From a serious topic of man's inhumanity to man, to a lighter, more agreeable and gratifying theme - Our Pets, and the immense value they have in our lives ?

At age seventy five, I can't really recall a time, our family has not had a pet in the household ? Always a dog. The current count consists of a; fantastic, really brilliant pure bred, golden Labrador. His only trouble being his age, 13 1/2 years, which is very elderly for the breed I'm reliably informed ?

Our other dog is a pure bred Kelpie, who is 5 years of age, and she's a she. Both get on marvellously well, with our Lab naturally asserting his position 'within the pack', but he does need to endure tremendous patience with our Kelpie, who can be a little too boisterous for him, on some occasions ? They even share their food in their respective bowls, which is truly amazing ?

They both provide us with so much joy, together with barrels of joyful happiness and laughter at their peculiarities and the nonsense they get up too ! Nevertheless, one day fairly soon I expect, we'll have to confront that awful realisation that our fantastic Labby leaving us I guess - given his advanced age and current level of health ? How we'll deal with that....I really don't know ? We'll simply enjoy every single minute we have available with him, and hope we don't lose him quite so soon ?

Inversely,the over importance of pets reflects the breakdown in human relationships and that is not necessarily a good thing.

Arjay, you are a killjoy!
Humans have had animals as pets for centuries, so your little theory is rubbish.

I have 2 King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, girls aged 3 and 6 .
They are surely the most spoilt dogs in the world :)
They even sleep in the same room as us.

My daughter has a 1 year old cat living with us now, who is a cheeky devil.
She runs the whole house, including the dogs.

O Sung Wu I do understand how you feel about your dogs.
We lost our Cavalier boy, at the age of 14 years, 2 years ago. I can still hear his footsteps tripping around our house sometimes, and I don't believe in ghosts!

Hi there ARJAY...

I was wondering if you have pets ? Or did you ever have pets at any time ? I'm not sure if I agree with your theory concerning the breakdown of human relationships' ? I believe most of our relationships can be effectively strengthened or 'value added' if you like, by having a pet within the household ! Still you have an opinion, maybe you're right, I don't know ?

Hi there SUSEONLINE...

They're beaut little dogs those King Charles Cavalier Spaniels ! I can only imagine the immense joy, happiness and the companionship they must add to your household. They're such happy little 'bow wows' and so affectionate, and despite how uptight you may feel coming home from work, to be greeted by those two, could put a smile on the face of the most mercurial and sullen of characters ? Whenever they're met at the door, by your two lovable pooches !

I honestly believe to lose a pet that's been an intrinsic part of the family for many years, is nearly as emotionally painful as losing a family member itself ! I will freely admit, I don't handle things all the well, I really don't. And you're right SUSE, their presence is felt about the house for years to come, after their parting. But we don't mind ! Thank you SUSEONLINE and ARJAY for your contributions.

SOL ,I'm stressing over importance. We have pet psychologists, pet clothes, pet walkers, pooch washers, pet schools of obedience and some even wanting to marry their pets etc. There has to be a balance and our humanity generally in my view has lost the plot.

Many years ago on my cousin's farm near Bourke,I was chastised for patting one of his working dogs. "Don't spoil him" We are losing a sense of reality and survival. This is not good.

In many people's lives their relationship with their pets are more important than their own family. Once human relationships are trashed, civilisation breaks down and all our pets will die. People are retreating to the easy option of an obedient pet,rather than confronting human relationships that really matter for our freedoms and survival.

Arjay, you need to lighten up.
The world is not really out to get you....honestly.

Maybe you need a pet to focus your attention on, rather than all these dreadful sinister theories you come up with?

Cheers,
Suse. : )

Hi (again) ARJAY...

Much of what you say is quite true concerning the breaking down of relationships. Though I don't believe our association with our pets, play any significant part in it. And I'd also have to agree with you on the many ancillary services that have popped up as a result of our close relationships we've developed with our pets. There's always a buck to be made I reckon !

Nevertheless that's not the fault of our pets, rather the sorry state of some of our family relationships, that are as a consequence of our very poor communication with other family members. Together with our selfishness, and other relationship destroying practices we continue to pursue unabatedly ? Our pets are merely the meat in the sandwich, nothing more I'd say ARJAY ? Thank you for your thoughts.

I only have one pet o sung wu, my now 28 year old stallion. He has been a lovely horse. Originally we were minding him for friends as an 8 month colt, one of 8 horses of theirs when they sold their property. When their plans changed I bought him.

I mouthed him as a 2 year old, & my daughter was riding him around the paddocks, bareback, when she was only 8. Ultimately they were a very successful show jumping combination.

