Precious absolutely is!

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Hello My name is Precious (used to be Tessa). Yesterday on the 16th August my new family drove a very long way to pick me up to start my new life! I have been adopted by a Mummy and Daughter and Princess my new chihuahua sister, i now live 1 min from the beach.....and wow how cool is that! I do get very excited and i love the sea! On my first day in my new home i went to the coffee shop at the Marina Mirage i sat there in the sunshine licking the froth of Grannys cappucino and i was thinking this is the life for me! My sister Princess has been a little bossy ....but i understand i have come into her home to share her toys so im being a good girl and not arguing back! Today i went and got fitted with my new collar at posh pets its lilac with a sparkly heart and i was so happy i peed on the floor! as im so cute i never even got told off! I also have bows to keep my fringe out of my eyes. After shopping i went for lunch at the Marina where my mummy works and i had chicken and froth for lunch, then it was off to the beach with granny for a swim and walk, oh by the way i forgot to say i get to sleep in the humans bed and i was so happy i snored a little bit! After my busy day doing lunch and shopping i came home snuggled with my sister (she finally let me!) I have only been in my new home for 36 hours but ive been told im allowed to stay forever! So to all my fellow friends that need new homes there are familys that take us in and change our lives from RAGS to RICHES! I hope you all are happy as i am soon! lots of licks Precious x P.S Thankyou to my mummy Anita for helping me get better so that i could come to my new family big big licks (Tessa) x

Kooky Scout gets a second chance

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Dear PetRescue, I thought I'd just drop a line to let you know how well Scout has settled into our lives and how much we all adore her (including our Burmese kitten Milo). She has a wonderful (slightly kooky) personality and is huge fun to have around the house. She has filled out nicely (she tries to steal Milo's food when he's not looking) and although small in stature looks like a "normal" cat. I'm so glad we adopted her from PetRescue. I have recommended you to a friend currently looking for a puppy - so fingers crossed. Kind regards Nicki and family

Gypsy finds a home

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Hi All I just wanted to update you on how my beautiful Ridgeback X, Gypsy. I rescued her 7 years ago & she is now 10. She has been the most wonderful addition to our family. Her favorite pass time is sun baking & playing with her squeaky toy. When we brought her home her manners left a lot to be desired, but after a short time with us she morphed into the amazing girl who we all adore. Thank you to all the rescuers for the work you do, especially those who made it it possible to have Gypsy in our lives. Nicole

Winston's second chance at happy

Thank you PetRescue, a month ago we found our perfect little friend. A 4 year old Pug called Otis. His name is Winston now and his loved so very much. His the happiest little man all the time. He brightens our day. His going to his first Pug Club meeting next week at Bone's Cafe. He comes to work with me some day's a the Doggie Day Care Center he likes playing with the other dog's but is a bit wary as his a little blind from scar tissue across his eye's from a previous infection. We have lot's of cuddles and spend lot's of time together. We can't imagine live without Winston and it's only been a month. we can't believe our luck sometimes. His the perfect dog for us, like he was always meant to be here. Thank you PetRescue for giving Winston a second chance. Jolene

Lucy living large

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The following story was sent to us by Kathryn and is a gorgeous story of a puppy mill dog given a second chance. For more on puppy mills please visit; Where Do Puppies Come From? My Little Dog I'm sure this is just one of a million stories about puppy mills, but my puppy mill dog is a one in a million. Lucy had probably never had a name. She was a puppy farm mom used to make Shitzu/Maltese crosses. She had sired many puppies. When her usefulness expired she was thrown out and left to die. When she was found her she weighed 4 kilograms (she now weighs ten – although she should weigh nine… what can I say - ham). Her thyroid was stuffed and her big googly eyes had been infected and never treated. She didn’t know what grass was and her legs were in a sorry state. Shitzus can jump. Lucy can sort of bounce if you waggle enough ham in front of her. Doggie Rescue didn’t quite believe me when I emailed them and asked if I could have her. She’s blind and deaf, they said. She needs drops in her eye twice a day. So what, I replied. I think they were a bit suspicious, like we wanted to eat her or something. They had also never done an interstate adoption before (I live in a different state). After lots of pestering by me and assuring she would not fall in the swimming pool, a friend of Doggie Rescue called was sent up to check out our house and check out us and our dog eating ways. We must have passed because Lucy, the first interstate Doggie Rescue Dog arrived. They do it regularly now, but back then it was a first. Lucy came in a crate. She looked as awful as she had in her photo. As we were getting her out of her crate in the airport there was a call from Monica. Do they like her? Of course we did. Even though we had never seen a Shitzu before we loved her the minute we saw her: her googly eyes, her undershot jaw, her stubby legs that would leave her splayed on the tiles. She came with a toy Daschund, two blankets, her medicine, a pink jumper and her bumble bee jumper. Shitzus were revered in China. They wouldn’t let their little sacred dogs be taken away until some sneaky British guy kidnapped a pair of them and they became a commodity. Shitzus are temple dogs, which mean they always sleep/guard any thoroughfare they can find and you always trip over them. I presume this was handy in ancient China, but really annoying when you want to go to the loo in the middle of the night. Shitzus were attended to by Eunuchs. Lucy has two Eunuchs and Person Number One. Person Number One must be accounted for at all times or if she goes out, waited for and severely berated when she gets back. Eunuch One and Two are also important as they bring food, walks and tasty treats during eyeballing time (as we call it). Monty, her dog brother, must be put up with dignity and grace. Somehow over time Lucy stopped being gerk brown and became golden brown. She snores like a low loader; she’s a pest; we have to constantly shovel eyedrops into her eyes and she gets very smelly because she digs up old bones from the garden, but she is loved as every other little dog should be loved – unconditionally.

