7+ mon, 1+ week ago (418+ words) Among a sea of cavoodles and chihuahuas, my gigantic hound, who arguably looks like a wizard-turned-greyhound with a mane, leaves a lasting impact. When I anticipated moving from the inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne to Sydney's east, I imagined the obvious adjustments: Needing to invest in matching athleisure wear ensembles, punitively priced cocktails, shaving my legs more frequently and falling in love with jacarandas. I knew that by 9pm, the streets would be sequestered and mute. This, I was ready for. My dog becoming a celebrity, though, I was not. Madison Griffiths with her dog, Fil. In the six months since I moved to Elizabeth Bay, Fil has become an overnight celebrity. Because among an abounding sea of cavoodles and chihuahuas, my gigantic hound leaves a lasting impact. Small groups follow us emphatically around the Potts Point market, doting on his every…...

10+ mon, 3+ hour ago (777+ words) It all started with a cavoodle named Oscar. Oscar is a very special boy, a celebrity dog worth an estimated $20,000, with his own Instagram account, and an unfortunate knack of kicking off protracted legal disputes involving his paw owners. In 2021, a custody battle over Oscar between Sydney barrister Gina Edwards and her former friend Mark Gillespie led to a series of stories on Nine's A Current Affair. Last year, Edwards successfully sued Nine, owner of this masthead, for defamation, with Federal Court judge Michael Wigney ruling that the stories had depicted her as a "dog thief. The fur was flying over Instafamous cavoodle Oscar.Credit: Facebook Nine was ordered to pay Edwards $150,000 in damages, plus her legal costs, around $1.2 million all up. But the costs issue has become the source of a spectacular falling-out between Edwards and her lawyers Giles…...

5+ mon, 3+ week ago (1048+ words) The courage of the Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society should not be understated for their part in the closure of Dapto Dogs after 88 years of racing. The Sydney Morning Herald Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The courage of the Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society should not be understated for their part in the closure of Dapto Dogs after 88 years of racing (Last lap at Dapto: A community gets ready to farewell a local icon, June 1). Dapto track has long been recognised as one of the most dangerous in NSW, with dog deaths and hundreds injured over the decades, many of which needed to put down afterwards. The Agricultural Society recognised that the dog races did not align with the area's long-term goals. For the benefit of the dogs,…...

6+ mon, 3+ day ago (868+ words) A long-standing animal shelter in Melbourne's east has won a lifeline after a council narrowly voted against installing a new operator, following an emotional debate over euthanasia. Despite not submitting a tender, the Save-a-Dog Scheme (SADS) was granted a year-long contract extension by Stonnington Council on Monday night to run a Glen Iris pound while a new taskforce examines a long-term solution. Left to right: Jennifer Hunt, chief executive of the Pet Medical Crisis Fund, Thea Agius, shelter manager, Pam Weaver, president of Save-a-Dog scheme and resident Jenny Stern.Credit: Eddie Jim The 5-4 vote for an amended motion went against chief executive Dale Dickson's recommendation to award the contract to the Lost Dogs' Home, the sole applicant whose euthanasia practices were fiercely disputed. More than 3300 people signed an online petition last month that said the Lost Dogs' Home was "notorious…...

5+ mon, 4+ week ago (785+ words) A critically endangered Leadbeater's possum " previously thought to be extinct in NSW " has been discovered in Kosciuszko National Park, to the delight of ecologists. The discovery of the sole possum near the Yarrangobilly Caves indicates the presence of a colony of the tiny creatures, which weigh just 125 grams. The historic find was made last Monday during a review by threatened-species officers from the NSW environment department of almost 1 million images from wildlife cameras as they surveyed for the critically endangered smoky mouse. Dr Fred Ford, the senior threatened-species officer who made the discovery, said: "It was amazing to see that distinctive bushy tail waving among the rows of images on the screen " it jumped right out at me." The find came after a ground and aerial culling program removed 9036 wild horses from Kosciuszko National Park between November 2021 and April 30 this…...

