Poor Lizzie! She's suffering form some sort of skin condition. Our brilliant vet Gwen who works at Peter Burgess's surgery isn't sure what's wrong so we're trying daily baths in Melasab - a medical shampoo. Unfortunately Lizzie doesn't seem to enjoy the baths. Neither am I when I see the state of the bathroom after one bath! The amount of hair in the drain, the muddy paw prints etc. And Dorrie (who hates baths) won't go near me for the next two hours thinking I'm going to somehow trick her into the bath too!

Lizzie has to have the shampoo in for about 15 minutes which leaves me enough time to wash my hair or shave my legs. So she sits in the bath with me, looking with those big black eyes Why do you do this to me?  Thankfully it's all forgiven with a towel rub. She LOVES towel rubs. She knows she has to stand between my legs, so she keeps standing there begging for just one more rub down!

I feel really conscious of Lizzie's fur thinning! People who know me will be aware that I'm quite casual about how I look, figuring people will judge me on my personality  rather than looks, but when it comes to foster dogs I want them to look their best for their new families. I want people to look at Lizze and laugh at her expressions, fall in love with her endearing charms and think she's absolutely adorable. I get worried that someone won't think she's as cute as she really is, if she's missing fur!

Anyway, Lizzie doesn't seem to mind how she looks. She still loves exactly the same things and behaves in exactly the same cute way. Tonight while I was watching The Block she came and jumped up on the couch next to me. It was as if she was saying, well if you are going to put me through that ordeal you can least shove over and give me some couch space!

If you would like to adopt this precious little girl, fill in an adoption questionnaire here. You have to love her as much as I do however, she deserves a brilliant home!

I feel like we're always asking for help, either asking a foster carer to take a dog on at late notice, or asking for donations to cover vet bills and the various projects that Lab Rescue runs. 

It's nice to write posts like these, thanking our amazing sponsors. Lab Rescue is completely not for profit and we have very stringent rules about where we spend out money. It's great when we get support from private companies who share our beliefs in saving labs from pounds around ACT and NSW.

So today I'd like to take some time to thank the guys over at Mr Taxman. Adrian and his partner Kylie have been long time supporters of Lab Rescue and have recently sponsored our event at the Sydney Pet Expo. They both run a well known accounting firm, so if you need an accountant coming up to financial end of year, we throughly recommend Adrian for his approachability and his down to earth attitude. 

And from all of us at Lab Rescue, thanks Mr Taxman!

My name is Jake . I came from Wagga pound last week where I had been waiting for someone to adopt me. However noone saw the lovely inner dog behind my funny colouring...but who is perfect?

I arrived in Canberra and immediately was taken into the bush for a lovely walk. I can't remember ever being in the bush before...so I stuck my nose on the ground pretty much all the time to take in the lovely new smells. While I was on my walk, I was introduced to me new friend Moose. He's OK and after a brief hello I got back to just smelling everything around me.

I was then brought into my foster carers back yard and given a good wash to get rid of those nasty fleas I had picked up. It was a lovely experience, lots of rubbing and close contact, until she decided to rinse me off with a hose. I did not like that. My foster carer thinks I like treats but actually all I want is a pat and rub. I think she's getting the message, though she now makes me sit for the pats when before I had to jump up on her to get attention. She's learning fast :)

Anyway, then I was allowed in the house. I have never been in a house before so I was very careful to take it very slowly but it seems its OK. I like being in the house with my new foster carer because I get lots of pats and company. I am not used to the noise of TVs but you get used to that pretty quickly and after just one meal I am learning my manners when my owners eat. I love the way you can come and go through a dog door, it took me about 5 minutes to learn and then I got the hang of it.

I had a quick cry when my foster carers left me to go to their beds but I was soon asleep and ready for the new day of play!

Here are some pictures of lovely Jake....not your usual Lab rescue dog, but absolutely delightful ! He walks to heel so well but his energy and enthusiasm need containing...once he gets over that initial burst he settles quickly and thats after less than 24 hours with us.

Beautiful Mia's now been found!

Someone called us earlier today to say that she was wondering around Gold Creek. Thankfully Frances rushed out there and found her, hungry and muddy but otherwise okay. 

