The inaugural Doggy Fantastic camping and music weekend at Neurum Creek Bush Retreat in SE Qld went of with a big Wroof!

150 campers with their 60 canine friends spent the weekend participating in doggy events, relaxing by the creek, wine tasting under the big fig tree and dancing the night away.

 

The most impressive part of the entire weekend was approximately $4000 was raised to help Special Children through Variety Qld.

 

A candle lit Doggy Dinner sponsored by Royal Canin Pet Nutrition was a huge hit with the dogs. Each had a placemat, complete with a napkin and a waiter served food specifically to suit the dogs needs in its very own bowl. It was a sight to be seen.

 

A big Thank you to the following:

 

• The fabulous Craig A Murray - Specialist dog trainer, for demonstrating just why dogs are truly man’s best friend with his assistance dog demo.
• The Bobkats for kindly donated their time for the music Saturday night as well as demonstrating their search and rescue dog on the Sunday.
• Coral Pethers showing us how your perfect dance partner can be your pooch, with her fantastic demonstration to the Pink Panther theme. This was truly amazing to watch and was a credit to her. As Coral said her 10 year Old German Shepherd dancing partner is proof you can teach an old dog new tricks.
• Damien the Clown and his dog Mr Giggles for helping out with competitions over the weekend.
• Jill McCarthy a Specialist Dog Trainer for coordinating the Iron Dog Competition.
• Moreton Bay Council, Gem Photos Glamour Photography, Party Pets, Royal Canin and of course Aussie Pooch Mobile for their excellent education at the various expo sites.

There were many more people and companies that helped out over the weekend and we Thank them all.

 

We all can’t wait until next years event and hope to double the numbers so even more fun can be had and more money can be raised for Variety Qld to provide assistance dog to a special child. 2009 is scheduled for October – exact dates TBA.

On Monday evening, I attended an information evening at the Brisbane Veterinary Specialist Centre (BVSC) at Albany Creek along with a number of Aussie Pooch Mobile operators and other pet industry guests.

 

Well, what a fantastic night! The speakers, topics covered and venue were all awesome.

 

BVSC is a purpose built Veterinary Hospital to facilitate the highest level of specialized care and to provide students with a learning environment.

 

Rodney Straw BVSc., DACVS commenced the evening with a talk on Cancer in pets and why we treat it! We were all amazed at the options available to pet owners and how many of the animals can be helped & even cured of cancer with various treatments such as radiation therapy, Chemo etc.

 

Carole Harvey-Stevenson then covered Animal First Aid. Carole works in the Brisbane Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Service (BVECCS) that also operators from the same building. Carole was a delight to listen to, with most of us in bursts of laughter throughout her talk. I would recommend all pet owners familiarise themselves with basic first aid because it can help to

minimise the suffering and recovery of their animal.

Karlene Bradley then spoke about Grief, loss & sickness counseling. This was important for our operator to learn as we do deal with the loss of customers dogs on occasion and since we have built such a bond with the owner and the dog we want to be able to offer some comfort during these times.

 

Finally we were all then given a VIP tour of the facilities, which to say the least was very impressive. I can tell you that I would even be comfortable having myself treated there. The staff are all passionate about what they do and appear to just love being a part of such a facility.

 

I know that we all took something positive away from the evening and learnt a lot about how to further care for our animals. Thanks Chris Taylor

The seminar was sponsored Pets In Peace, Pet Funeral Directors & Crematorium who ensure that your family friend will always be treated with professional care in a modern professionally operated facility.  .

 

The Australian Animal Cancer Foundation Limited is a not for profit organization dedicated to cancer research to benefit animals & people. Funds are needed to help support research, donations over $2 are tax deductible and your help is greatly appreciated. If you would like to make a donation, contact the BVSC on 07 3264 9400.