bed that he likes to sleep on and make sure he has most of the blankets.



Your dog’s diet consists of:



a) Dry food only

b) Mostly dry food, with chicken necks, bones and other morsels as occasional treats

c) A mixture of dry and wet food, with daily treats and a specially-designed eating plan to keep him interested and fit.

d) It depends on the day of the week. He likes steak on Mondays, liver on Tuesdays, and I bake him little foie gras biscuits on Wednesday….



How often do you walk your dog?



a) Two or three times a week

b) Once a day, with a bit of a run in the dog park.

c) Twice a day, being sure to change up the locations so he stays interested.

d) However often he feels like it. When he is too tired to walk I carry him in my doggy backpack so he can still experience the scenery.









The rules you have for your dog are:



a) Very strict—dogs need discipline otherwise they get carried away.

b) Fairly strict—he knows who is boss but sometimes gets away with things for being so cute!

c) Quite lax—he knows how to get what he wants by using his puppy charm.

d) No watching Law and Order (the theme song bothers him), no staying out past 9pm (he gets lonely) and no chocolate in the house (it’s dangerous for dogs)….Oh, you meant what rules do I have for the dog….



Now for the tally…



Mostly As:



You’re from the old school, and believe that dogs need to firmly know their place and respect their masters. You’re diligent in setting up boundaries for your pet and value obedience, loyalty and good behaviour. This is a perfectly acceptable attitude towards dog ownership, just remember to let your hair down and have some fun with your pooch…after all, it’s what they’re best at!



Mostly Bs:



While discipline is important to you, you recognise the importance of a pooch needing to fit in with the family’s lifestyle, not the other way around. You can’t help but indulge your furry friend every once in a while and you like to be organised in your approach to having a pet.









Mostly Cs:



Your dog is an important member of your family and you consider its needs as a high priority. You work hard to ensure your pooch’s happiness and probably sacrifice a lot of time to its care…which is worth it for you because of the love and affection you get back in return.



Mostly Ds:



Oh, Mostly Ds, what are we going to do with you? You’ve given complete control over to your canine commander–whoops, sorry—companion, but we’ll forgive you because, well, we love dogs too! Just make sure you try to set some boundaries, as dogs do respect leadership and need to know what behaviour is acceptable.



Don’t Forget!



Leave a comment telling us how pampered your dog is to win a Chew Toy and Food Bowl!



Images by sucka74, nawtydawg and Photography by Ruben

What kind of Cat household do you live in? Best comment wins

This is a quiz from Bayer about what kind of pet house hold you live in.  Read the article below and leave a comment on the Bayer website.

I would have to say that I would mostly be a B cat owner, my cat lives in the garage, as he does not like our Jack Russell. We love Aussie our cat, but he has to fit into our busy household with 3 children, and two dogs. Aussie now mostly lives in our front garden and comes in of a night time to the garage. The best thing about this is Aussie often greets me first when I drive home, I open the car door and he jumps in for a pat and a head rub.




Last night he actually came inside and sat on my lap as I watched TV. Ruff Ruff was hiding in my bedroom, so Aussie felt comfortable in the house, it was great to have a purring creature on my lap, for change than a panting one.




Leave a comment telling us how pampered your cat is to win a Cat Igloo! The most original comment will win! Be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you about your prize. The promotion ends on the 19th of July and the winner will be announced on Friday the 30th of July 2010.




Obviously each of us loves our kitty dearly, and want to create the most loving home environment, yet lately, what experts are calling ‘petocracies’ are becoming more and more prevalent in Australian households. A Petocracy is a pet-run democracy…where your furry friend has equal (or sometimes more) say in the way the household is run than its human inhabitants. To find out if your home is a petocracy, take our fun, easy quiz and discover whether you’ve been usurped as ruler of your roost!







It’s bedtime. You:



a) Put your cat outside for the night

b) Send him to bed in his cat-bed in the laundry

c) Let him curl up at the foot of your bed…he’s a good foot warmer!

d) Plump up the pillow in your bed that he likes to sleep on and make sure he has most of the blankets.