Hopefully Mia can start to learn that staying at home is a good thing. Until then we'll be double checking our fences!

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't been posting for a while, it's been crazy here at Lab Rescue! Stay tuned for some great new stories on the blog over the next couple of days, but for now I wanted to share with you something special. ;)

You may have seen Alex advertised on our website in the available dogs section. He came to us as a very little pup and we thought he may be a lab cross. He's now a little bit more grown up, and doesn't look like a lab at all. We're completely biased and love out labs, but even we have to admit Alex is a charmer. He looks like a kelpie cross and shares lots of labbie traits. I could go on, but John - Alex's current foster carer sent me a rather sweet update. 

We need some more dog coats to tell the world about Lab Rescue so I’m combining my love of sewing with my volunteer work for Lab Rescue.  Please feel free to contact us to offer your help if you’re also keen to sew for a non-profit organisation.

I was inspired by two sites in particular when working out an easy design that would fit a variety of Lab sizes.

http://prettylittlethings.typepad.com/lori_marie/2008/02/this-little-pig.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=139e809dc732f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=92f9cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=&lnc=92f9cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09

I thought buttons were a little impractical for active fidgety Labs so decided on a Velcro closure instead!

I am a member of a quilting club which learns a new strip pattern once every two months, http://www.patchworkshop.com.au/. The most recent one struck me as eye catching and I thought it would make the coats really stand out on dogs wearing them; in black, white and red (although I picked a bright orange!).

The blocks are about 10 x 10 inches (sorry most measurements are in inches in the quilting world and I might leave it that way) so 4 sewn together is about the right size for a Lab. I can make 8 coats in this fabric using my current strip club fabrics. If you love it there will only be 8 available so put your hand up if you want one!

I thought the words ‘Adopt Me’ would be suitable for a foster dog to wear when out and about, short and fairly quick to appliqué. I think on the next one I’ll use something like ‘Rescue A Labrador’ to make it a little more flexible so that the coat can be worn by our own dogs or newly adopted dogs to spread the word and it is similar to our website and email address www.rescuealabrador.com and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

I chose a font and font size that would be easy to read from a distance (and substantial enough to appliqué, and with more straight lines than curves as this makes it easier for me to appliqué around the edges).  I used GIMP (available to download off the internet for free) to reverse the letters and traced them onto an appliqué sheet. When the letters are ironed onto the fabric and cut out and affixed to the coat they’re the right way round again!

I cut some orange strips (about an inch wide) to sew around the edge of the blocks to help them look finished and act like faux binding.

 I bought some cheap light white polycotton for the coat backing as I’m not really keen to make these too thick and hot for the dogs to wear. Labs are pretty energetic and have a double coat so don’t need anything warm to wear when running around outside!

I cut 2 ½ inch strips of fabric (length the width of the fabric from one selvage to the other) for the straps, one strip in orange and one in white. I interfaced the white fabric and cut each strip into 4 even lengths, a little over 10 inches each. I sewed right sides together leaving one end open and shaping the closed end slightly. Turned the straps the right way out and ironed flat and tidy.

I think the straps at the front need to be a little shorter and the straps around the body a little longer so will probably modify the next ones to be 8 inches around the front and 12 inches around the body. It may even be easier to do up with two long straps that meet two short ones or just attach one strap each way straight onto the body of the coat (but then the Velcro would be more visible than I would like).

I laid the straps orange side down on the coat body right side up and covered with the backing fabric (white polycotton), cutting around the edge (approx 20 x 20 inch square). Sew the two together leaving an opening of at least 5 inches so that you can turn the coat right side out. Topstitch around the outer edge closing the opening and reinforcing the strap attachment as you go around.

Sew Velcro onto the straps. I sewed the soft sides of the Velcro to the straps that face down toward the dog’s skin and the harsh prickly side on the straps that faced away from the dog’s body. I’m sure their double coat would protect their skin but prefer to be safe than sorry!

I’ll take some more photos of the construction process as I make the next one. Stay tuned :)

Post written by our very talented and enthusiastic carer - Linda!