What's in a Breed?

I read something that made me laugh the other day. It was from a breeders organisation encouraging rescue. Fantastic I thought, breed rescues are great organisations. People who love a certain breed, usually because they have one or have 'always' had one, know exactly where to go to adopt their new pet. When looking through the 'reasons for adopting' I came across this beauty of statement: 'A Pure bred dog is completely predictable; adopting a purebred dog means you know exactly what you are getting'. Laugh? I almost wet myself. Yes, we all know there are inherent breed traits. Boarder Collies love to run, beagles love to sniff, Staffy's love to bounce. But to say that somehow you have an insurance police against unwanted traits by choosing a purebred dog is just ridiculous. Ask PetRescue's Shel; Ajax her King Charles Cav, suffers extreme anxiety - but breeders claim this is the perfect family dog? And one of mine, Wiz the Koolie, claimed to be one of the most agile, energetic breeds around - If Wiz runs, people point - 'look Wiz is running!' say the amazed dog park crowd. And agile? She was named Wiz Bang Wallop due to her affinity for running into things. As a Behavioural Trainer I see a lot of different breeds with a lot of different problems. One of my saddest cases was a couple's Golden Retriever, (chosen as they make the perfect family pet), who was euthanised due to extreme aggression. No abuse, no mistreatment, in fact the opposite, this couple had been getting the best possible care for their mentally ill dog (yes it happens to animals too) for his entire life, but he had become so dangerous they had to put him to sleep. As compared to the 25 Pit Bulls bought into the shelter, after a fighting ring was raided. Although legally not allowed to be rehomed in that state, some of the puppies were the happiest most stable dogs I had ever worked with. Now I have nothing against a purebred dog, but I do think that these statements (designed to portray a cross breed as an unpredictable bomb about to go off) are laughable. If you truly want to know what you are getting when you adopt a dog the answer is really simple. ..... Adopt an adult dog! Go meet him, talk to the rescuer, spend some time with him and see what he (or she) is like. If you meet a purebred Jack Russell at her foster home and she is a a cuddly, smoochy kinda of dog, then you can probably bet she will be a cuddly, smoochy dog at your home. If you meet Maltese x that has energy to burn and just wants to chase balls, then you can fairly much predict that this dog is not going to turn into a lap dog when you take him home. If you want a surprise get a puppy, if you want want a pretty good idea of what you are getting, adopt an adult. It's not rocket science :)

What's wrong with Sam?

Why is it sometimes a new home is found for a pet instantly, whilst others languish for weeks or months with no interest? Usually I can give the rescue some idea: The picture they have used doesn't show his eyes - potential adopters don't 'connect' when looking through the listings. The pet profile focus's on the negatives - people don't want to feel guilted into choosing a pet, they want the one that they fall in love with. The pet is in the wrong location, try rehoming a kelpie in central Sydney for example. But today I got an email from a Wish - a cat rescue in NSW, asking for help. More kittens are arriving and things are getting desperate. In particular for a kitten called Sam. Sam has been at his foster home for some time now and by all accounts is a fantastic little guy. Cute as a button, friendly, happy and well socialised. But although Sam's PetRescue profile has been viewed 218 times, Wish has not received one single enquiry about Sam, not one. With new kittens on the way Sam's chances dwindle even more. He is only a few months old, but kittens who are just weeks old are always more popular. Sam is nowhere near adulthood, so won't be considered by those looking for a grown up cat. The only thing wrong with Sam is too much competition.

Sometimes when you are having a bad day.....

...And you get home from your 'paying' job and have walked the dogs in the dark and rain, and said a brief hello to the family, before sitting in front of the computer to answer the days PetRescue emails, sometimes it's very nice to get one like this: > Message: Hi, > My family and i just recently adopted Ida (black female Labrador). I > just want to thank you...she is an absolute joy and so loving. We are > overjoyed to have her become a member of the family...what a lovely > gentle girl she is. So thank you for keeping her safe for us (we > adopted one day before she was due to go to the great beyond). lots of > hugs, Karen and Ida :)