He still comes when he's called, often at the trot. He is only any trouble if a neighbor's mare waves her rump at him over a fence. He still comes, but only recently. As with most species the males would never be any trouble if the ladies weren't so damn promiscuous

I do have a menagerie however. 2 cats of my youngest daughter she is supposed to reclaim when she comes back from 18 months in Darwin, plus a dog she brought to me to mind, when it's owners went into a no pet retirement village.

I have what was a feral kitten my son took in, in a storm one night when living in Sydney, then brought to me when the navy sent him back to sea. Now a couple of years old, its a strange little thing, all over you one minute, then terrified of is shadow the next. It just jumped onto my desk, so its happy tonight.

Then there is my eldest's fur ball, sort of persian/Siamese thing. She brought to me when it was jealous of her youngest baby, 6 years ago. She is taking it home soon she recons.

I also get their Great Dane, when they go for a weekend water skying. He is very insecure when left, & has to be with in half a meter of me, 24/7 when they are away. As he can easily jump the 5Ft pool fence, I don't have much say in it.

As you can see I don't need any pets of my own, with a family like mine

Sadly, from the frequency of complaints to local government from the serially annoyed, pet ownership has become a target of the growing horde who spend their lives looking in their neighbours' backyards and interfering in their private lives.

Amazing how many isolated old folk I meet who have struggled to keep up with the costs of pet ownership, only in the end to be harassed out of ownership by the endless complaints of whining public nuisances. -Talking about responsible pet owners here, not the fools who know nothing about their care and management. It has become one bark and complaints to Council.

Not so long ago a very independent and very dear old lady was telling me how bad she felt because she was in some way relieved when her ancient dog was put down, too feeble for her to continue to care for. I knew this dog as a very quiet animal, but in recent times some pest had been annoying it, probably with a dog whistle or other device. Interestingly, on a number of occasions pieces of liver had been thrown near or over her high fence. While the Council could find no real fault with the dog, the bureaucrats sent inspectors and terse formal cautions, which most elders would find threatening.

o sung wu, you will be interested that since the dog died, there have been incursions into her's and the adjoining neighbours' yards. I had a sparky working on my place and gifted her some fitted Infrascan automatic lights. The poor woman was becoming a gaunt and nervous, so unlike her. Problem is that serious offenders jump fences daytime too. Damn pity, another small pooch could have been company and security.

Sadly, pet ownership will become more expensive. Breeding will have to create indoors animals whose senses and habits are diametrically opposed to their natural inclinations.

G'day there HASBEEN & ONTHEBEACH...

HASBEEN, I don't know anything about horses, but from your tone, 28 years is getting on a bit for him ? Is there much difference in longevity with stallions and a mare ? You sound like you've got a menagerie for sure, each with their own set of problems and positives ! Does it come down to you in the end, to look after them all, or does each family member do their bit ?

There's something about having animals around, they do tend to keep you emotionally stable - sounds rubbish, I know what I mean anyway ? Thanks mate.

ONTHEBEACH...

Bastards, why is it that big brother has to stick their greedy corrupt noses into every segment of our lives ? Particularly the elderly who do need to be able to access animals for a multitude of reasons. Companionship, protection, emotional well being, even as a health aide in some instances. You say for many of the elderly, costs are becoming far too high for many of them to even feed and care for an animal ? Is that Council costs for a licence ? For elderly rate payers - all fees should be expunged. And Councils should consider basic veterinary care for animals of the elderly, at no cost.

The fiscal benefits to Councils would be positive. It's a proven medical fact that animal companionship for elderly patients, living alone, is greatly enhanced with the presence of an animal. Surely that can be deemed for the public good ? The mental and physical well being of an elderly person living alone ? It's part of Councils function, welfare ? Who're more deserving, then our elderly !

Or has our country deteriorated so much we can no longer make allowances for the most deserving of our population ! Or are our political masters so lousy, such morally corrupt bastards, they worry more for the Muslims, criminals, and illegals ! NOTHING would surprise me nothing !

SOL,I stand by my comments. Humans have worked with animals for 1000's of yrs but today we are replacing human relationships with a lower form of intelligence because our world has become so complex and insecure.

People treat dogs like babies and this to me is a breakdown of our grasp of reality and human communication.

What you're saying ARJAY is that you'd not derive any pleasure from having a pet of any description ? Mate I reckon that's terribly sad, and I don't believe that you know what you're missing ?

Dear O Sung Wu,

Our family household always had pets - from budgies,
to three dogs, to a pet duck, two cats -
and even goldfish, and two rabbits. I also grew
up with horses - living close to a riding school.
I grew up with all sorts of pets.
However since being married - my husband
has refused to have any animals in the home. His excuse
has been that we both work - and it wouldn't be fair on
the animal.

My fantasy one day is to own a cat - a Burmese.
A friend has one and it is such an affectionate and
beautiful animal. I admire its feline beauty, its
slow graceful walk, magnificent cat.