Your cat’s diet consists of:



a) Dry food only

b) Mostly dry food, with other morsels as occasional treats

c) A mixture of dry and wet food, with daily treats and a specially-designed eating plan to keep him interested and fit.

d) It depends on the day of the week. He likes steak on Mondays, liver on Tuesdays, and I bake him little foie gras biscuits on Wednesday….



Regarding drinking water for your cat:



a) He knows where his bowl is, and it is always full

b) You change his water regularly to keep it fresh

c) After each drink you tip out the bowl, clean it, and refill it with purified water

d) He doesn’t like his bowl so you strategically place cups around the house and leave the bathroom tap dripping…that’s his favourite.









The rules you have for your cat are:



a) Very strict—animals need discipline otherwise they get carried away.

b) Fairly strict—he knows who is boss but sometimes gets away with things for being so cute!

c) Quite lax—he knows how to get what he wants by using his kitten charm.

d) No watching Law and Order (the theme song bothers him), no staying out past 9pm (he gets lonely) and no dogs in the house (naturally)….Oh, you meant what rules do I have for the cat….



Now for the tally…



Mostly As:



You’re from the old school, and believe that cats need to firmly know their place and respect their masters. You’re diligent in setting up boundaries for your pet and value obedience, loyalty and good behaviour. This is a perfectly acceptable attitude towards cat ownership, just remember to let your hair down and have some fun with your moggie…after all, it’s what they’re best at!



Mostly Bs:



While discipline is important to you, you recognise the importance of a pet needing to fit in with the family’s lifestyle, not the other way around. You can’t help but indulge your furry friend every once in a while and you like to be organised in your approach to having a pet.









Mostly Cs:



Your cat is an important member of your family and you consider its needs as a high priority. You work hard to ensure your pet’s happiness and probably sacrifice a lot of time to its care…which is worth it for you because of the love and affection you get back in return.



Mostly Ds:



Oh, Mostly Ds, what are we going to do with you? You’ve given complete control over to your kitty commander–whoops, sorry—companion, but we’ll forgive you because, well, we love cats too! Just make sure you try to set some boundaries, as pets do respect leadership and need to know what behaviour is acceptable.



Don’t forget to leave a comment telling us how pampered your cat is to win a Cat Igloo! The most original comment will win!

To leave a comment for this competition  Click HERE



Images by polandeze, Matthew Yaktine and jen-the-librarian

Memory Flowers, Pet loss books for children.

Last night I attended a launch for a new pet loss book for children, called Memory Flowers written by Donna Ellis. It is beautiful story about a family losing their pet dog "Charlie" and how as a family they dealt with the issues and the memory of a beloved family pet. The book is beautifully illustrated by Philippa Morton. The launch was a significant gathering of people who are concerned about pet loss. I met Dr David Foote, who is a vet that also does pet loss counselling, and I met Dr Tim Vivian another vet concerned about pet loss. He recalled a story where a upon the euthanasia of the pet, the child asked whether he would see the dog in heaven and before he could think of an answer the mother spoke up to say that they where Catholic and we don't believe that dogs go to heaven. I think this was a terrible thing for the mother to say to the child, the child's one comforting thought was denied by the mother. As a catholic I certainly believe there is room for belief in a heaven that contains our pets. There is a great book written by Jack Wintz " Will I see my dog in heaven" that outlines these beliefs. There was also a small speech by Dr Paula Barrett, A professor of educational Psychology, who explained that pet loss can be a very significant part of child's life and if handled correctly it provides transformational experience. I think Memory flowers would help children and parents do this.

 The launch was a great celebration of two women working together to produce a great resource. The location was the Raw Gallery a great little inner city spot to have a few nibbles with a glass of wine. I wish the book great success. For more information on the book see Memory Flowers .

Help Save the Black Rhino by going on this amazing educational travel tour

I met this amazing Lady , Dr Helen Jones at Australian AVA conference. It seems like she is doing great things for the Black Rhino. This a great educational travel trip she has organized, I know several people who are going this year. I would love to be going sometime.