Have you heard of Oz Doggy? They are a fantastic resource for anyone who has a dog. They are the Australian, dog equivalent of Google! Paul's recently sponsored Lab Rescue and we wanted to say a big thank you!

So if you are looking for dog friendly accommodation, dog sitters or dog washes jump onto www.ozdoggy.com.au.

Thanks Paul!

One of our foster carer's Shani sent this update in about Diego. Her comments about Diego around cats had me in stitches!

Having heard there was a male Labrador crowding out Linda's home, we thought we would investigate further to fill the void left by a previous foster dog.   Little could have prepared us for the big smiling face of Bear. A gentle giant who just wants to wriggle, have fun and be loved. We introduced him to our existing dog, ex foster dog, Moose and they sort of got on, but it was hard to tell with all the male posturing and then playing in the garden. So with Linda's wise encouragement we took him home with us. I have to admit I was a bit intimidated. I asked Linda, what makes intact males so different from desexed apart from the obvious. How should I be caring for two males when I have only been used to females. Linda was very reassuring and explained there was little difference in managing desexed males, but an intact male had other ISSUES! Well I resolved to get him desexed asap to fix those!

We took him home, gave him a medicated bath, gave him a flea treatment, gave Moose flea treatment, checked on everyone's flea status and then brought him inside. What a gentleman! I struggled to remember his name (Grizzle), I called him Guzzle, Gizzle and eventually the dog.  So we asked our son what he should be called. Continuing with a successful formula he settled on Bear because "he's so cuddly except he wriggles too much.."

After their evening walk he settled down a little but was still very stimulated with his new environment and playmate Moose. Linda had learnt us a dog cage just in case, so we set it up so we could get a decent night's sleep. I was still not 100% confident the dogs might come to blows with over enthusiastic play. No problem at all, he hopped into the cage which I made super comfy with an old duvet and of course some dog treats. Moose took up position in his bed and both dogs were asleep instantly. During the night I woke up, felt sorry for Bear and quietly let him out to go to the loo. No problem at all, he bounced back into the cage in anticipation of the treats which were quickly offered as a reward. I told Moose to go back to his bed and threw some treats into his bed. Surprisingly Moose kept on circling me and would not go to his bed, very odd. It took a moment or two for the penny to drop, I turned on the lights and yes, Moose was happily smiling at me from inside the cage and Bear was looking very unloved outside! The rest of the night passed on so peacefully and the next day, that we dismantled the cage and have used the spare bed instead.  Both dogs respond well to the drill of go to bed followed by treats and hey presto we have had no issues at night.

Bear has settled in well. He is very inquisitive and watches us most of the time. However he is learning to relax and follow Moose's example of just sleeping undisturbed and heavily whenever the opportunity presents itself. He is a very easy dog to have in the home and must have been used to a domestic environment at some stage.

I have been feeding him a homemade diet of fish, egg and raw vegetables to help his skin heal from the flea bites. His skin seems to be responding well from the care and attention he received before me and is already noticeably less aggravated. I hate to imagine how bad it must have been when he was first rescued from the pound.

Walking on the lead is fine, until he sees another dog. Then the hormones kick in, he starts barking and pulling. Luckily we have a harness to walk him in but I still need my husband to walk him as he has quite a sudden pull.

We have just had our ACT Moon Bear committee meeting at my house. Not surprisingly all loved the two handsome boys who wriggled and wagged their way around everyone.  I think a small role may have been secured in a future Animals Asia event.

So yes he is booked in for the snip on Thursday at one of the wonderfully supportive vet clinics here in Canberra. This with some basic obedience training on the lead around other animals will make him a pretty perfect companion...

Post by Gill, Grizzle's foster mum and Moose's permanent mum.

Chloe came to us from an overwhelmed family in Sydney. They had a young child and couldn't handle Chloe's energetic personality. Poor Chloe went from being a prized puppy to living life tied up in a backyard, all in 9 short months. Gill has recently taken her in and her dog Moose is teaching her about how amazing life is at Gill's house. Gill's been doing some calming exercises with Chloe, teaching her when to settle down. They've also been working on toilet training.

We think Gill's a SUPER foster carer, balancing (the relatively new the family) Moose, a birthday boy and his friends AND a joyful energetic new puppy!

