New off lead dog exercise area opens

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn and his pooch Bella enjoying the new off lead dog area located in the Leonard T Green Memorial Park in Mahomets Flats.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn and his pooch Bella enjoying the new off lead dog area located in the Leonard T Green Memorial Park in Mahomets Flats.

Dog owners looking to exercise or socialise their furry friends in an open yet contained space are invited to test out the new off lead area recently opened in the Leonard T. Green Memorial Park.

Located in the centre of the Olive Street Reserve, the new +1000m2 grassed area features two fenced spaces, dog waste bag dispensers and bins. Drinking fountains with dog bowls will soon be installed as their delivery has been delayed by COVID-19.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said with nearly 10,000 dogs registered in Greater Geraldton the new off lead area will be a popular place to visit.

“Up until a few weeks ago we only had one fenced, off lead area, located at Woorree Park,” he said.

“This facility is well used by the community and also by the Geraldton and Districts Kennel Club who offer formal dog obedience and agility training on site.

“The addition of a second facility in Mahomets Flats will make it a much more convenient for dog owners living in the southern suburbs to exercise their pets in contained off the lead areas.”

To help meet the growing demand for places to exercise dogs off lead, four new off lead areas have been added in Greater Geraldton including Bayside Park in Drummond Cove, Bellimos Park in Wandina, the south west corner of the Leonard T. Green Memorial Park in Mahomets Flats and the Mullewa Recreation Grounds.

Although these areas are off lead, dog owners are still required to have their pet under control while in these public open spaces and are legally responsible for the behaviour of their dogs at all times.

“If your dog doesn’t listen to voice commands or runs up to others dogs or people, they are not permitted to be off lead in these designated areas,” Mayor Van Styn added.

In all other public open spaces where dogs are allowed, they must be on a lead. 

For more information on where dogs can be exercised off lead, head to the City’s website here

Sick seal on beach

Had a couple of people reach out about this guy today. From Greenough Wildlife & Bird Park earlier:

"Sub-Antarctic fur seal on Lucy's beach,  I am here with it now , please avoid the area if you can . It is very vocal .

Dpaw have been notified , it is being monitored as there as no signs of injury , thanks for calling us ."

Thanks GWBP and Cass.

Police and Fauna for the Future saved this bird from a busy highway

We can't imagine some of the stuff our local Police have to deal with each day. 

But they had a happy customer today for a change. 

This young bird was rescued from a busy road. 

And it didn't seem to mind posing for a photo or two either. 

The Gero Police thanked Fauna for the Future for their assistance too. 

If you have any issues with wildlife, birds , or snakes, be sure to get in touch with Fauna for the Future. 

You should save their number in your phone: 0404 387 215

And don't forget to give them a donation when they come and help. It helps keep the service going. 

Letter to the editor: Kind and compassionate customer service

Here is a shout out to Chapman Animal Hospital.
Last week we had to put down our dog due to cancer.
The vet came home and the whole procedure was conducted with utmost professionalism and compassion.
Received the attached (unexpected) card today in the mail with a memento of our dog's paw imprint, which made our day.
Thanks to the whole team at Chapman for taking such good care of her when she was sick, in the final hours and afterwards.
Legendary customer service and care.

Steeve Poligadu

Carnaby's black cockatoo numbers 'increase dramatically' with artificial hollows

Sarah Taillier for the ABC:

Artificial nesting hollows are helping revive the numbers of the critically endangered Carnaby's black cockatoo, after it lost part of its breeding heartland to bushfire in Western Australia.
The largest known nestling ground for the Australian bird species is in woodlands at a farm in Coomallo near Badgingarra, about 200 kilometres north of Perth.

ABC: Farm Fish Harvest in Geraldton

A great short video from ABC Mid West, on Yellowtail Kingfish being bred in Geraldton. 

Midwest aquaculture trial harvest: Thousands of Yellow Tail Kingfish ready to hit the Australian market Fifteen thousand fat and healthy Yellow Tail Kingfish currently swim in Geraldton's Champion Bay waiting to be delivered to a local restaurant and markets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Indian Ocean Fresh Australia have been working with the Mid West Development Commission to determine if it is commercially viable to farm fish in the pristine waters off Geraldton's coast.

Cat brutally attacked - owner desperate to find it

Sent in to Everything Geraldton today: 

This morning around 8.45am returning home from dropping my children off from school, I was turning into Bayview Street from Newhaven St in Mt Tarcoola when a brown and white bull arab looking dog followed my car home. I was hesitant to open my door as the dog was waiting for me. As i went to open it the dog used its nose to open it further. It seemed friendly enough at the time.

Fast forward 5 minutes when my daughter and I were on the lawn checking the dog's tag, I noticed our black cat was sitting on the garden bed next to the front door. When I went to shoo our cat away, she was sadly mauled by this dog. For 5 minutes this dog shook the shit out of our cat who we have had for 5 years.

The dog took the cat with him up the street while we raced inside to call the ranger.

I just want to ask the public if anyone has seen her as we would like to give our baby a burial and be able to say goodbye.

Thank you

0407063303

This dog will help 6 year old Jamie by alerting his parents to seizures

Hello, firstly we would like to introduce ourselves. We are Brent and Michelle REID.

We are fundraising on behalf of our 6 year old son, Jamie.

Jamie was born with a rare brain condition called Bilateral Frontal Polymicrogyria. The result of this is uncontrollable epilepsy (150-350 seizures a week), Autism, Global Development Delays and Intellectual Disabilities.

