Amuze the Mob

02/09/2024

01/09/2024

27/08/2024

Nic and I have been busy making some fleece tuggies to help raise some funds for Mudgeroo Emu Farm & Animal Refuge. They are the same ones we used to sell in Belco Pets.
$30 fleecy tugs
$10 plain fleece
Please pm if you are interested and I’ll get them to Canberra for pick up.

27/08/2024

We have some beautiful rat girl groups at Liberty HQ. They're looking forever homes in any state or territory. They are currently with us in NSW but for the right home we will transport them wherever they need to go.
If you have a large indoor enclosure suitable for rats or would be willing to invest in one, please send us a message or complete our expression of interest form online. We'll get straight back to you!
https://www.libertyfoundation.org.au/apply/

Thanks for your support xx 🐀💜🐁

24/08/2024

19/08/2024

We need your help to care for Canberra’s wonderful wisdom of wombats! (That’s right, the collective noun for a group of wombats is a wisdom. 🤓)

We’re working with ACT Wildlife and Wombat Rescue to map wombats across the ACT—including the prevalence of deadly wombat mange.

🕵️ By reporting any wombats you see to our Wombat Sightings Portal, you’ll be helping us to treat sick animals and fight the spread of mange.

Thanks for sharing your own wisdom to help out our wombats! ❤️

➡️ Check out the portal at https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/9bf75df45ef7499ba4a38305b3373d29

18/08/2024

17/08/2024

Aww

11/08/2024

When male and female anglerfish mate, their reproductive process is highly unusual and adapted to the unique conditions of the deep sea. In this vast and dark environment, where encounters between potential mates are rare, the mating strategy of anglerfish involves a dramatic physiological transformation. The male anglerfish, upon finding a female, latches onto her with his teeth and becomes permanently attached.

Once the male anglerfish has attached to the female, a process of fusion begins. Over time, the male's body physically melds with the female’s. His eyes and internal organs degenerate and vanish, leaving him with only the essential reproductive tissues. The male's circulatory system also merges with that of the female, creating a shared bloodstream. This fusion allows the male to rely entirely on the female for nourishment and oxygen, while he provides s***m for fertilization.

This extreme form of symbiosis ensures that both fish are able to reproduce successfully despite the sparse population densities in the deep sea. The male's complete integration into the female's body provides a continuous supply of s***m whenever needed, which is critical for successful reproduction in the challenging conditions of their environment. This adaptation highlights the unique and often extreme evolutionary strategies that species employ to thrive in the harshest habitats on Earth.

10/08/2024

Such a cutie

10/08/2024

Please make sure your dogs collars are safe when left home alone

Sweet 14-week-old Golden Retriever puppy Percy is on the road to recovery after spending some time in our ICU over the weekend! He was an excellent patient and feels better already thanks to some time in our state-of-the-art oxygen kennel. In this photo he had popped his little head out to say hello to our staff during one of his treatments, and we don’t think he could get any cuter!

How Percy ended up spending the weekend with us is an important story that his caring owners allowed us to share to help keep other pets safe. Percy and his big brother were rough-housing, when Percy’s collar got stuck on his brother’s mouth. Percy panicked when he was suddenly stuck, and while twisting around trying to escape he caused his collar to become even tighter around his neck! Thankfully their owner noticed quickly that something was wrong and freed Percy before he lost consciousness. When his owners rushed him to see our ER team, Percy was struggling to breathe, drooling profusely, and very distressed. Radiographs showed that Percy had fluid in his lungs (non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema) caused by the time he spent struggling to breathe. Pain medications and oxygen support quickly helped Percy breathe more comfortably as his body worked to heal from the experience.

The strangulation hazard of dogs playing while wearing collars is a hidden danger that many pet owners don’t know about, but a story we hear with some frequency in the ER. Thankfully Percy’s story has a happy ending, but if his owners hadn’t been there to intervene it could have been tragic. Please, get your pups microchipped so they have a permanent form of identification, and then take those collars off when they’re playing with or interacting with other dogs!

09/08/2024

On TOMORROW! Saturday 10th August at Gungahlin Bunnings ❤️❤️❤️

08/08/2024

I truly believe that if Steve Irwin were alive today, he would have a dedicated group of people who hated him for how he treated animals.

Steve always treated every species he worked with, as the species they were, not forcing them to change their nature.

More and more I find myself trying to convince people to "let the dog go outside, it's okay if they get a little dirty" or "your snake is arboreal and can't just be confined to a small tub." Or "Your working breed dog is not happy being still and lazy in your one bedroom apartment with nothing to keep them active and thinking."

It seems in this next generation of animal husbandry, we're deciding that all animals are now going to become (and be treated as) our little babies.

Now, is it okay to refer to your furry, feathered, scaly friend as such? Of course!
Is it okay to treat them as human babies...absolutely not at all.

As we see this change taking place, so to do we see more and more stressed out animals. Ones with a lack of structure and mental enrichment...but tons and tons of random toys and bags of treats.

What Steve Irwin did is create an environment that was enriching for the animals he had. Not attempt to force the animals to adjust to his environment.

Taking your Border Collie or herding, working, hunting, breed on a 10 minute walk (as long as you remember, it's not raining or just not feeling upto it) once a day, is not cutting it.

Locking your pyrenees or Shepherd breed in a kennel all day and then keeping'em in a small apartment, but still expecting the dog to be still and always cuddling...not cutting it.

Keeping your African grey parrot in a small enclosure with a few items that you've not replaced...is not cutting it.

When you bring an animal into your life. It is so important to understand what that animal is and have a structured enrichment routine and appropriate setup for the breed/species before you take in the animal.

Anything less than what your animal needs is a disservice to your best friend.

Be kind to your animals, enrich their lives (in a way that's appropriate for them). Keep them thinking. Keep them exploring. Give them understanding and structure and you will keep them happy.

06/08/2024

Save the Koala

05/08/2024

"𝗥𝗘-𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡"

6 years ago, a 10 month old Chihuahua we named Adrian came to us as a foster puppy, we were his 4th home, he was an as***le.

Adrian was reactive to everything in his environment, he wasn't scared, he liked to bite people who picked him up, and he liked to be a jerk.

Adrian was a product of his genetics that were shaped by his environment so there was likely going to be room for improvement....and there was. He treated him like a big dog, he got firm rules and boundaries and there were consequences for his actions...he got re-educated.

I remember at the time, my comment that he was "re-educated" was incredibly triggering for one positive trainer who publically came for me via social media, not only my business but personally through my friends and people I knew - I wonder if they thought I put a prong collar on the puppy and strung him up by it or something?

'Re-education' isn't a negative word, neither is 'consequences' - both things can happen without physical punishment....if one desires, these things can be done with 100% praise and treaties.

I like to find the 'balance' in everything - it's in the name of my business after all - working with the dog in front of you and not a cookie-cutter approach I feel works best.

In the end, teaching Adrian what we did want, giving him alternative behaviours, giving him rules and boundaries and no leeway for being a small dog helped strip him down so he could relax and be a good balanced boy.....lot's of little dogs could do well with stripping back to the basics of dog training....rules & boundaries not just love....just love and no rules usually makes as***les or nervy dogs.

31/07/2024