It's up to me to persuade hubbie. And that will take
some doing.

Good evening to you FOXY...

I have very little understanding or knowledge of cats. I like holding them, admire them cleaning themselves, and the joy and companionship they give to many who live on their own. Loneliness is one of the greatest horrors confronting people who live entirely alone. I'm sure a gentle cat would provide many of the answers to the lonely. In fact I know they do.

All I know about the Burmese cat, is they're very soft and fluffy ( I think ?), and probably one of the most popular of all breeds. All I can hope for you FOXY, is your husband will one day soon, understand how much you really want a Burmese cat ? And his current resistance to the idea, will simply just melt away, hopefully ?

Dear O Sung Wu,

Well you've opened the door for me and now
I'll bore you with some details about one of
my favourite subjects - the Burmese breed of
cats - here goes:

The Burmese is a short-haired breed of cat.
Its coat colour ranges from a dark seal-brown to
lilac-coloured tortoise-shell. The ideal Burmese
should have a body much like that of the Siamese-
medium in size, long and slim. The bones should be
as fine and the hind legs again slightly longer
than the front ones. he tail should be long and thin
and pointed at the end. The neck should be long and
slender. The head is not quite as long as that of the
Siamese. The ears are not quite as large as those of
the Siamese, but they too are wide at the base and
stand upright from the head. The eyes are true
Oriental almond-shaped slanting towards the nose and
are yellow in colour.

The Burmese are very affectionate just like the Siamese,
but they're much more placid in character which makes them
easy cats to live with. Their voices are as shrill as the
Siamese but they talk distinctly less, which undoubtedly is
an attraction to many people thinking of keeping a
Burmese as a pet.

I also hope that I shall be able to persuade my husband to
allow me to share our home with this beautiful animal.
Fingers-crossed.

Hi there FOXY...

You've in no way bored me, I like all animals and believe they can often teach us a thing or two about tolerance, patience and other qualities us extremely brilliant, but often screwed up humans seem unable to embrace.

I'm not sure if I'm letting the side down, OK ? However I would like to share with you a little secret about the one universal weakness us husbands (of any age) all possess ? And by accommodating that weakness, your husband should be 'putty in your hands'.

Cook him a really brilliant meal, comprising of all those dishes and niceties he always yearns for ! And after doing so, all that remains, is what you should call your (new) little Burmese kitten ?

Sorry FOXY, I've got my breeds all mixed up I think ? It's the Persians that are very 'fluffy' I reckon ? Are they grey in colour, or am I up the creek without a paddle ? Burmese, Persians, they're all lovely little animals, and provide a great deal of happiness to their owners ?

My lovely wife often claims, 'Dogs have masters, and cats have servants' ? I'll stick well clear of that statement, lest I become another subject of derision and ridicule ?

Thanks FOXY for another valued opinion.

Dear O Sung Wu,

Thank You for the advice. At present I am doing lots
of hubby spoiling. The poor thing has done his back in.
He's had back problems for quite some time now. He was
diagnosed with an "aging" spine - some time ago and has
been going to a chiro for years to have the discs
tapped into place as they give him trouble. This time
putting up the Christmas Tree did him in - and he virtually
could not straighten up. He's gone to our GP and had an
injection - because the pain was so bad. Anyway, I love
to cook - so that's not a problem - and he loves to eat.
But I just may leave the cat question alone for a bit -
until hubbie's feeling better. Not a good time right now
to bring it up.

As for the Siamese cat? The Siamese is the prince of cats.
It's physical beauty is of a delicate kind that lies in
its elegance of line, subtlety of musculature and delicacy
of colour. It's alert in character, affectionate and
endearingly sociable. I would have preferred the Siamese
but its main draw-back as a pet is its piercing and much
used voice, which seems closer to the cry of a human baby
than any animal sound. Walt Disney made use of this human
element in their miaowing when he gave speech to the
Siamese ub the film, "The Lady and the Tramp," and made them
whine, "We are Siamese - if you please."
The Siamese is a short-haired cat.

Fluffy or Long-haired hats that you're thinking of are -
the various kinds of Persians, Chinchillas, and Long-haired
Tabbies. They're lovely as well - but my preference lies
with the short-haired cats. Your wife's right about cats
being masters and very choosy who they befriend.
I guess many people are either a "dog" person or a "cat"
person. Either way - where would we be without our pets.

Hi everyone,
There were times in my life I just don't know how I'd gotten by on my own without my dog.
He died of multiple myeloma (leukemia) quite a few years ago and reading this makes me think back fondly of him.

There's this horrible trend of police shooting pets in the US and I am grateful the same sort of thing doesn't happen here.
Reading about these kind of stories really makes my blood boil.

http://www.infowars.com/cops-show-up-at-wrong-address-execute-pregnant-dog/

G'day there ARMCHAR CRITIC...

