pboae

I post on both boards, if I stopped posting because of what I saw as heavy handedness/pettiness by mods/admins, I wouldn't post on either. I don't rely on PMs on either board for similar reasons. I continue to post, because the only thing I can do to help rescue right now is transport runs, (though having been screwed over on one not so long ago I don't even feel like doing them much at the moment). If I can't post or PM I can't offer to help. I don't care who does what, likes who, hates who, blah blah whatever, if a dog needs shifting and I can help, that's about as far as I analyse it. I try to keep a fairly low profile now, and get on with what I can in the background. If I got banned I'd probably re-register with a new name and just carry on with an even lower profile. But I am finding it harder to bother with any of it, when there is so much hassle and grief all the time, it just wears me down.

I've heard really good things about NFU, and a quite a few people seem to be going over to Healthy Pets because they are so competitive, but there aren't many reports around yet as to how good they are at paying out.

Another vote for warm olive oil. I get eczema in my ears, and when it flares up badly I end up with blocked ears and have to get them syringed. My Dr. doesn't prescribe drops anymore. Instead I have to use warm olive oil twice a day for a week, and then go and get them syringed. The olive oil seems to work just as well, and it doesn't sting me like the drops did.

That's great news!

I'm not expecting anything to happen overnight, but I think this needs to go in out 10 year plan now, because the land nearby is graudally being redeveloped or sold off, and if the council want a developer to stump up the cash, it needs to be part of the initial development.

Thanks, sounds like Network Rail is the next stop then!

I already know (informally) that the council would agree to it in priniciple (but not put any money up for it). It was proposed previously, but there was no money for it so it never went anywhere. There *may* be money from developers now (though I know it's still a long shot). I need to put a proposal to our Directors asking them to pursue it, but I want to do as much of the initial work as I possibly can, but without stepping on any toes. The less they actually have to do to move it on a stage, the more likely they are to do it.

I know this is a bit random, but there is *always* someone here who knows something, so it seemed a good place to start. If you wanted to request a new railway station to be built, on an existing track, where would you start? Obviously there will be financial issues which would need to be sorted, but ignoring that for a minute, would it be network rail you'd approach first, or the company that runs the actual train service?

That was what I was trying to say, only much more concise!

Very much so, and it'll be 12 years this year. *But* thinking back to the times when we weren't happy, the problems weren't really our marriage, it was other things, money, or being miserable at work/college, or just being generally disatisfied with life at the time. I think that sometimes because we do tend to be pretty wrapped up with each other that's the first place we look for a reason. I can't explain that very well, but when everything's great and I am really happy, I tend to give OH the credit for making me happy. Even if really he's only partly responsible for it. But the flip side of that is that he tends to get the blame when I'm not happy, even if it's not really his fault. So I wonder sometimes when I hear stats like this if it's really their relationship that is making them miserable, or if that's mainly a symptom of some other stress or sadness in their lives. Obviously it will be the relationship for some (most?) people, but 65% seems a huge number.

Well it wasn't bad news anyway We'll continue to keep everything crossed here until you get the answers you are waiting for.

Aww glad he is back home, and waiting for the update!

We have the advantage with dogs that they are 'chattels' and you can leave them as you would any other property. That doesn't apply to your children. You can specify who your money goes to, even if it is in trust for your children, and you can express your wishes about a guardian, but you cannot actually appoint a guardian. Anyone with a valid connection can challenge your preference, and a court can over rule it. That's why it's essential you give as much detail as you possibly can as to why you have made your choice, so that the courts can take that into account, because obviously you won't be there to argue your case! As to whether it's better to tell people or not, it depends very much on the circumstances. I've told people most of what is in my will, because I know it will cause some ructions. As far as I am concerned if people have a problem with it, they can come and talk to me about it now (even though I'll tell them where to stick it ). I don't want my chosen beneficiaries to find themselves in the middle of a family civil war, having to defend what they've been given. I've formally notified people already, and if anyone did try to challenge it, it will be taken into account that they were aware of this whilst I was still alive and either did nothing about it, or I rejected their claims. You can also leave letters to relevant parties with your will, to be given out after your death (with a copy kept with the will as well). In which you can explain everything without having to deal with it in person. It is all quite a minefield, if your solicitor thinks it's better to tell people, than listen to her reasons why before you decide. But in the end only you know your family well enough to decide.

I've been thinking about Mal and wondering how he was doing Billy. We'll send you both all the good wishes we can.

It was on a Freeview channel about 2 minutes ago.

My Saint came from GDAS, they are also one of the few giant breed rescues who will take crosses and they will take out-of-time poundies too. They don't have a huge number of kennels though, and like everywhere they are usually full, so it depends what space they have available.

