Mayor4Unley

I was out in the front garden; deep in the overgrown rose bushes. This year they needed a good slash; a heavy prune. I could hear footsteps on the footpath and then a woman's voice said 'hello georgeous, aren't you beautiful'. That gave me a warm feeling. I backed out of the rose bush, stood up and said 'hello, are you talking to me?'. The startled woman blushed heavily and awkwardly explained that she had been talking to my two dogs that were sitting at the gate watching the world go by. The woman moved on quickly getting into her car and getting out of there. Hidden deep in the roses I knew that she was talking to the dogs - they are good looking; but I couldn't resist the opportunity. Besides it broke the monotony of pruning the prickly roses.

All I want for Christmas … is a croc claw back-scratcher. Its just $45 !! a Bargain, and made (and produced) in Australia. I spotted an advertisement for a back-scratcher made from the claw of a deceased crocodile. It sounds like the perfect scratcher. I just love a good back-scratcher and the dog ate the last one. These are made in Darwin by CrocStockandBarra company who do most of their trading at the local markets in Darwin. According to the advertisement ' it’s made from a real crocodile claw and taxidermied to keep the scales on and preserve the natural colour of the crocodile, This back-scratcher is not just a novelty but really gets at those hard to reach itches.' for more information ... http://crocstockandbarra.com/

Pets are wonderful companions and give us joy and unrelenting love. They are so forgiving. From a recent letter from the RSPCA ... 47% of pets owned are dogs 35% of pets are cats 21% of pets are 'others' eg. birds and rabbits A bit of a 3% error there, but RSPCA states that some people have combinations of pets. From a recent survey ... The top ten dog names are: Bella, Molly, Ruby, Daisy, Lucy, Max, Charlie, Rosie, Bailey & Billy. The top ten cat names are: Missy, Molly, Smokey, Tiger, Lucy, Millie, Tigger, Bella, Charlie & Sooty.

It's Easter Sunday and time to start eating the chocolate bilby, bunny and eggs. Enjoy, but don't feed chocolate to your dog and other pets. It may kill them. Click on this link for more information

The Adelaide Zoo is suffering from a heated social media war that has erupted over the Zoo’s decision to switch ice cream brands – from palm oil free SA company Golden North to Streets which uses palm oil in its products. Golden North made the decision back in 2009 to stop using using palm oil. It seems that the Zoo simply made a commercial decision and went with a cheaper deal with foreign owned Streets. This is despite the Zoo stating in the past that it would not sell any products made from palm oil. At the time, the Zoo also stated that u nless immediate action is taken Sumatran Orangutans could be extinct in the wild within 10 years as the production of palm oil increases to meet consumer demand. It’s very sad that the Zoo has made this decision. That decision, which encourages production of palm oil will result in more forests being felled, more Orangutans dying and being killed, more Orangutan orphans and a faster path to their extinction in the wild … the ir...

I got sent an online survey about the services and activities of the Dog and Cat Management Board. I confessed to having a broad knowledge about the Board, but lacked finer details about the research and activities. I have since reviewed the Board's website and find that it has a lot of interesting and relevant information. So, if you have a cat or dog problem or just want to know more, then visit the website. Here's a link to the Dog & Cat Management Board website and here's an extract from that website on cats ... There are currently around half a million unowned cats in South Australia. Each year approximately 15,000 cats are  surrendere to South Australian shelters and of these cats, at least 70% are euthanased. They may arrive at Shelters as strays, ferals or owned cats, but thousands of healthy, sociable cats are destroyed because there are not enough good homes for them. Ninety per cent of cats presented to shelters are unwanted kittens. Most kittens b...

Unley Councillor Mike Hudson (of Parkside) certainly has bravery for treading where others often dare venture. At times we share sentiments, but on many occasions I leave him to walk ahead through the mine field. He must be commended for his brave stance on cats and proposed restrictions on keeping them in Unley. It took page one of the local Eastern Courier Messenger this week. The reality is that his comments were not as controversial as I was expecting. In fact, Mike Hudson was a bit of a pussy cat when it came down to what controls should be introduced. It is unlikely that this issue will now be raised (by him) at Unley Council. What are your thoughts? Should Unley introduce cat controls? I say, no. Leave it as is. There are very few complaints about cats. Besides, it is a difficult and very costly matter to deal with.