Laura_E

She is tooooo cute!

This makes me so angry and so sad at the same time Lots of people spend time in care and don't become sadistic bastards that mistreat helpless animals to make themselves feel like big men. He is a pathetic little boy and I hope that the staff at whatever prison he has been sent to make sure that those four months are the worst of his life.

Sorry to hear that Guiness has tested positive As I said before, we found out that Jasper had FIV and were initially really concerned, but after doing some research we discovered that it wasn't actually as bad as we thought and our vet said that as long as he remained up-to-date with his vaccinations, he would be just like any other cat. It appears that the virus is transmitted through deep bites and scratches, so unless Guiness is likely to be fighting (badly) with the other cats, they shouldn't contract it. Personally, I wouldn't separate them, but that is just my opinion. This has some useful information: http://www.catchat.org/fiv.html

There are still pounds within some of the London boroughs that deal with their own strays, including the one that I live in. The Mayhew Animal Home also operates as the pound for Brent (covering parts of Shepherds Bush where dog fighting is rife). The councils that do have a contract with Battersea pay them (quite rightly) for the service and they also receive funding from the MET. I completely agree with you that the blame should lie with the idiots that breed their dogs over and over again and then sell their offspring without any regard for their welfare. Or even worse, the ones that breed them specifically for fighting or as 'weapon dogs' (which is a term I hate). It's a shame that we don't apply the same rules to aggressive people as we do to aggressive dogs- it would save society a lot of problems. However, both the reporter and staff member stated that Brandy was a lovely dog with people, just not other dogs. If he was an out of control rabid dog that was displaying aggression to both dogs and people, it would be a different story. Loads of rescues rehome dogs that don't like other canines and find them responsible homes that are willing to put the necessary precautions in place. I wonder if smaller dogs are also put to sleep if they fail the dog aggression assessment. I can imagine that a lot of entire JRT's would have reacted in a much more aggressive way to another un-neutered dog. But I don't think it helps when they make it so difficult for people to adopt from them in the first place. When I went to them a number of years ago to adopt a dog I was told that they wouldn't rehome to a person that worked full-time, even though I was willing to put measures in place to ensure that the dog wasn't left for longer than a few hours at a time. My grandma's friend was turned away because she was deemed to be too old at 68! Some of my friends have also been turned away because they have children. It makes me wonder what types of homes they do rehome to. Unless you are retired or a stay at home parent, most of us have to work. There can only be a very small minority of people that are privilleged enough to not have to work, apart from long-term unemployed people receiving benefits- but then how do they afford the appropriate pet care? Of course, it's not just Battersea that expects you to juggle fire whilst walking on water before you can adopt from them, our local Dogs Trust and RSPCA centre are just as picky. And whilst I appreciate that rescues should ensure that their dogs go to good and responsible homes, I fail to see how it is better to put a dog to sleep (or leave them languishing in kennels) rather than rehome them into a loving and caring home where they may spend a few hours alone each day, but for the rest of the time will be a much loved member of the family. I do think that the programme will be a real eye opener to people though, as 99% of the public haven't got a clue what goes on in UK pounds. Most people get upset to see a dog in rescue kennels- but as we all know, they are the lucky ones.

That was exactly what I thought The thing is, Battersea have hundreds of paid staff, acres of land and state of the art facilities. They receive MILLIONS in donations each year and even have a waiting list for volunteers of approx 1 year! How many other charities would give their front teeth to be in the same situation? I'm sure charities like the wonderful Doris Banham, who were also featured on the programme, certainly would. But they don't have the same profile as Battersea and their dogs aren't rehomed within 6 weeks, which is the average stay for a dog at Battersea, yet they continue to take the dogs that the bigger charities won't take because they really are their last hope. Obviously the real problem is the irresponsible scum bags that breed their dogs indiscriminately for all the wrong reasons, but it is naive to think that dogs that have such bad starts in life aren't going to have a few problems. The statistics were rather sobering. Last year they rehomed 5000 dogs, but destroyed nearly 3000.

Sorry that we didn't make it along to the Dogstar event today. We got to the tube station and they had suspended the service between Richmond and Hackney, so we had no way of getting there. Hope it went well.

I'm finding Sam quite funny. They all say that they don't care what people think of them and then when they get in there it becomes quite apparent that they actually do- whereas he really doesn't!! I think some of the women and older house mates will get annoyed with him as they won't get his sense of humour, but he's definitely going to liven things up. I like what I've seen of him so far. Rachel is starting to grate on me now. She really doesn't have much in the way of personality, and irony is completely lost on her!

That was hilarious, I loved it! Dave's wife was much more attractive than I thought she'd be, she certainly didn't look like a size 14 either. Jedward were amazing I loved them on the X-Factor because they were so bad! Andrew didn't look too impressed with them though, he had a face like a slapped arse! The new house mate, Sam, reminds me of a camp version of one of my friends. Does anyone know what the story is with him? When is he meant to have called Josie Miss Piggy? I noticed that neither her or John James went over to say hello to him. I would have liked Joel to have gone in, but they are obviously trying to stir things up. Maybe it will make things a bit more interesting. Oh, and the geordie voice over bloke did not look anything like I imagined he would!

I'm not sure if my vote was registered I know this is going to sound mean, but some of the causes seem a bit wishy washy and they are quite high up on the board too. Viking visits for schools?

So sorry to hear about Porsche Thinking of you at this sad time My parents adopted a stray cat that I used to feed at the beginning of the year, here is the thread: http://www.therefugeforums.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=49898 We found out that he had feline aids and initially feared the worse, but after doing some research and getting advice from the vet, we discovered that it wasn't necessarily as bad as we thought and you would never have known there was anything wrong with him. I truly hope that the tests come back negative for your other cats, but if they don't, it isn't necessarily as bad as it may initially seem.

