Chihuahua Rescue Victoria Newsletter, September 2017
Feel free to discuss anything in this newsletter with us on the Facebook post we made for it!
Chihuahua Rescue Victoria has a mobile site coming!
Many years ago the wonderful Terri Gumpert designed and set up our very first web page before we even had a website address and it was hosted on Connexus (our internet provider at that time). In the early twenty-first century Süheyla Sayram designed a new web page and later Robert Bram (her partner and my son!) took over. It has changed a lot over the years and recently we started paying attention to who visits it.
Of all the people who visit our site, most are female.
- Female: 82.31%
- Male: 17.69%
About a quarter of the visitors to our site are between 25 to 34 and a little bit less than a quarter are 55 to 64, though I suspect that most of the younger ones who visit our site are doing it on behalf of their less tech savvy grandparents!
- 25-34 age group: 24.28%
- 55-64 age group: 20.11%
- 45-54 age group: 19.70%
- 35-44 age group: 15.78%
- 65+ age group: 10.24%
- 18-24 age group: 9.90%
A third of our visitors view the site on an iPhone, and overall more than half do it from a mobile phone or tablet rather than a desktop computer.
- iPhone: 31.29%
- Windows desktop computer: 21.93%
- Android phone: 19.89%
- iPad: 14.04%
- Macintosh desktop computer: 8.28%
- Android tablet: 3.25%
- The rest includes Linux deskstop, Windows tablet, Chromebook: 3.25%
The shift to mobile phones is common for most websites nowadays. More people are viewing websites on mobile devices (phones and tablets) than our trusty old desktop computers! In response to this, we are changing our site again to make sure it looks good on both mobile devices and desktop computers. This will be coming soon.
I am not a robot!
We also changed the Contacts Us and Expression of Interest pages to use a different technique for proving whoever is filling in the form isn't a "robot". Believe it or not, there are people who set up robots (computer programs) that automatically fill out forms on any website they can to send the same spam you get in your email every day. The best way to protect against these is to use "captchas" that prevent anyone from filling out a form unless they pass some sort of test to make sure they are human.
Previously we used ones that showed you a picture of distorted letters and numbers, asking you to type out what the characters are. Many people found it so confusing they would give up and worse: robots have since become better than humans at working out those puzzles! Now we use Google Re-Captcha. Google worked out that there are other ways to tell if you are human. How? They don't say exactly, but for most of us it will just be a matter of clicking a check box to say "I am not a robot"! Even better, if Google wants to be sure, they will show you a puzzle to solve which is actually used to solved other problems, like improving how to recognise objects on a map or working out a word from a digitised book that the scanning program couldn't figure out.
The Rainbow Bridge
This is a story about the Rainbow Bridge, an allegorical image of heaven for our pets. This text, whose author isn't known, imagines a balm for those dogs who never found their loving forever home. It is why we do what we do.
Unlike most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined. All the recent arrivals were confused and concerned. They had no idea what to think for they had never experienced a day like this before. But the animals who had spent some time waiting for their beloved people knew exactly what was happening and began to gather at the pathway leading to the Bridge to watch. They knew this was something special.
It wasn't too long before an elderly animal came into view, head hung heavy and low with tail dragging along the ground. The other animals on the pathway - the ones who had been at RainBow Bridge for a while - knew the story of this sad creature immediately. They had seen it happen far too many times.
Although it was obvious the animal's heart was leaden and he was totally overcome with emotional pain and hurt, there was no sign of injury or any illness. Unlike the pets waiting at the Bridge, this dog had not been restored to his prime. He was full of neither health nor vigor. He approached slowly and painfully, watching all the pets who were by now watching him. He knew he was out of place here. This was no resting place for him. He felt instinctively that the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be. But alas, as he came closer to the Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who spoke softly to the old dog and apologised sorrowfully, telling him that he would not be able to pass. Only those animals who were with their special people could pass over the RainBow Bridge. He had no special beloved people: not here at the Bridge nor on Earth below.
With no place else to turn, the poor elderly dog looked toward the fields before the Bridge. There, in a separate area nearby, he spotted a group of other sad-eyed animals like himself, elderly and infirm. Unlike the pets waiting for their special people, these animals weren't playing, but simply lying on the green grass, forlornly and miserably staring out at the pathway leading to the Bridge. The recent arrival knew he had no choice but to join them. So he took his place among them, just watching the pathway and waiting.