Gill sent us an update today with some hilarious photos attached. 

Dear All

I am on the sofa with my cup of coffee and Chloe at my feet, but still keeping an eye on Moose the destroyer chewing another toy outside. (Sorry Belinda your lovely two toys hit the dust this morning and one of ours...) Yes what a blissful normal picture this represents, we are getting there and its only day 2. The sun is shining and its a beautiful morning for the dogs, and I thought I would share part of the fun we have had getting here.

Last night was an experience. Having had a cat nap Chloe was full of bounce again. However she really loves the big cushion. So we popped her on a lead and made her sit on the cushion while we ignored her and Moose and watched a film. She was soon fast asleep again and did not budge until we got up to go to bed.  Thats when the fun really started. Normally Moose tumbles into bed in the laundry eager for his bedtime treat and never stirs again until the morning.  Hhmmm well we tried that once, then twice, then lost count...an hour later after the dogs were howling into the night, I thought we had lost Chloe at one point as she semed totally AWOL, we heard a massive thump and it was not the dog door...the dogs were partying good and proper. Having tried to be calm and ignore them I lost my rag and shouted at both of them. They sat in their beds shamefaced, panting and happy while I stomped off in my nightie. Not before I barricaded up the front gates with anything to hand to make sure Chloe was not going to escape. By this stage William had stolen my side of the bed and so I was left with the spare single mattress on the floor (Another story behind that.). I lay there for probably about half and hour and to my disbelief there was silence...eventually I fell asleep but even when waking at 6 there was still no sound! I had half expected one dog to be missing, but no two waggy tails greeted us for their morning walk...though we think Moose looked a bit worse for wear!

So this morning the two dogs have played tug of war - with Moose sitting down to try and win, but not always. She has been alot more confident and assertive with him, hackles up at times and he has responded with growls. I am sure they will sort it out but one thing is for sure she has more energy and go than him! Trying to go through the doggy door two at a time is the funniest thing I have seen for a long time.

Toilet training is not going so great. As she has been drinking alot she has been peeing alot too. I have closed off all my carpeted area and while she knows the place in the garedn to go, (she even looks at me for praise as she pees there,) its still alot less effort to go wherever she happens to be standing. I am up for any tips but I have now set my phone to beep every 30 mins so I take her out regularly.

Well its now afternoon and beautifully quiet again. However this email has taken me the best part of the day to get off. Had one interruption after another. My son's 11th birthday today and boys just don't get not playing with dogs. Both dogs are now exhausted and asleep at my feet. I have  been taking lots of opportunities to give her special tummy scratchies when she is calm and sitting or lying down as I hope this encourages her to like quiet time too. At this moment she has her nose an inch from my foot, I can feel her breath on it but I hope the smell does not make her feel sick !

Anyway got to get on with the birthday cake etc, nana and great nana are on their way!

Best wishes

Gill

Gill we all think you are fantastic. If Chloe could talk, she would say how fun life is with your family and explain how thankful she is that you and William are taking care of her while she looks for her forever family. 

Finally I've attached some pics that Gill managed to snap of Moose and Chloe playing. She's a bright little cookie, and I dare say she's keeping Moose on his toes!

Chloe (at the front) resting. You can see Moose at the back going to pick up a toy. 

"Ooooh! Playtime!" Says Chloe.

And it's ON!

I think Moose feels like he has a bit to prove here, it was HIS toy!

Moose tries a new strategy. He sits down. Apparently it's worked in the past. 

But Chloe's worked out that she can stand ontop of him, and twist it just the right way...

Poor Moose, maybe next time buddy!

Lewis was surrendered to us last week. He is a beautiful 16 week old puppy who's still growing up. He's about the size of a big cat. We VERY rarely get pure lab puppies this young, so it's a bit of a treat for us to see them.

Lewis has just been moved into foster carer Laurie's home so that he can learn to play with golden retriever Ari. I was lucky enough to drop Lewis off and watch him play with Ari for the first time. Oh how they loved each other! At one stage, trembling with excitement, Ari ran towards Lewis, forgot to stop and bowled him over! Completely knocked off his feet!