See details below

AUSTRALIAN VETERINARY WILDLIFE STUDY TOUR OF ZIMBABWE AND BOTSWANA


Facilitated for Edutravel by the SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia

Sunday 5 September – Sunday 19 September

(with additional options in Botswana and South Africa until Sunday 26 September)

This educational study tour will be led by Dr Helen Jones and Dr Ian Fairnie, both of whom are former National Presidents of the Australian Veterinary Association. Participants will meet with veterinarians in Zimbabwe as well as officers from the Parks and Wildlife department, and staff working for not-for-profit organisations active in wildlife conservation.

The program in Zimbabwe will be facilitated by the President of the SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia, Mr Nicholas Duncan, who has dedicated his life to saving the Black Rhino in Zimbabwe. He has visited Zimbabwe 53 times. The SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia has raised over $3.2 million donating the amount to buy field equipment, including eleven 4-wheel drive vehicles, 15 motor bikes, 15 outboard motors, 10 reconditioned engines and gearboxes, numerous sets of radios and spare parts for all of the above, that greatly increase anti-poaching efforts, and in the process saving not only rhinoceros, but also lions, leopards, hyenas, the African Painted Dog and elephants. Unlike many other non-profit making organisations, it is a totally voluntary foundation, with all its expenses - secretarial, communications, and travel - sponsored by a private company. It is one of the NGO’s with the lowest overheads in the world (less than 3%). On 18 June 2009, the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism (ZCT) awarded the SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia its Green Globe 21 Trophy for contribution to or action on the environment.

HIGHLIGHTS: At each safari location, qualified guides and wildlife officers will take participants out to see and photograph giraffe, lion, elephants, baboon, buffalo, and possibly leopard, plus countless birds including carrion feeders.

During the 6 days in Hwange National Park, participants will meet staff involved in anti-poaching and other conservation activities such as the tracking of lion and the African Painted Dog, and perhaps participate in the implanting of tracking devices.

The final option sees the program finish in Cape Town for three nights and includes a visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held for 20 of the 27 years he spent as a prisoner.

At all locations, where possible, meetings are planned with local private and government veterinarians, as well as wildlife conservation officers.

ACCOMMODATIONS: After the first two nights in a Harare hotel, there will be two nights at Imire Safari Ranch and 5 nights in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe with excellent accommodations with all meals and drinks provided. There will be two nights at the splendid and luxurious Victoria Falls Hotel where the program includes a helicopter ride above the falls, an elephant ride, and visits to lion and rhino conservation projects, as well as the morning markets. One night will be spent enjoying a Boma dinner – if you are “game”, after a sunset river cruise and open bar. The main program finishes with two nights at the Chobe Marina Lodge and for those continuing on the program in Botswana, there will be three nights at Xakanaxa Camp with all meals and drinks provided unless otherwise stated.

COSTS: The program in Zimbabwe and an overnight visit to Chobe (Botswana) is estimated to cost $6995 of which approximately $2000 is international airfares from Australia to South Africa. An additional week in Botswana at Chobe National Park and the Okavanga Delta, and a 4-night visit to Cape Town in South Africa is estimated to cost an additional $3995



Websites to visit:

http://www.imiresafariranch.com/

http://www.game-reserve.com/zimbabwe_hwange_np.html

http://www.thehide.com/

http://www.africansunhotels.com/Index.cfm?fuseaction=HOTELS.info&name=Hwange_Safari_Lodge

http://www.victoria-falls-hotels.com/Vicfallshotel_Zimbabwe.asp

http://www.africanimpact.com/news/2007-11/lion-rehab-release.php

http://www.thebomarestaurant.com/

http://www.chobemarinalodge.com/

http://www.chobe-national-park.com/

http://www.xakanaxa-camp.com/

http://www.robben-island.org.za/

A dog runs into a stick and loses an eye.

A man ran into the vet surgery with his dog this morning saying that his dog's eye had come out. We took him straight through to the consultation room and had a look at the eye. Apparently the dog had been running madly around the yard when he hit a stick that went straight into the dogs eye and he said all the white fluid came out. On examination all I could see was a Major defect in the cornea of the eye and blood filled chamber. I recommend they go straight to the eye specialist but he said they had very little money. Well the dog had probably already lost sight in the eye and we could do was to try and save the structure, we gave him pain relief and antibiotics drops. The owners where very upset and the young lad wanted to keep going outside to be sick. Our eyes are so precious and it is always very upsetting to lose an eye. The eye might fibrous or might become infected and have to be removed.

