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'Amongst 3 dog trainers there is only One thing Two Dog trainers can Agree on and that is that the Third one is doing it Wrong.'
The most advice I have heard in the past several years that I have been highly involved in the Dog World is don't get involved you will be ripped to shreds. Whilst it is true I have been on the receiving end of some of the most vicious and co-ordinated attacks, it hardly compares to what has happened to many I know in the industry, which really does puzzle me...why in an industry which is all about the care and love of mans best friend are we so hellbent on being worst enemies?
I get that we can disagree, but why the passion, why the need for such vitriolic hate and demonisation?
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Whilst visiting a Boarding kennel today who kindly looked after my 3 foster dogs whilst I was in Cairns presenting the Open Paw Programme to Shelters in the region and assisting AWDRI in their publicity drive, I got into conversation with the owners of both the dog kennels and a nearby cattery.
Soon enough the conversation turned to pets not being collected at the end of their stay. I was absolutely floored by the responses, whilst many animals stay at the kennels for years at a time due to their owners changed living circumstances, some of the animals are just dumped, that is the owners stop paying the boarding fees and stops communicating with the carers.
Read more: The uncollected dog at the Kennel.... I can sympathise I've been left at school too
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A bit over a year and a half ago my parents received a big eared hyperactive little Black and Tan Kelpie Bitch from a really progressive farmer, Clayton Fischer from down near Goondiwindi. Personally I thought it was a bit weird my old man had taken on a bitch as he had always had Dogs, and he currently had a dog, Rusty a red and tan kelpie and as history had made plain dad was a one dog man. Sure he had many a time taken on a second dog but it usually fell on to me, because even though he would love the little bugger he just seemed not to have time or patience for a second dog ever since I have been around...and that now over 30 odd years.
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Jeff Kennett, the man who rebuilt the State of Victoria, and has drawn national attention to the issue of depression with his chairmanship of Beyond Blue, is backpedaling better than any politician I can think of. This backpedaling is due to his comments regarding the 'best' parents for a mentally healthy child are those of different sexes. The CEO of Beyond Blue resigned the same day that she outlined the comments made by Kennett in his opinion piece where his own and not shared by the organisation.
Read more: Hey Jeff where are your facts? Whats that....? There are none?
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A few weeks back I had to fly to the central desert of Australia to film a documentary on Dingoes and was unsure of how long I was going to be away and where I would end up so I decided to leave my kelpie, Rosie, with my parents on the farm after my end of year muster.
Within 2 days of returning to Sydney I was at a loss without my Rosie and arriving home each night had lost any sense of feeling, which just so happened to coincide with doing some fundraising work for the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home where I met the CEO, Dr Chris Cole who asked if I wanted to foster a large Mastiff/Great Dane/Greyhound/Bull Arab they were having trouble with and that is how my time as a foster father began.