Lewis is learning quickly however, next time Ari came running at him he gave a warning snap. Ari was so taken aback that he cringed! Poor old Ari, told off by someone a third of his size!

By the time I left Laurie's house the boys were panting heavily. They had just spent the last 20 minutes chasing each other around the yard and play bowing. It was VERY cute.

Laurie sent me some photos of Lewis the other night, I think they are rather cute!

Lucia's owners emailed us over the new year with an update. It had such a funny picture in it, I just have to share it!

Apparently Lucia's learnt how to loop herself into the seat belt when in the car, how clever! Very sensible of you!

Here's Gregi's update on Lucia:

Although not strictly a foster dog, I really wanted to give you an update on beautiful Moose. Moose was a foster with Linda before Christmas and was adopted by Gill, another foster carer. We've been looking after him while Gill went away on holidays. We can't take a foster at the moment because our fences are in such a terrible condition (all the foster dogs poking their noses next door for a pat!)

I emailed Gill, Moose's owner an update how his 'holiday' is going with us.

Hi Gill,

Angel's volunteered to maintain a Lab Rescue facebook page! You can share photos, stories and read all our blogs on facebook. 

There are a couple of Lab Rescue pages started up, so look for the new logo as the profile photo. Here's a direct link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Labrador-Rescue/209331982493477

Hope to see you on there!

We'd love to get your advice on some new walking harnesses.

Do you think they would work with Labs?

;)

I realise we're always saying that we are busy at Lab Rescue, but it's honestly the truth! There's always something to be done and there's never enough time to do it all. 

The last couple of days have been incredibly busy with people contacting us about rehoming their dogs. Each have their own reasons and unfortunately we can't always help them all.

Many rescue groups refuse to take in privately surrendered dogs. When I first joined Lab Rescue  Linda and Katherine were tearing their hair out over it! Unfortunately many people who surrender their dog to us don't realise how much work goes into rehoming them. They think it's  quick money for us and that they are doing us a favour by giving us a dog for free. It's not always the case, but it only takes a couple to be burnt by this attitude.

We once had a dog who was only a couple of months old surrendered to us. He was still so young he wasn't fully grown. He was showing typically lab puppy behaviour which was too much for their young family. Knowing we had the space and the time, we decided to transport the dog from Sydney to Canberra to rehome him. 

The day we were going to pick up the dog we were contacted by the owner who explained that the family was distraught over giving the dog up and wanted to give it another go. We were sympathetic but a little frustrated at the amount of work we went through to organise transport. It's hard to ask for favours all the time and we had just facilitated a pick up and drop off just for this dog. 

We gave the family a few tips and hoped for the best. We weren't sure how successful they would be since they didn't sound so receptive. There was nothing more to do, so we just moved on. 

A couple of days later we got news that the dog was being sold on gumtree for $500. 

We happened to know the person who ended up buying the dog and they said that the family had bought another puppy a few days after selling their labrador. 

So please understand that although we save dogs from the pound frequently and rather successfully, we are a little suspicious of people surrendering their dogs. Above everything else we wish that Labs didn't need to be rehomed, either via the pound or through a private rehoming. We wish that organisations like us had absolutely nothing to do.

The worst decision we have to make is to decide whether we take in a surrendered lab into foster care. How do we prioritise that dog's life over a dog in a pound? And if we have a foster carer free, what happens if we get an influx of labs in the pounds? Where do we put the new dogs then? 

This is why many rescue has a blanket rule to all private surrenders, asking them to rehome their dogs themselves. They encourage people to put up posters, facilitate meet and greets and assess new homes themselves. They do this with a massive amount of guilt, since they know that it's very likely that intact dogs go to backyard breeders. Or the dogs get dumped in pounds, or even bounce between homes. 

We try to have a balanced approach. We are passionate about people committing to dogs forever, and we're unashamedly unforgiving with this point of view. If you are giving up your dog (in our opinion) it's a heartbreaking, horrible outcome for both you and your dog. There's no 'good' reason for such a break up, it's just a bad situation. 