I Found a dog lying in the middle of the road just been hit by a car.

I was on my way home tonight and came over the hill to find a dog lying in the middle of the road. It was still breathing, I pulled over to the side, the car behind me swerved quickly to miss the dog, the next car drove straight over the top of the dog. I ran out into the middle of the road and picked up the dog just before the next car came. I put the dog on the side of the road to have a look at him. He was still breathing and conscious, he had at least one fractured limb and I don't think he could feel his back legs. Two other people came running up to me. One guy had seen the dog being hit, it made the car swerve and he almost hit that car. The car that hit the dog did not stop. That guy knocked on the first door and people came out and they recognised the dog as belonging to a friend of theirs. They where not sure where the owner would be. They sent someone looking. Another person then said she probably would not have a car to take the dog to the emergency center or the money to fix it. So was there any point waiting for the owner, someone needed to take the dog to the emergency center. Their friends where just going off to work, I had to go and pick up my children from cubs. Someone rang RSPCA ambulance and they said they would come and pick up the dog. I asked one of the neighbours to get a blanket , I then wrapped the dog in the blanket and  left the dog with the neighbours. I went and picked up my children from cubs, on the way home we stopped by and the ambulance was just leaving with the dog. I was a bit frustrated with how little I could do for the dog, but really the best thing to do was have the RSPCA take the dog.First Aid for Dogs: What to do When Emergencies Happen

Scoff Stopper

We bought Rainbow, our Labrador a new dinner plate, the idea is to help our labrador eat slowly, and I think it is working very well. Normally she eats her food in about 10 seconds, now it takes her about 3 minutes. I think it only adds to her enjoyment of food. As a Labrador eating food is one of her greatest joys, and being able to extend it out makes a big difference. for more information http://www.scoffstopper.com.au/

Other products available that do the same

Home from holidays to find a depression in his dog's head.

This morning a man rang to say that he had come home from holidays to find that his dog had a large depression on one side of its head. The neighbours looking after the dog had noticed the depression but they where unsure if it was there before. I told him to bring it down to have a look. When I looked I could see that there was a large depression, it was all from muscle waste, I open the dogs mouth to find a putrid smell, and I could just see a necrotic area at the back of the jaw, the jaw itself was also quite swollen. It could either be a foreign body or a tumour. So we had to admit the dog for further investigation, Under a general anaesthetic I could open the mouth wide open a see a large necrotic area in the corner of the jaw, we took an xray a could see a large area of enlargement around the jaw bone, it confirmed what I suspected that it was a bony cancer. I told the owner and he was very upset, and decieded to have the dog euthanasied, but he did not want to stay, he went and gave the dog a last hug and left. The dog (that had been sitting quietly all day) began to howl after the owner left. We then had to euthanize the dog. A very sad story.
Michael O'Donoghue For People and pets

What would you do when your dog bites your friend?

On Friday I had a very distressed Man ring up to say that his dog has just bitten his neighbour and she had to go to hospital for treatment as there where several puncture marks. Apparently his wife was letting someone through the front gate and the dog got out and rushed forward and bite the neighbour. Now he was asking my advice did he have to euthanise the dog? Legally I do not think you have to, but you know you have dangerous dog on your hands and you could never be sure that it would never happen again. He decided to bring the dog down straight away for euthanasia. He was very upset and I can totally understand why, that would be the hardest things to do to let your beloved dog go because he bite someone. The dog was staffy cross and was happy and relaxed in the consultation room. The man could not decide whether to be present at the euthansia but eventually he decided to be with dog. First time we tried to hold the dog he went to bite me, which made everybody more nervous so we had to put a muzzle on the dog. We then euthanised the dog, checked the heart had stopped and then we helped him carry the dog out to the car, the owner was still very upset. I really felt for the guy but I think he did the right thing.