10+ mon, 3+ week ago (568+ words) It can be lovely to own a dog but there is one not-so-pleasant chore that comes with the territory " picking up its poo. Not everyone has the time, nerve or physical ability to do away with their doggo's doo-doos. And now they can pay someone else to do it. Jesse Harkness, owner of Doody Duty, with Beau and Bella, two of client Shalini Fonseka's dogs.Credit: Chris Hopkins There are a handful of pet-waste removal companies that, for a fee, will pick up your pooch's poo from your yard. Shalini Fonseka, of Truganina, in Melbourne's outer west, struggled with the issue before finding a business called Doody Duty over a year ago. Fonseka has four dogs: Bella the groodle, Beau the French bulldog and labrador retriever crosses Breezy and Bruno. She says it's been worth it to pay Doody Duty…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago (763+ words) Faulty track designs contributed to the deaths of at least 11 greyhounds at Queensland's newest racing facility, an independent report has found. Earlier this week, this masthead revealed the Crisafulli government had quietly ordered a post-design and construction review into The Q, near Ipswich, which had been plagued by dog deaths since before it officially opened in June. In commissioning the reviews in July, the Racing Department acknowledged there had been 11 greyhound deaths in less than five months of racing " a figure the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds on Friday counted at 16, along with 429 injuries. The Q greyhound racing facilty at Purga, near Ipswich, opened earlier this year, included a a large one-turn track, a two-turn track and a straight track.Credit: Nearmap On Friday, the state government released a summary of two independent reports " one on the cancellation of…...

9+ mon, 1+ week ago (811+ words) Elation over the recent rediscovery of the threatened western quoll in the Perth Hills is fading amid revelations toxic rat poison has been found in local populations. A new research paper published in the journal Science of The Total Environment found first and second generation anticoagulant rodenticides in the livers of five of Australia's largest marsupial carnivores, including WA's western quoll (chuditch) and Pilbara northern quoll. The Western Quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii), also known as the Chuditch is a vulnerable species, whose distribution is now confined to south-western Western Australia.Credit: Ted Mead via Getty Images While the impact of this type of common rat poison on "non-target" wildlife species has been recorded worldwide, this is the first evidence of it in native Australian marsupial carnivores. Of the 52 test subjects, 26 tested positive for anticoagulant rodenticides, with 11 of those having more than…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago (1484+ words) The Ekka, late 1950s. The Howard and Pink family position for dagwood dogs and fairy floss in sideshow alley is one the family occupies to this day. Credit: Courtesy Bronwyn Bridgewater If you're going to the Ekka and thinking of getting a dagwood dog " and why wouldn't you, they're delicious when freshly made " you'll be biting down on a deep-fried, sauce-slathered piece of Queensland history. The story goes like this. Corn dogs were invented by German immigrants to Texas in the 1920s. About 1949 they were brought to Sydney's Easter Show by Americans, and were known as pluto pups, pronto pups and ultimately dagwood dogs, after a character from the popular comic strip Blondie. Thelma Howard, a second-generation Queensland show woman, along with her brother Charlie Pink and another showman called Dickie Riley, decided they would figure out how to make their own....

1+ mon, 2+ week ago (913+ words) The Queensland government has quietly launched a post-design and construction review into The Q, a deadly greyhound track that opened at Ipswich earlier this year. And while the investigation has been completed, its findings and recommendations will remain secret " at least for now. Documents obtained by this masthead through Queensland's Right to Information legislation show a government scrambling to deal with the fallout of 11 deaths at the new three-track facility. The fall that killed Cool Hand Rio, the 12th greyhound to die as a result of racing at The Q, on July 22. Credit: Racing Queensland In letters sent to both Racing Queensland and the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission on July 9, Racing Department director-general Andrew Hopper acknowledged the scandal's toll on the industry. "This series of incidents have eroded public and stakeholder confidence in the greyhound industry," he said. Hopper asked RQ…...