Jamie has been selected as a suitable candidate for an Autism/Seizure assistance dog. The dog will assist Jamie and the family by alerting us to seizures prior to them occurring. The dog will also assist Jamie personally with his Autism. The assistance dog is trained to disrupt autistic melt downs and ensure Jamies safety when out in public. The assistance dog is trained to be tethered to Jamie allowing him freedom to walk freely without the need to be placed in a trolley/stroller or strong hand grip. Jamie has a penchant to want to get out and run and without the knowledge of his own safety. The assistance dog will be with him at all times and when required will stop Jamie to ensure his safety. This is extremely important in situations where there is water, as Jamie has a fixation with playing with water.

The dog is also trained to be able to track Jamie and locate his should he get out and wander off.

The assistance dog will deliver peace of mind, comfort and safety for Jamie. The opportunity it will give Jamie will be outstanding as it will offer him a greater level of independence that a normal 6 year would enjoy. The assistance dog will open his world and like most special needs kids allow him to feel normal and like he fits.

As part of the process of placing the dog with Jamie, we have agreed to fundraise towards the dogs training. The training of each Smart Pup costs $25,000.00 and as a not for profit organisation they rely on fundraising to be able to provide an assistance dog to the candidate family.

This is where we are asking if you would be able to assist in any way possible to help us achieve this opportunity for Jamie.

 

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All donations made are charitable donations to Smart Pups. To let them know that your donation is in support of a particular Smart Pups family you can use ONE of the donation codes provided below when completing a direct Bank Deposit or PayPal transaction. Donations without a donation code will be allocated to the general Training Program to help Smart Pups cover the balance of the training costs for our families.

DONATION CODE OPTIONS:

a) FULL NAME CODE: Jamie Reid or
b) ALFA CODE: jmrd or c) NUMERIC CODE: 55209

To donate via direct deposit - Smart Pups Westpac | BSB: 034198 | ACC: 415185
To donate via PayPal - Click on the BIG RED Smart Pups Donate Button on the website at www.smartpups.org.au.

NB: The three donation code options are provided in an attempt to meet the different code restrictions set by each Banks IT system. A direct Bank Deposit does not attract any fees. If making a donation via PayPal you must manually type the child’s name in the ‘NOTES TO SELLER’ field at the time you make the transaction. Please be aware that, as there is no fee waiver in place for charitable donations, PayPal will charge Smart Pups an administration fee on each donation.

I hit a dog this morning: Letter to Editor

 "A beautiful tan dog that looked like it might have been a Shar Pei ran out in front of me this morning at 8.30am on Brand Hwy  near Ackland Street. Despite braking I hit him, as did the car next to me.

We tried to find him to take him to the vet but he ran off up the hill- which hopefully means he isn't too injured. The wonderful woman in the red car behind me drove up the hill to try and find him to take him to the vet.

If you are missing a dog fitting this description please contact local vets.

Please people, keep your dogs locked up. This was so distressing for me and the other driver and was completely preventable.

Hopefully this beautiful dog is going to be ok and back with his family soon."

Anon

Sam has been reunited with his mother

We've just received word that the 1 month old foal that was stolen recently has been reunited with his mother.  

The owners held grave concerns for the welfare of both the mother and Sam, the foal, who needed to be fed by his mother still. 

Sam was reportedly dehydrated, but mother was very happy to have him drink again from her.

Click here to read original story.  

 

This gorgeous 1 month old pony was stolen last night

Elise reached out to Everything Geraldton after her elderly neighbour had this one month old pony stolen last night. 

The pony's name is Sam.

Sam was taken from Webber Rd in Moresby. 

If you know anything please call the owner on 0427 383 443. 

Sam's mother is currently very distressed, "calling out to the baby" according to Elise. 

Shelley Fellows posted in EG Open Discussion that the foal will die if it is not reunited with its mother. 

Update: 4:00pm Saturday 2/4/16

We've just received word that the 1 month old foal that was stolen recently has been reunited with his mother.  

The owners held grave concerns for the welfare of both the mother and Sam, the foal, who needed to be fed by his mother still. 

Sam was reportedly dehydrated, but mother was very happy to have him drink again from her.  

So where exactly ARE you allowed to take your dog in Geraldton?

Everything Geraldton often gets asked where exactly dogs are allowed. There's a bit of confusion over what the story is with dogs at the foreshore too. 

Dogs are allowed on the Foreshore grassed area but only if they are on a leash. There are signs down there that also stipulate that.

However – dogs are not allowed on the Foreshore beach. Just the grassed area. 

There are lots of other beaches in town where dogs are allowed, many off the leash too. And there are also several parks where dogs are allowed off the leash. 

Here's a map produced by the City of Greater Geraldton that shows exactly where you can and can't take your canine companion. 

Click here to download a PDF version



Do you know what this worm-like creature is? - Video

Sent in to EG:

"I would like to ask the public if anyone knows what the worm lookalike thing is as our son was was playing in the sand at camp over the weekend (just North of Buller River) and it gave him a bite - like a mozzie bite, small red lump about 3-4mm diameter but with a puncture wound on the middle like a small hole, he screamed and instant tears. I put ice and an antiseptic cream on it and it came good within a hour.
BUT, when I put this in a container, and put a stick near it, it would stand up like a snake would do defending itself, Hubby and I were like "why is it doing that" was weird. We thought worm too straight away, but we were curious to why it would defend itself like it did, and the pain and wound our Son got from it?"

- Alanna