| Archive for The Brittany Forum For all friends of the versatile Brittany |
| Lin Dyke |
Bush fires in AustraliaI do hope and pray our friends in Australia are safe and well. The news reports are very bad, especially for the Victoria region. My geography of Autralia is not brilliant and I know it is a huge country but both Waldo and Gundoglover are in the south east (Waldo, NSW/Victoria borders Gundoglover, NSW, between Sydney/Canberra.) |
| Patricia |
Yes, Lyn, I see 80 dead and 640 houses destroyed by fire...Near Melbourne? Hope you lot out there are OK? |
| Waldo |
The reports from the fires are certainly not good, with loss of lives and destruction of property on a large scale. Some small country towns appear to have been completely lost in the fires. Some fires have been reasonably close to where we live on the NSW/Vic border, the enormity of the situation will probably not be known for a couple of weeks.
Aus. is a large country and with a large portion of the Southern States under constant threat from drought and bushfires Queensland up North has large (and I mean large) areas under floodwaters. Waldo |
| eddieh |
I was going to make a flippant remark about Ramsey St but really do hope that all in Australia and New Zealand keep safe and well. |
| Victoria |
I heard that the fires had been lit deliberately...I have a sister in Castlemaine...can you believe that anyone with two neurons would do something like that... |
| eddieh |
I can't think of anything useful to say about that Victoria. There are so many things done now which make me ask WHY?! Often I'm more interested in an explanation than retribution. Too often, it seems, "why" is an unanswerable question 
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| Victoria |
Oh Eddie, I so agree with you...so much defies logic...retribution, well, in this instance... |
| Lin Dyke |
Good to hear from you Waldo  Keep safe.
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| gundoglover |
Yes, the bushfires in Victoria have been tragic. Thankfully not near me. There were some other big fires north of Sydney, too. Luckily, the closest fire to me was a grassfire 4 kms away that was contained quite quickly.
The KCC in Victoria has offered for any members affected by the Victorian bushfires to come to the KCC grounds where their dogs can be kept secure and able to be exercised. The president was going to open the kitchens, etc, if people needed to camp there with their dogs. We have had a cool change move through SE Australia overnight and the temperatures have dropped 10C and showers have assisted the fire-fighters. Australia is very bushfire-prone due to the effects of the many eucalyptus trees. These trees act as water pumps drying out the soil around them and their leaves release combustible oils in the hot sun. School holidays are prime times for thoughtless young people to "play with fire". People do still drop unextinguished cigarettes from their moving vehicles and start fires accidentally. It is also the thunderstorm time of year for us with many lightning strikes. As for deliberatively starting fires, there was a volunteer fire-fighter a few years ago convicted of starting fires. Apparently he liked the excitement of being involved in putting them out. |
| gundoglover |
A virtual dog show will be held to raise funds for the victims of the bushfires. The link below has details of the event:
http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=158985&st=0 |
| barbara |
Hi gundoglover
I am sure lots of us here would like to enter the Virtual Dog Show to help those in need, please let us know how we enter from the UK. thanks Barbara |
| sallie |
Keep safe and take care, to all our friends 'down-under' xx |
| Britmania |
I too hope and pray the bushfires are contained soon - I can't imagine anything worse than trying to outrun such a monster. Our TV coverage and newspapers have some graphic descriptions of what has been going on and it is unbelievable - whole towns burnt to the ground! The loss of life is really tragic.
The NZ Government has offered financial help and is to send firefighters - but has instructed none from where I live (in Canterbury) as our fire risk is also extreme. We are in a severe drought situation and today (for example) it is a cool southerly wind BUT NO RAIN - which we desperately need after three weeks of 30 plus temperatures. It is great to hear the Kennel club authorities are making their facilities available for those who need help - at least in times like this we see the best of human nature , as well as unfortunately, the worst. |
| Lin Dyke |
Good to hear you are safe Gundoglover Some years ago there was a young volunteer firefighter in my area who set fire to the local Woolworths, for the buzz he got   
It is hard to conceive whole towns being consumed by the fire and certainly puts our problems with a bit of snow, and now rain, into perspective 
Britmania, hope your situation doesn't escalate and that you all keep safe and well. Will certainly enter the virtual dog show to help in any way we can 
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| Lin Dyke |
Have tried to register on the site on the link, but get error message, unable to register.....
