Rowan

Yes, the offer is through this forum. I called the President of the SPA to see if she was happy with this, and she was over the moon. Also (whisper) if the GSD is okay with cats, this forum may have found him a home too.... I have all my fingers and toes crossed, and anyone who wishes to do the same should feel free to join in!

Yay, I did it! And we have an offer from someone who is going to fix the kennel doors, so today is going well!

Thanks Christine. I am incapable of adding photos on this forum for some reason. I take the photos and send them to Flo who puts them on the SPA site, but I have loads on my Mac, too.... The little fella I referred to in a previous post (the one I assumed had gone) is just lovely....Will try to post a link below. Small dog, easier to rehome (in theory). Won't make space for the GSD, tho... [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/rowan1965/SPA%20dog/IMG_0416.jpg[/IMG]

Christine Thanks for the suggestion. I will get onto it. The cream griffon is just skin and bones under all that fur. He is turning cartwheels in his kennel. I took him out last week and he is lovely to walk, no pulling and loves to be petted. Sue at Poorpaws has put him on her site for me, too. He really needs to get out. There are loads of other dogs not on the site, too. I think we have 130 dogs at the moment. Because they are doubled u in the kennels it is hard for visitors to see them all. Yesterday I opened a kennel only to find a dog whom I thought had been adopted months ago, he is the sort of dog that goes out very quickly (small, young, gentle), but no one has seem him!

Flo has just responded that if we were to do FA (foster families, I guess) then things would be much better at our SPA. Anyone got any ideas as to how we could persuade them to do this? Christine, perhaps you have been through something similar... Have to stop now. I need to try and relax my fevered brain a bit.

Nice. More tears. Hey, Pads, I love your ideas and have fielded them to Flo...BUT she works full time and I have my own business, which I neglect in order to go to the SPA. I wish I had time to do all the things that need doing. That's not to say I am rejecting your ideas, but it will take more than the two of us to implement them. Everyone else (at the SPA) seems happy with the status quo. Like Christine A, I want things to be better. She has made them so, but it has taken lots of time. I have to change things without losing my mind with grief or losing my husband with my obsession. When I was growing up my mum had a friend who was known as the mad dog woman. She had seen a dog being tossed from a car on the motorway and had stopped her car and run between the lanes to get the dog. I always loved her. I am becoming more and more like her. Not a bad thing per se, but you get my drift!

Yeah, thought of that, but Amazon won't ship certain items to France and I am not sure where else will! Thanks, tho!

Pads, you are so sweet. That is a kind offer, but the problem is space at the SPA. The dogs are already two per kennel and there is no more room. I still sponsor dogs in the UK (via Dogs Trust) and it is a great scheme, but I don't think there is anything like that here....As I mentioned in a previous post, Flo and my attempts to help out potentially good owners financially have been rejected by the SPA. If I could find suitable owners, I would happily pay for the upkeep of the dogs (not all of them, obviously, I am not a millionaire!) On a related topic, at the SPA today two of the dogs got out cos the clasp on their kennel is broken. I drew this to the attention of the staff who says that about 50 locks are broken, and they have no money to repair them. Anyone got an electric arc welder and a free afternoon? I wish you lived here full time Pads...

Thanks to both Christine and Merlin for their advice and support. I know it will be a long hard road and sometimes I am tempted to give up, but even one dog's life saved is a start, I guess. It will take a while for me to build up a relationship with the SPA, I know, and no one likes a newcomer to come in and criticise what is established practice, so iI am making sure I tread very carefully. I don't want to ruffle feathers, but I think that gradually they are coming to realise that we want the same thing. So many lovely dogs.....Sigh.

One problems here is that the SPA makes people come to see the dogs themselves. So we can't get the dogs from the shelter ourselves and deliver them. They don't do host families, because "it would mean too much paperwork". They would rather the dogs were destroyed. And on days like yesterday when families are likely to come and look for a dog, they are shut! There have been times when people are interested in a dog, but it needs vet treatment etc. Flo and I have offered to help them out with the money for treatment and the SPA has refused to let them have the dog! I know they think that if you can't afford the vets fees you are hardly the best owner, but if it is something that is curable with a few euros, why not let us pay and give the dog a chance in life! I would like to get the dogs out to local shopping centres to meet people, like I have seen many times in the US. When our last beagle was killed and I said we were going to the SPA to look for a new dog, all our (French) neighbours told us that the dogs in the SPA are all psychotic and un-rehomeable. People's attitudes need to change, too.

It is only Flo and I who seem to care about the dogs that are put down; everyone else there just accepts it as inevitable.