Ruff ruff bites another dog

Yesterday, I took the dogs for another walk down behind our houses. I normally walk them down to behind the houses on a lead, then when I check there is no one around I let them off for a run. I think it is the best thing to see them running free. Normally we never see anyone down there, but yesterday Ruff ruff ran ahead of me around the corner, then suddenly I heard a man yelling and our dogs running back towards me. The man yelled at me that Ruff ruff had bitten his dog ( a fluffy white dog) The evidence was clear Ruff ruff had fur in her mouth. I was very sorry for the guy and annoyed at Ruff ruff. It is awful to have your own dog attacked by another. Thankfully there was no damage and the guy calmed down. I am not sure why Ruff Ruff attacks other dogs, I think it is out of fear. I suppose I must be much more careful where I let them off the lead. Officially the only place you can do this is at a dog park, but Ruff ruff does not do well at all at Dog parks. I am unwilling to always have them on a lead as watching the dogs run, and knowing that they will always follow you is one of the great joys of owning a dog.

Death of a family pet.

Last Saturday my auntie to rang to tell me that their dog had been admitted to hospital, with a swollen painful abdomen. The Vet was now advising them to transfer to an after hours center for intensive care over the weekend, the bill could have been in thousands of dollars. What should they do? This is always a difficult question, but harder when it is about a family pet that I could not see.
I rang the vet hospital where the dog was staying and spoke at length with the vet on duty about the case. There was no way they where going to spend thousands of dollars at an after hours center, but there was the possibility the dog might get better by just staying on a fluid line. I suggest The dog stay at the hospital without supervision. It was against the policy of that vet hospital, but as long as the owners understood that it would be okay. On Sunday the dog seemed brighter and was able to go for a walk. They where very hopeful that he might go home the next day. But Monday came and the dog was a lot worse and they decided to euthanize. I felt sad for them and so much more involved as I knew that dog. It also made me wish I had my own vet hospital so that I could have helped treat the dog.

Value of pet loss sympathy card

I was looking at Parkridge Animal Hospital on the web, and I noticed they had a review

Park Ridge Animal Hospital is a fantastic...‎

By carpet - 22 Aug 2008

place to take your pets. I had to have my 12 year old cat put to sleep a few weeks ago. They were very caring and they sent us out a hand written card a few days later, with their sincere condolences for our beautiful cat. I would recommend anyone to take their ...‎

www.truelocal.com.au/business/...animal-hospital/park-ridge.

To me it shows that end of a pet life is so important, and people often remember vets for the smallest of gestures. This really encourages me to continue to promote pet loss cards

I was sent this email today about the intelligence of dogs. I think we all believe our dogs are smart, it is great when there are studies that demonstrate that.

Dogs Think Similarly to Young Children and Can Learn Words, Counting Skills and More

Dogs have an intellectual capacity similar to that of a two-year-old human child, researcher and author Stanley Coren said at a presentation to the 117th annual convention of the American Psychological Association.

"One of the most recent breakthroughs is that people began to use tests which were originally designed for young humans -- for pre-linguistic or limited-linguistic humans -- to see whether dogs had certain capacities," Coren said. "And that allows you then to do a whole bunch of things, not only to determine whether a dog has a certain thinking skill but to place him in terms of where would you be in terms of human beings, as well as in terms of other animals."

According to Coren, who has written more than a dozen books on understanding dogs, recent studies have confirmed that the animals have a higher cognitive capacity than scientists had thought. They are able to learn the meaning an average of 165 words, including hand signals; the record for most words learned tops 200. Coren said that dogs are also capable of performing basic arithmetic that involves counting up to four or five, and that they have been shown to intentionally deceive humans or other dogs.

Coren also reported on studies comparing the intelligence of different breeds of dogs. He noted that there are three different kinds of dog intelligence: instinctive intelligence, which is highly breed-dependent; adaptive intelligence, which involves problem-solving and learning from the environment; and working and obedience, which involves trainability.

According to measures of working and obedience intelligence only, the top seven "smartest" dogs are border collies, poodles, German shepherds, golden retrievers, dobermans, Shetland sheep dogs and Labrador retrievers. The hounds have the lowest degree of obedience intelligence.

"We all want insight into how our furry companions think, and we want to understand the silly, quirky and apparently irrational behaviors [that] Lassie or Rover demonstrate," Coren said. "Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought."

Note: I taught my son to read at 8 months. At one year he had 50 word reading and vocabulary skills. Animals tend to remember what causes an emotion in them, like food or attention. 'Dog Beach' is a good example so remember this if you intend on training your take to talk or read!-)

Sources for this story include: www.usatoday.com; www.apa.org.