We're lucky with our website at Lab Rescue, we have a great web system and a very goodlooking web administrator to go with it (me!). We've created a system that allows us to advertise approved dogs online for a donation to our work. The actual rehoming process, the meet and greet, the paperwork and any transport is all held responsible by the original owner of the dog. This means that we only have to approve of the dog and communicate with original owners. This cuts out a lot of headache for us!

We don't let just any dog on our website. They obviously have to be a labrador, preferably pure and can't have any aggression issues. (although we can't prove this, it's up the the people applying for the dog to check this out). It's part of our licence that all dogs who are associated with Lab Rescue are desexed, and it's something we take seriously.

So if you are considering rehoming your lab, please understand if we are a bit gruff with you. Please understand that we put a lot of work into making sure that our labs go to good homes, it's really sad (and personal) for us to see that a lab hasn't had the privilege of having the best home life so far. 

Finally, thank you to everyone out there who are considering adopting a rescue dog. By adopting a rescue dog your stopping the cycle of unnecessary breeding, and hopefully providing FOREVER homes for these lucky little dogs!

Okay everyone, I need your help with something.

We have a couple of events coming up in February and we're hoping to talk to people about becoming foster carers. We're preaparing a handout about fostering including some FAQ's.

Read through the questions below, if you were looking at being a foster carer, what would you want to know about us? Write any questions you have in the comments. We'd really appreciate your feedback!

We had our first photo entry in the Grill'd photo competition!

Grill'd are currently fundraising for Labrador Rescue by donating money to various charities. Customers vote for their favourite charity when they buy a burger. One of the charities this month is Labrador Rescue. 

To support Grill'd and promote the fundraiser, we are running our own, photo competition. If you would like to enter, go to Grill'd and order a burger. Take a photo of you eating the burger, or voting for Lab Rescue and email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

We'll judge the cheesiest (no pun intended) entry and send you one of our exclusive Lab Rescue T-shirts! We haven't even released the design of these shirts yet so the winner will get the first look!

First entry is from Dale, thanks for posing Dale!

I just got an email from Cooper's new family with some great new pictures in it. Cooper was my old foster and I started reminising about a few Cooper inspired memories. I thought I'd share a few of them.

Cooper was a large English type of labrador with a stumpy nose and a solid body. He was a good looking dog who came to us from Queanbeyan pound. The pound had warned us there was something odd about his hips. They suspected he had hip displasysia, which is quite normal for a large lab.

When leading Cooper out to the car I realised just how big and strong he was. I was on my own and I have a little Daihatsu Charade. I had to somehow convince Cooper that it was a good idea to get into the car. He flat out refused to get in. It wasn't that he didn't like the car, it's just that there were so many other nice smelling thigns around the car. I tried getting in and calling him, I tried lifting him in (fat chance....). I was completely unprepared for this scenario. I thought I'd just pick up a happy, lab who would do anything I asked... Hmph!

So, after trying everything else, I got a lamb roast out which I had just bought from the butcher. A beautiful, $30 lamb roast that I had just splurged on. Cooper was suddenly VERY interested in the car! I put the roast in a place where he had to climb into the car to be able to sniff the meat. As soon as he was in the car I slammed the door closed, rushed into the front seat and grabbed the roast back. I then had to wedge the roast under my seat to prevent him from finding it again. Luckily Cooper was too interested in the paper bag holding the roast to realise that there was meat wrapped in plastic too.

I picked him up and dropped him off at a foster carers house. Within half an hour of dropping him off Cooper had escaped, jumping over a 6 foot colour bond fence. Obviously his hips weren't bothering him enough to prevent him escaping! We had no-where else to put him, so Cooper spent a week in a kennel in Yass. We didn't even have a name for him at this stage, he was just known as 'the barker' at the pound.

So Cooper didn't have the best resume. Bad hips, barker, escape artist.... He was going to be a tough dog to foster and eventually rehome. At the time I was on holidays and without a foster, so I  thought I'd take on the barker/escape artist. We named him Dozer, because if he wanted to go somewhere he would push everything out of his way.