Well done, that's fantastic. My diet trailed off after January and I have just got back on it, but I think it is way too late in the day now. In the last week I have lost 7lbs, because I have been really pushing myself and sticking to 1000 calories a day. I was feeling really positive after fat club last night, but this morning I tried on my bridesmaid dress and couldn't zip it up I can get it as far as my boobs and then it is just impossible. I decided enough was enough and rang up the store today to see if I could swap it for a size 14, but they told me that they are all sold out. I rang the product locator service and they said there is only one left in the entire country and it is in Sheffield. I asked if they could send it down so that I could swap it for the 12, but she said they couldn't send it for exchange and that I would have to buy it. It costs £160 Now I don't know what to do as the wedding is in 3 weeks and I just don't see any realistic way of losing the amount of weight needed in time for the wedding I have nobody to blame but myself, but I really don't know what I am going to do. Even if I lose another stone, I don't think it would be enough.

Has this been confirmed? I'm confused about the John James/Josie saga. Are they an item now? If so, it's given me renewed hope that not all good looking men are completely shallow- it's only a matter of time until Johnny Depp comes to his senses and realises that I am the one for him! Failing that, Fernando Torres will do!

I will try and pop along to this. What's happening in 'dogs corner'?

So sorry It must be very difficult for you to see her like this. I hope she shows improvements soon.

I guess it just seemed a bit exploitative. They said on the program that they charge customers something in the range of £160 a pint, but the vaccination and worming treatments that the rescue receive in return for the blood donations are equal to less than £40.

Just watching This Morning and they have a man on that has been nick named 'The Bionic Vet' because of his pioneering veterinary treatments. He just said that all sentient beings should have the same rights, which I quite liked. Will have to watch the program on BBC1 tonight.

I do find Ben's impressions of Mario incredibly amusing, with his pseudo American accent!

It's definitely worth contacting the Mayhew but I think they, like Battersea, have a waiting list for volunteers- certainly to do the hands on work anyway. She would probably get a better response from the smaller charities that don't receive as much interest. Where abouts in London is she based? Is she only interested in working with dogs or would she also be happy to work with cats, rabbits, wildlife etc?

Just watched it on iplayer. I felt so sorry for the man that lost his lurcher I don't know much about cancer in dogs, but I would have thought if the vet had detected it early enough (when the man himself pointed out the spots on the x-rays) then the dog would have had a good chance of still being here. That is far more devastating than the way he tried to rip him off with unnecessary treatments. I did find it quite strange that Jeremy Vine said "it is important to state that at no point did our under cover reporter witness any cruelty" and then in the next scene that wretched boy hit the poor shar pei. If that's not cruelty, what is? I can't imagine how the owners must be feeling after seeing that footage. I wonder if there will be any reprisals for the staff involved. There will be a lot of angry people out there. Also, not sure how I felt about them getting their blood supplies from the dogs in the greyhound rescue centre. Does that happen a lot?

It's my friends hen night in two weeks and we are going to a 50's/rockabilly club and have been trying to use that as the continued theme for the night. Me and my friend are bridesmaids so we have been arranging it all behind her back to make it extra special and have decided to decorate her flat with all things kitsch so that we can have some drinks and play games before we head off. Ria, the bride to be, loves the pin-up pictures by Gil Elvgren, so I have been playing around with photoshop all day and came up with this.... I am going to do a few more and then put them up round the flat and have them made into key rings for everyone. It's only meant to be a bit of fun, but I'm not sure if it looks naff. I need peoples opinions please!

What source is that from? Well, I definitely don't like her now!

So sorry. Thinking of you at this sad time.

I did like Rachel until last night when the new house mates went in, and now I have completely changed my opinion on her. She basically forced the other house mates to choose that woman by throwing a tantrum like a five year old. I have no idea why they picked the ones that they did. The first one (that Rachel was rallying for) seemed quite unpleasant and shallow, the other one JJ, also seems pretty shallow- and don't get me started on those eyebrows! Laura seemed nice enough, but I suspect she may be another non-entity. I don't know why they didn't put the big black guy in, he was a real character and I loved what he said about Steve! I thought the scouse girl would have been a good choice too- but maybe they voted tactically. I was really angry when I was watching it last night! I did notice that the three that got picked all said that John James was their favourite house mate, coincidence that he then picked them? I think not!

I agree. I work with people in my job, and I sure as hell don't like all of them! Earlier this year I attended a training day to find out about higher education options for disadvantaged young people and one of the speakers was from the Royal Veterinary College. He was refreshingly honest (not to mention incredibly funny) and openly admitted that 90% of their students are privately educated and many have their career paths decided for them by the schools. I have to say, I do have complete faith in my vet and have got to know her very well in the last few years. She has been the head vet at the practice for a number of years and recently took over full ownership. She is still very young, late 20's-early 30's, but has achieved so much in the time that she has been there. Her boyfriend recently gave up his job as a stock broker to become the practice manager and they live in the flat above the surgery. A lot of veterinary nurses are personal friends of hers, and three of them are actively involved with a local rescue. When Bouncer was ill she preformed a lot of treatments free of charge, and when she came round to put him to sleep she was almost as upset as I was. One of the young people that I work with is also a permanent volunteer at the practice and all of the staff are fantastic with him (he has autism) and he is always ranting about how great they are, bless him. But I think I am very lucky, I know lots of people that have had bad experiences with vets and unfortunately most of them were with Medivet. I haven't actually seen the programme yet as I was working late last night, but judging by some of your comments, I'm not sure I want to now.

I know Panorama, like any programme, will probably sensationalise a lot of the content, but I don't think there's any way of getting around blatant cruelty. The clips that I saw were horrific!