Overweight owners own overweight dogs

I found this article in the Australian newspaper this weekend.

Strange but true

THE adage that dogs look like their owners is true, at least when it comes to being overweight. Researchers weighed dogs and cats and their owners at a veterinary clinic. There was a strong link between the dogs' weight and the body mass indexes of their owners: fat dogs were more likely to have large owners. In contrast, the cats' weights weren't related to their owners', the study in Public Health Nutrition showed. Does this reflect cats' independence?

Public Health Nutr

2010;13:102-106

(Nijland M, et al)

This finding does not suprise me much at all. There is so much more need to control dogs eating and exercise habits. Dog owners can much more easily control how much food they give out and how much walking they do. In contrast it is very diifiuclt to exercise a cat or even refuse a demanding cat food. In saying this vets also need tobe very sensitive when talking about overweight dogs

another busy day at work in the life of a vet

I knew it was going to be another busy day when I arrived to find 3 patients waiting for me. The first patient was a dog already in heart failure now drinking excessively, I took bloods and sure enough it had elevated urea and creatine, most likey renal failure but the owner was keen to start treatment , so we placed the little dog on fluids. that was only the beginging of the day, we had to euthanasie a dog that was a long term client, we had treated the dog for everything from cushing, diabetes, vestibular syndrome, arthritis and many other condtions. it always especially sad when you know the dog. we had a 4 week old kitten suffering from neurological signs, apperently they had taken it to a pet shop and they had placed a spot flea treatment onto a small kitten, the next day the kitten was showing neurological signs. unfortunealty the the people had no money to treat the kitten at all, euthanaisa was the only option they where heart broken. I have noticed there is no warning to not treat very young kittens, just advice not to. Next we had two puppies with vomiting and diarrohea, one tested positive for parvo and the other negative, the puppies where 6 months old and never vaccinated, also full of fleas. again after much discussion they euthanasised the sick puppy and took the other one home, again much tears and angusih. ahh the life of a vet!

Aussie, our cat's birthday today

Our Cat Aussie turned 9 years old today, well it was exactly 9 years ago that we found a little kitten near the milk factory after the Australia Day celebrations at Southbank. Aussie has certainly used up several of his lives, being bitten by a snake, hit by a car, and has been in several nasty cat fights. So it is great to be able to celebrate his birthday today. We gave Aussie a tin of smoke tuna and plenty of attention. I hope we have many more birthdays with Aussie.

Home from Holidays,

We came home to find that one of our gold fish had died, well I thought he looked like he was going to die many years ago as he had a tumour hanging out of his head. But I think it was cleaning the fish tank well just before we left that might have been too much. We bought these fish when Patrick was born, almost 6 years ago. Jim our house sitter did a great job looking after our pets, he put the Goldfish in the freezer. So when we arrived home we had a little funeral for the fish and we buried him in the front garden along with other fish. All our other pets look well, in fact Rainbow our Labrador appears very fat. No more treats for Rainbow. I think it was a very good thing having a pet sitter as they did not have to go into kennels

trying a house sitter for holidays

Well we are going away again, camping at Ammoor, near Gympie and we must leave the pets behind again. This time we are trying a house sitter, my Brother in law knows this man and he looked after his dog well. So we are trying Jim out. We have written up detailed instructions to look after the dogs and cat and gold fish. I hate to leave the pets behind, but options for taking them with us are limited. I was looking on the Internet and I found several large business behind pet sitting such as www.housesittingservices.com.au/ I think it would be a great option when I am retired and would like to go travelling. Well I hope we a have good holiday and the pets are well looked after at home.

Cockatoo dies under anesathetic

I had several operations today, including a large fat dog spey that had just had puppies. But the operation that was most on my mind was a wing amputation of a wild cockatoo. The client wanted to rehabilitate the bird, but it was very emaciated. The operation was going well and we had just about finished when the bird stopped breathing. I was very upset as I knew the client had great hopes to rehabilitate the bird. They where heart broken when I told them the bird had died. I think ringing owners to tell them their pet has died under anesthetic is one of the most difficult parts of being a vet.