Can anyone help/advise 
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| Victoria |
Chris we are getting a beautiful shower of rain as I write this...but I can see patches of blue sky so obviously it is no settler!!! |
| johnhod |
Lin
I've just registered on the site without a problem. Did you tick the box asking if you accepted the terms of the forum? This is one reason why you may have been rejected. |
| gundoglover |
I don't see why overseas people can't enter the virtual dog show. An 8th group for cross-bred dog owners has been created.
Of course, no actual dog judging will take place, it is a "doggy" way of making donations. A catalogue listing the "entries/donations" by the people in the names of their dogs will be given to the recipients. I will be entering the virtual dog show by filling in a standard entry form for each of my dogs and posting that with a cheque for $10 for each dog to the address given below: VIRTUAL DOG SHOW · All money raised will be shared among our members who are victims of the bushfires · A catalogue of 'the show' will be given to each of these members as a sign of the support of their friends · The catalogue will simply show breed, dog's name and owner's name. Why not make an entry in the name of your favourite dog that may no longer still be with you. · Entries $10 per dog ( make cheques payable to DOGSVICTORIA) · Enter as many dogs as you like · Send entries to Peter Frost 28 Currajong Rd HAWTHORN 3123 (No stamped addressed envelope is needed) · ENTRIES CLOSE 6TH March Let us make this the biggest dog show entry ever |
| gundoglover |
I have heard that all the Brittany breeders in Victoria are ok - none were personally affected, but of course many of their friends have been.
Google has a map of Victoria with the bushfire areas marked: http://mapvisage.appspot.com/fires/FireMap.html |
| gundoglover |
Virtual dog show goes internationalVirtual dog show goes international with PayPal options for international entries. Info on link below:www.dogsvictoria.org.au/Content.asp?ID=277&SubID=369 International Virtual Dog Show INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL DOG SHOW * All money raised will be shared among our members who are victims of the bushfires * A catalogue of ‘the show’ will be given to each of our affected members as a sign of the support of their friends * Copies of the catalogue will also be available on the website * The catalogue will simply show breed, dog’s name and owner’s name. Why not make an entry in the name of your favourite dog that may no longer still be with you? * ANY dog is eligible to enter as there will be special classes for "dogs from mixed marriages" and "rainbow bridge" (dearly departed dogs), Enter as many dogs as you like ENTRIES CLOSE 6TH March Let us make this the biggest dog show entry ever! Send entries with cheque or money order (or see electronic payment options below) to: Peter Frost, 28 Currajong Rd, HAWTHORN 3123 (No stamped addressed envelope is needed). Entries AU$10 per dog **FOR AUSTRALIAN ENTRIES*** ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER Account name: DOGS VICTORIA BUSHFIRE APPEAL Bank: BENDIGO BANK BSB: 633-000 ACCOUNT NUMBER: 136225588 ***FOR INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES ONLY*** PAY PAL Please email your entry to glentress@bigpond.com and be sure to advise the names of dogs for which you have made payment by Pay Pal for entry into the IVDS. 
Click to download file |
| Ghilliegumdrop |
If you send money by cheques to Australia they are banked and sent back here for certifying. The banks charge half of the money to do this. Perhaps better to get Australian dollars and send them out |
| gundoglover |
Ghillie,
I think that's why the PayPal option was created for International people who would like to enter by email. There is little point in people donating most of their money to banks for currency exchanges! |
| Jim |
Paypal is good and safe (well so far)
but still have their fees not so bad as the banks though I do beleive |
| doganjo |
I have a PayPal account - if anyone wants to use it let me know. They can email their entry forms to me and post me a cheque, and I'll submit the entry forms and PayPal amounts. But it is VERY easy to set up a PayPal account |
| barbara |
I have entered a few dogs and used Paypal with no problem hopefully 
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| Ghilliegumdrop |
Gundoglover
Sorry I posted that before your post came up. |
| Patricia |
From Bill Allen, Melbourne:
This post is a little off topic but I thought that given the gravity of the situation you might be a little forgiving of me. Most of you will know that I live near the city of Melbourne in Australia. It's a SW outer suburb caled Werribee, & we are in the state of Victoria, in the SE of the country. I will assume that what has been happening over here has been reported overseas, but I thought I'd pass on a 1st hand account. Just over a week ago Melbourne went through an unprecedented heat wave. For over a week the temp soared over the 30deg C mark with 3 straight days over 40 deg C(40=105deg F for our US friends). The result of this was that our state was left tinder dry. Victoria is one of the smallest states in Australia but we have vast tracts of mountain forrest & thick bushland. Last Saturday the temprature hit 47 deg C(116deg F)in Melbourne & in some country areas it was even hotter. This was the highest temp ever recorded in our 'Garden state'& our