Despite his other quirks, Cooper/Dozer had a really lovely nature. He always wanted to be the centre of attention and just loved collapsing in your lap, looking up at you with those adorable eyes and waiting for a belly rub. The funniest thing we found out about him was that he was fascinated with water. If I was in the bath he would go into investigator mode, sniffing the water, tilting his head to listen to it and staring for long periods of time at it. It wasn't a obssessive thing as he was easily distracted, but he was just so curious about water.

We also noticed that Cooper hadn't had a lot of interactions with other dogs. He would misread their intentions and react badly to them. A couple of times when we socialised him with other labs we noticed he was quite dominant and didn't like if another dog didn't back down to him. We consulted a dog behaviourlist who gave us a few exrecises, mainly exposing Cooper to positive experiences with other dogs. At the same time we realised that Cooper would have to go to a very specific type of forever home.

So when Brett and Eric applied for a dog with Lab Rescue I was a bit apprehensive about it. I wanted them to understand that Cooper had potential to be a fantastic dog, but at the same time I wanted them to be aware of his faults. Brett reassured me that he was just as cautious adopting a labrador, he wanted to make sure it was the right decision for them and that he could provide the right environment for the dog.

We arranged a meet and greet in Yass. I wanted to show Cooper interacting with some of Katherines dogs, to show Brett what to look out for. Cooper was on his BEST behaviour for most of the day, all until a small mishap with a foster dog. I thought there would be no way Brett would take Cooper after that. I was surprised and very excited when Brett called me back saying he'd fallen in love with Cooper, despite everything. We discussed a few training plans and Brett committed to take on Cooper.

It was a great outcome for Cooper. I was so excited for him! It's great to hear from Brett and Eric about how spoilt Cooper is. Apparently he's loved by all in the apartment complex. Trust Cooper, he was such a schmoozer with people! In better news, Cooper is progressing well with his training and is now playing offlead with other dogs. Since Cooper's living in Sydney, we're hoping to see him at our stall in the the Sydney Pet Expo later on this year. He's such a success story that it would be great to show him off a little.

Thanks Brett and Eric for the update, give Cooper a cuddle for me!

I was fortunate enough, along with Shalini, to foster beautiful Molly late last year. She was just a charm. She loved playing, no matter whether it was with other dogs, or other toys or even little kids! She just loved life, and just like most labs was incredibly loyal. 

Molly found a home quite easily. She was rehomed to a family who had a son who was looking for a dog he could play with. I thought that sounded like Molly!

Unfortunately Molly's family contacted me over the long weekend to say that Molly had gone missing. They were distraught as Molly's disappearance also came with some tragic family news. So knowing that Molly was missing, Molly's mum had to fly out of Australia, crossing her fingers that Molly would be found safe by the rest of the family left behind.

I heard that she was missing because Molly still had her microchip number registered in her name. It was the worst time to wander off, she was outside when the fireworks went off which would have spooked her more. Most of the pounds were also shut, so although they were taking in new dogs, they weren't calling any of their owners until the public holidays had finished.

So Molly's family were waiting anxiously. All of us at Lab Rescue were waiting anxiously too!

Finally late yesterday I heard that she had been found! Apparently she was exhausted, but safe! She was found wandering around the neighbourhood. Apparently some of the neighbours had spotted her, but she wouldn't come over to them. The family searched the area and found her. 

Molly was so relieved and happy to be found! I think her relief was only matched by her family's!

Molly's adventure made me think about what would happen if Dorrie (my 3 year old lab) escaped. I know Molly's new family exercise and give her stimulation, and as far as they knew the yard was secure. What would I do if Dorrie escaped? What would happen if 24 hours later I couldn't find her?

We're lucky here in Canberra, we only really have three pounds or shelters that take in stray dogs. That means there are fewer places to check if your dog goes missing. There's the RSPCA, the Canberra Pound (DAS) and the Queanbeyan pound. It's much harder in Sydney with different pounds and councils. Not to mention all the vets that may take in a stray and try to find its home. 

My next blog post will be an emergency plan for if you find your dog missing. I'm sure Molly's family wouldn't want anyone else to go through what they went through on the weekend. I'd like to share parts of their experience, plus some experience of other lab owners on how to look for a lost dog. 

Finally, a picture of Molly safe and sound at home!

Monica