It would appear after all these years you still miss your beloved dog ? There's no doubt they tend to remain fondly in your memory nearly all your life ?

I think it was early in 1971 or '72 I was sent to a job concerning a mix bred German Shepherd dog, and for a variety reasons the dog had become quite aggressive to a point where the lady owner could no longer control him. And she was worried because of some incident that had apparently happened with him and one of her kids ? It had in fact just turned dark, and being out of hours, I could not seek help from the one and only RSPCA Officer on duty, apparently he had several other, more pressing matters to attend to. This was at a place called Leura, NSW.

To cut a long story short, I sought advice from the duty sergeant, as to what I should do, because being one out, I couldn't handle him ? I can even remember the dogs name 'Ross' ? I was instructed to destroy the dog in the interests of public safety ?

In those days, during F/A training, you're taught how to humanely destroy a dog, even cattle ! And all uniform police carried the same Mod 10/3 .38 Spec. 125g semi hollow point. Quite capable of doing the job.

Well, to my everlasting shame I made a complete mess of it ? Requiring a second shot. Police MUST submit a substantial report whenever they discharge their official F/A. Being on a 1500h - 2300h shift, the following afternoon at muster, I was paraded before the Inspector, and absolutely berated, and reviled for my lack of professionalism, bringing the police force into disrepute - even high treason, had the boss been able to 'fit me up' with it.

And I deserved everything I got, everything ! Much worse though, I can still hear that awful 'shriek or howl' of pain, coming from that poor animal. Because I was the silly bastard who couldn't do his job !

Sometimes shooting an animal can be a bit hard as you've found o sung wu.

I had to put down a kangaroo recently. Usually it is them smashing my fences, particularly the electric fences I use to confine the stallion.

This one must have crashed into a gate or strainer post. None of the others could have smashed it's hip the way it was, the posts usually just get knocked over.

Unlike a severely injured horse or cow, which will usually lie still, this thing was thrashing around quite a bit. Their hind legs are pretty dangerous, & to keep myself clear of them, & get a clean shot in the back of it's head was not easy

Hi HASBEEN...

Indeed it is not. Thank God I've never had to do such a thing again. I hit a big red on a graded Road, between Mungindi, NSW and St George Queensland, all black soil country. He lay kicking around, from what I could see in the rear mirror. But by the time I stopped, and reversed back, he must have had the presence of mind to head into the scrub ? There was substantial front panel damage to the Rent-A-Car I was driving at the time. Informed St George coppers, they weren't particularly interested other than if there was a road hazard ? Country and city coppers are usually worlds apart.

Being a bushie, I guess you can cope a little better with these sorts of animal issues, far better than us city blokes ? Not saying, you take it all in your stride, but you can handle it far more professionally than someone like me for example. The 'plurry' mess I made of shooting that dog, was very shameful, and the verbal 'dressing down' I copped from the Inspector for my sins, was very well deserved indeed.

The dogs owner, a lady, who was the original informant, reported my poor handling of the dogs destruction, not so much in the form of an official complaint, rather the 'botched job' I'd made of the whole affair. Needless to say, I'm sure she never wanted to see the back of my head ever again. The single worst moment ever ?

Hi FOXY...

I share your thoughts concerning the Royal Lineage of the sleek Siamese Cat. They do possess that regal, almost commanding presence about themselves ? I would think that some breeds of cat do take some time and patience to groom them. Still that's half the fun, tending to the needs of our pets.

I'm sorry to hear of your Husband's bad back. And I can only appreciate how hard it must be for him to tolerate the pain, and the need to put up with the restricted movement he has with it on most occasions. The pethidine shots certainly provide some immediate relieve, only to have the infernal pain to once more return in a few short hours after each injection ?

Perhaps his pain, and your concern for his pain, may mysteriously vanish over this upcoming Christmas period. I can only hope for you FOXY ? I'll say goodnight to you both.

This is a really lovely thread to be following and to see how everybody treasures their animals in their lives. I know of a friend who's kept the remains of his pets in storage just simply because they made such a big impact on him that he couldn't bear to part with them! It's a bit creepy, but really rather touching at the same time don't you think?

G'day UDYREGAN...

A little creepy for sure but it does establish just how close we all do become with our pets. I guess it's all about trust, unfettered loyalty, the unconditional love our pets seem to have for us ? No matter what 'wrongs' we occasion to our animals; late with their tea, leaving them behind when we go out, or ignoring them when visitors are about, whatever we've done, they always seem to forgive us, and their love and attachment never wavers ?

Perhaps we all should make a special effort to 'include' our beloved pets, in our Christmas celebrations ? What better way to show them how much we love, value, and cherish them in kind ?

Have a really great, and safe Christmas, please UDYREGAN !