I need some help as to how to change the place, I think. One problem I have is that my French is pretty bad, and I wonder if the people there see me as an interfering busybody...But I love dogs so much and I want then all to be safe and happy. I just don't know what to do. Sometimes I think it would be easier on me not to go to the SPA, cos I spend so much time crying and it is killing me. But of course I know that even by walking the dogs that are then put down I am making them happy, however temporarily. Or am i giving them unrealistic expectations and making things worse? I just don't know. I am miserable.

Buying one in the UK and bringing it over is not an option, as we don't go to the UK at all; hence my query about where to get a decent priced one in France!

Also, and this may sound very harsh, the beagles have had a great life, and putting them down is more justifiable than putting down a young, healthy dog. It breaks my heart to even write this, because everyone knows I adore beagles more than any other breed. However the reality is that the SPAs can't keep an infinite number of dogs, and it is better to keep the younger ones, no? I am crying as I write this, because the beagles are my favourite, they see my car arrive and know I am going to go an pat them and give them a hug. I removed a tick from one of them on Saturday...I love them. And if I love them so much but can't take them, why would anyone else? . If I had my way I would be surrounded by dogs of all shapes and sizes, but I know my husband would divorce me!

Christine I know the beagles very well. They are wonderful and I do fear for them, too, but they are not in any danger, as far as I am aware. The reasoning is strange....Although the beagles are old, they are friendly, and the dreaded list seems to be made on the basis of how much the dogs wag their tails or otherwise when the woman with the list walks past! There are several other dogs who are older than the shepherd and less likely to be homed on the basis of behaviour, in my opinion. Not that they are aggressive or deserve to die, but some are more difficult to walk etc. This boy is so lovely. Flawless. I am going to try and reorganise the boxes this afternoon to make some space. And yes, I know if any other dogs are rehomed then there is more space, but once a dog has been "listed" it is only a matter of time before the place is full again and he is under threat again.

I don't know. Anyone? Please?!

Is that pronounced Tig? Please, can no one help him? I think he has until Saturday. I don't think I will sleep until then, and probably not for a while afterwards either, unless something wonderful happens.

Sorry, can't help. We used to insure ours in UK, but treatment here is so much cheaper that we have stopped bothering!

The British vaccine is now valid for 3 years, the French vaccine for one only (although it is the same vaccine, go figure!) Your dogs are fine, they don't need boosters. And they can return to UK without any problems (apart from the other mandatory vet treatment (heartworms etc) as long as the rabies vaccine is in date (ie till 2011). Rabies vaccine is not mandatory in France. Hope that helps!

Hi I am looking to get a brush cutter for our garden, something that can cope with cow parsley! It needs to be a decent make, ie one that can be fixed/ serviced easily and preferably one that can take a metal blade. For instance something like the Stihl F56. This particular model is available on line in the UK for £254, but in France the cheapest I can find it is €359. Even allowing for the poor exchange rate, this is a bit of a difference. Anyone know a good place to get decent prices on stuff like this, or better still, anyone got one for sale? Thanks

He doesn't have a name yet, but if anyone wants to think of one, I will christen him. Hope it doesn't turn into the last rights! I have no idea of his history, but from what I have seen, I would guess he has been a family pet, as he is very gentle and playful and tolerant with other dogs, including younger ones. There is some footage of him taken on Saturday on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pfq30AMekw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiFzKp-AG4M I know the reality is that the SPAs cannot save all the dogs, and never before have I put an appeal out on this forum, other than a very general one. But this is truly a wonderful dog. We need to save him. Please please!

[IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/rowan1965/BA2-1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/rowan1965/BA1.jpg[/IMG] Hope these work, but I doubt it, on past form.

Please, any German Shepherd lovers out there, help find a home for this beautiful boy. He was born in October 2006, is good with other dogs and is very loving and playful. He doesn't pull on the lead and responds when called (whatever you call him, just eager to please, I think) I walked him yesterday and promised I would find him a home before finding out how urgent this was...He doesn't deserve to be put down just cos the SPA is short of space. I am heartbroken. Why are these beautiful animals paying the price for our problems? Please help. Can't work out how to upload a photo, despite the instructions. So frustrated. Can anyone help me, please, if I send them a couple of pics?

The SPA in Carcassonne is having an open day on 8 and 9 May, from 1400-1800. Please come along and meet our lovely dogs and cats and maybe take a new friend home with you. We have all shapes and sizes to choose from! Please tell anyone you know in the Carcassonne area to come along! Thanks Rowan

Thanks to everyone. It was the float bowl in the carb (or something like that, so my husband tells me). All sorted out now!