I know it's not quite the same, but my OH has a long standing sore on his belly were Sully nipped him he's had a lot of problems getting it cleared up and the Dr has been prescribing all sorts for it. Recently the Dr asked us to take a photo of it every week with a ruler against it, so he could compare whether it was improving or not. I would have sworn it was still getting worse, but actually the photos show it is improving, it has definitley reduced in size since the first pic. So maybe if you could take a photo either once a week, or daily (depending on how quickly it is changing) it would give you a better idea as to what is going on, and help you make the decision as to what to do next.

I don't have anything useful to add, but I just wanted you to know I am thinking about you all.

Sully is on Rimadyl and Nutradyl. Nutradyl is the 'companion product' to Rimadyl with green lipped mussel and glucosamine. My vet prescribes them together and the insurance pays for them both. My gut feeling would be to wait and speak to your vet before you start changing things. As you say, it will be hard to know what's helping and what isn't, and another day or two isn't going to make much difference. You could also ask your vet about cartrophen* injections, which were a miracle cure for my dog for a while, but not all dogs respond to it. *not to be confused with carprofen which is Rimadyl.

Lots of things were different though, many dogs were fed table scraps, but many people were eating better food then too. At least it wasn't as processed, less salt, less sugar, less weird fats, etc. So many humans have pretty crap diets now (myself included) that dogs are better off on dog food. People got more exercise then as well, we walked more and drove less, and if you were walking to the shop you took the dog with you, so they got more exercise too. Kids still played out all day, in the summer we were up and out after breakfast, and we'd be out for the day. Stopping somewhere at lunchtime to be fed on mass, maybe our house, maybe someone else's, and then back out again till tea time. There would usually be at least a couple of dogs in tow as well, so they got more exercise and more socialisation too. And although we lived in a fairly urban area, there were still green places to play, climb trees and build dens. Those fields have all got housing estates built on them now and the higher the population density the more bacteria and viruses thrive, that will apply to dogs as much as it does to people. Plus 30 odd years is many more generations of inbreeding in pedigree dogs, so it's no surprise they have more problems than they did before. Was it a better life for dogs? In some ways yes it probably was, they tended to have more company for one thing. But our last dog had been a latch key dog before he came to us, and had been run over badly at least twice. His back legs were a mess as a result. The first dog I remember having as a kid was run over and killed outside our house. I guess there's more cars now, and less pedestrians generally, so the risks are probably higher than they ever were. In terms of worming, I don't do it 3 monthly, but if I had kids I probably would. Mainly cos he is a terrible scavenger and has a taste for poo. He's had worms before and will probably get them again, so I do worm him regularly. I keep his vaccinations up to date as well (although he's not at the moment for health reasons) because his immume system is so poor generally that I wouldn't risk it. With a healthier dog who had had a few boosters in their lifetime, I'd probably get them titre tested rather than just contiune vaccinating every year.

Kazz I am so so sorry, I can hardly believe it, not Max.

Vet confirmed his toe is infected, so 10 more days on antibiotics, but she seemed hopeful that we had caught it pretty early this time. But the good news is, I can stop stressing about his vaccinations. He has got another 12 months before his rabies runs out, we have a 2 year protocol in the UK, but I have him done yearly because we usually take him to France, and that's the protocol there (it can cause problems if your dog gets ill in France and he is not vaccinated according to their regulations, even if he is still classed as vaccinated for his UK passport, it's all a bit daft really, but not worth the risk). So even if I don't get him redone for another 12 months his passport with still be valid. So hopefully he'll have a run of good health once he's recovered from this, and then we can look at his vaccinations again then.

He's on supplements to improve his immune system, and some pro-biotic type gunk as well, it's over the counter stuff, but the vet prescribed them so we could get it through the insurance. It is assumed that he wasn't vaccinated before he went into rescue (on the grounds that if they didn't bother feeding him, they wouldn't have bothered vaccinating him), so he's only had two lots of boosters. If he was older and had had a few in his lifetime I wouldn't worry so much. I know the vet won't vaccinate him while he is on antibiotics though. Although stupidly I've never asked them why. I will ask them today though. We'll have to take our chances on leaving his regular vaccinations for now, but if I could just get his rabies done soon. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. He's feeling very sorry for himself today and he's running quite a temperature. His paw is still very tender and now he's got that smell about him that he gets when he get an infection. He tore a claw and exposed the quick a few days ago, and although it looked like the tip was healing over, I wonder if that might have been the start of it.

Thanks Kazz, He's been on antibiotics or other meds for about 12 out of the last 16 weeks. It's only 10 days since he finally shook off a stomach virus which flattened him at Christmas. The vet thinks he got run down when he had those abscesses in his paw, and he's still struggling to recover. I feel so sorry for him, it's just been one thing after another.

Doesn't matter, it looks like one of his toes is infected anyway. Here we go again.