One of the newest arrivals at the Bridge was waiting for her special people to show up. She could not understand what she had just witnessed and asked one of the pets who had been there for some time to explain it to her.
"That poor dog was a rescue, sent to the pound when his owner grew tired of him. The way you see him now, with graying fur and sad, cloudy eyes, was exactly the way he was when he was put into the kennels. He never, ever made it out and passed on only with the love and comfort that the kennel workers could give him as he left his miserable and unloved existence on Earth for good. Because he had no family or special person to give him love, he has nobody to escort him across the Bridge."
The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked, "So what will happen now?"
As she was about to receive her answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the all-invasive gloom lifted. Coming toward the Bridge could be seen a single figure. On Earth this person would seem quite ordinary: a person who, like the elderly dog, had left Earth forever. This figure turned toward a group of the sad animals and extended outstretched palms. The sweetest sounds they had ever heard echoed gently above them and all were bathed in a pure and golden light. Instantly, each was young and healthy again, just as they had been in the prime of life.
From within the gathering of pets waiting for their special people, a group of animals emerged and moved toward the pathway. As they came close to the passing figure, each bowed low and each received a tender pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears. Their eyes grew even brighter as the figure softly murmured each name. Then, the newly-restored pets fell into line behind the figure and quietly followed this person to the Bridge, where they all crossed together.
The recent arrival who had been watching, was amazed. "What happened?"
"That was a rescuer," came the answer.
"That person spent a lifetime trying to help pets of all kinds. The ones you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of such unselfish work. They will cross when their families arrive. Those you saw restored were ones who never found homes. When a rescuer arrives, they are permitted to perform one, final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort those poor pets that couldn't place on Earth across the Rainbow Bridge. You see, all animals are special to them: just as they are special to all animals."
"I think I like rescuers," said the recent arrival.
"So do we all," was the reply.
-- Author Unknown --
Freddie
Monday, 18th of September 2017
Back in August, we received a phone call from a very concerned lady regarding one of her little puppies who was born with brain damage. We agreed to take this little man into our care and look after him.
Freddie was assessed by our vet, Euan Kirkpatrick (from the Beach Street Veterinary Clinic), who informed us that the medical term for what Freddie has is Cerebellar Hypoplasia. Apparently this is closely related to Hydrocephalus. In simple terms little Freddie has one quarter to one half the brain of a normal puppy his age. He will develop normally but will never have full control of his head or leg movements. In adulthood he will have a "flat footed" ungainly balance. Since this little bundle of joy is so happy and playing like any normal little puppy it is our decision to love him and care for him for his natural life. While there is "quality" of life, Freddie will live!
Read more about Freddie in Freddie's Chihuahua Rescue Victoria Success Story!
Raffle at the Dog Show
The Chihuahua Club of Victoria are holding a dog showing competition: the October Members Competition.
They are conducting a raffle at the competition to raise funds for us, Chihuahua Rescue Victoria, for which we are endlessly grateful! The prize will be a brand new set of LCD digital puppy/pet scales that can weigh up to 20 kg or 44 lb. Tickets will be $1 each or 3 for $2. Don't miss out!
The aim is to help the trainee judges learn about our breed but also for all new-comers to the breed to gain experience and for a fun social gathering and fund raiser.
Chihuahua Club of Victoria: October Members Competition
Where: KCC Park (State Dog Centre), 655 Westernport Highway Skye
When: 8th October 2017. Judging starts at 10am
Tips on travelling in a car with your dog
Thanks to Lianne for these tips. She says:
I really like taking short weekend road trips but now that I've recently rescued my chihuahua Poppy, I'm trying to plan my next trip with her. So I've been searching around on the web for more info and came across a couple of resources I liked and thought others would find them to be helpful as well.
- Travelling & Camping with Dogs. I like to go camping a lot, so I thought this article from Camper Trailer Australia had some handy tips.
- How to Keep Your Dog Safe in the Car. This page has a nice infographic that explains different options for keeping your dog safe while driving in your car. I'll have to figure out which one Poppy will like best!
Chihuahua Rescue Victoria is a non-profit organisation. The advertisement below supports us directly but was not created by us and is in no way endorsed by us. It is presented here by Google Ad Services.