lovely state burned. I can now say I believe I have witnessed first hand "Hell on Earth". As of this morning there are 178 people dead across the state with the death toll expected to rise well over the 200 mark as authorities start to get into fire effected areas over the next few days. The army has been called in to help battle the 11 fires still burning across the state, 8 of them out of control. So far over 25 different fires across the state have razed more than 750,000 hectares(1.8 million acres)& there is still more to come. A number of major towns have been simply wiped off the map & no longer exist. Many of the 'lucky' ones that have survived have lost everything. One prominant breeder/trialer of GSPs that I know personally has lost everything except his family & the clothes on their backs. They were lucky to get out with their lives. Farm,house,cars,horses, everything gone. Including his very successful kennel of GSPs. he was one of the lucky ones. Many others were not so lucky. Among the dead are adults & children alike. Young & old, friends & entire families have perished. There have also been countless numbers of people hospitalised with burns ranging from minor to life threatening. This has been a disaster of unprecedented magnitude for us. Even in a country that is prone to bushfires we have never seen fires of the size & ferocity of those that swept our state last Saturday. Pictures & video taken by both the media & private citizens show flames that exceeded 100 metres high and moved across the tinder dry landscape like flowing water. Two fires that joined together just nth of Melbourne presented a front of more than 100 kilometres wide of moving hell that beat back the best firefighters we have & destroyed everything in it's path. I have been safe as I live to the west of Melb' in what is a grass plains area. The worst effected are the counrty areas NE of the city where the great Mountain Ash forrests predominate. This is a very rugged area of mountain country that stretches NE for a 1/3 of our state - for approx 500-600 kilometres. Also stricken were the SE coastal areas & far western country areas. I have not lost anyone I know but many I know are now destitute, having lost all they own in the world. Tales of those lost in the fires surpass anything that could be written by the most experienced of terror novalists. Many areas that were once thriving towns are nothing but burnt & melted wrecks still littered with the corpses of those that simply had nowhere to go to get away from the monster. Schools, police stations, fire stations, hotels, homes, entire towns are nothing more than melted metal & ash, strewn with death. Many have been found in burnt out cars, trying to get to anywhere safe - & failing. The worst aspect of this situation is that many areas are now 'off limits' to everyone as the police treat those burned areas as 'crime scenes'. Yes, some of these fires were deliberately lit. I know it is unthinkable that anyone could purposely cause the devesattion that has taken hold of our lovely state, but it has happened. Some have been caught & charged. Others are still at large. That one, or more, person/s could do this to another, let alone so many others, is unbelieveable. The people of Victoria are united in this hour of need.The very worst of disasters has brought out the very best in most people. We now wait to see what the end result will be, there is still a long way to go, and we pray that no more life is lost. Thank you all for your indulgence. Bill Allen |
| Pippa's Pack |
Bill, we cannot imagine what you are going through. You are in our thoughts and prayers. |
| Mugi |
Are you happy for me to cross-post to the Weimaraner and Springer Forums I frequent? |
| Victoria |
I know this is not about our beloved breed, but heard of Anglo-Nubian dairy goat breeders who lost their home and their herd of forty goats...when her husband went back to have a look at the devastation, one of their two cats was there... they are not going to restore their herd... |
| Lin Dyke |
At work today I spoke to two Australians. The first said her family were safe in Sydney. The second said he grew up in Kinglake, Victoria, which is now gone. He likened it to Twyford, Berks, which is where I work. Can any of us imagine our home towns/villages here one day, gone the next 
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| gundoglover |
I have been relieved to discover that my 90 yo aunt living in the fire-affected eastern suburbs of Melbourne is ok. The extent of this tragedy has been so great that everyone I speak to has a friend or family member with stories similar to that so graphically and eloquently related by Bill Allen.
Whole communities have been lost in a matter of minutes. It is quite impossible to out-run the kind of fire-storms that descended on places like Kinglake. We are re-thinking our own fire emergency plan in view of the Victorian experiences. |
| gundoglover |
Thankyou to everyone who entered the virtual dog show to raise funds for bushfire victims. There have been over 8000 entries. The catalogue can be viewed here:
http://www.dogsvictoria.com.au/assets/virt...g-show-list.pdf |
| johnhod |
Can't open the link. I've tried going back to their home page but can't find a link on there either |
| gundoglover |
Sorry,
This one should work: www.dogsvictoria.com.au/assets/virtual-dog-show-list.pdf |
| doganjo |
Looks like only me and Barbara entered - where were the rest of you? |