Tis the season .... to take a new tack

I love going to the woods with the dogs. On a lovely mild morning like this, its hard to imagine that December is waiting in the wings, just a few days away. For some folks, that means they are starting to seriously 'shop' for the new puppy or kitten for the family for the holidays.
At one time, rescues and shelters were adamant about not adopting during the holiday season ...indeed there are still pockets of that philosophy to be found in rescues everywhere. Who could blame the rescues ... after years of picking up the pieces after the holiday shine had worn off the impulse purchases at the pet stores?
But the heart wants what the heart wants .... and when families are determined to get a pet ... they will get a pet. Although the holidays might not seem like the most opportune time, for many families the extra time off work and school make it a great time to introduce a new family member.
Is it really in the best interests of the animals not to adopt out during the holidays? Why send potential adopters off to the pet stores when there are so many wonderful pets waiting in the wings? Does not even the most streamlined adoption application process protect the animals from the impulse buy?
It would be more to the point to pull out all the stops to promote the animals ... starting with off site adoptions. The reason that businesses all advertise heavily for the holidays is because they understand the value of having their name out in the public eye. Why are offsite adoptions a critical part of the No Kill Matrix? The answer is very simple ... they are the best way for animal welfare groups and shelters to 'advertise".
Taking the animals out where potential adopters can meet them is one of the best ways to reach the vast majority of the animal loving public... the ones who never go to the animal welfare websites or shelters. It really is like a little miracle that the animals can promote themselves best of all!
Its also a dandy time to think about adoption incentives ... and before the keyboards catch on fire ... adoption incentives are never just about the money. Last year, SHAID's Home for the Holidays helped all of the pets in the care. Why? Because any adoption incentive is an attention getter. Its why CAPS is still running its BOGO that they originally were only going to run for a month. Its why LA Animal Shelter keeps its special adoption rates on for its kitties and why P.E.T. PROJECTS dropped their fees in lieu of donations.
This is the time for shelters to advertise holiday open houses, such as CAPS are having on December 13th.
Successful businesses never underestimate the value of customer appreciation and usually send cards to their customers during the holidays. In these budget conscious days, even an e card or special holiday message could be a great investment in 'customer' relations for animal rescue groups.
Many kind, caring families prefer to start from scratch with a youngster. All too often they are unaware of how many lovely ones are available for adoption. Yet, nearly half the pets listed this morning on the homeless pet site are puppies and Young Dogs ... or Kittens and young cats. What better time than the holiday season to send posters promoting adoptable puppies and kittens to all the vet clinics and animal related businesses in the province?
What time is it? Its time to do the math .. every pet that is adopted over the holiday season does triple duty .... because each one represents:

• one less pet that will be bought from a pet store ...
• which means that there is one less potential problem waiting in the wings for later and of course last but not least
• that there will then be room to save one more good pet.

More than that ... its time to remember the truth of the old saw .... doing the same thing is the best way to guarantee getting the same results.

Update on Rescue without Borders

The dogs that the East Coast German Shepherd Rescue Society have brought up from Georgia are available for adoption. Click Here to Meet them all

There is never a time when its NOT gardening season

Henry loves rummaging around in the herb garden above the little ornamental pond. Herbs are a lot sturdier than people realize and it will take more than an inquisitive nose to harm most of the bits in there.
Even so, come spring I"ll move most of the herbs out back to the less travelled and more ornamental space. As much as I love Henry, I won't want him watering the Lavender or the Lady's Mantle. Nor would it be a good idea to leave the Comfrey there to be trampled.
I'll leave the ever so sturdy Wormwood and Oregano, along with the Russian Olive and French Lilac trees anchoring the center.
I've been sharing space with pets for as long as I've been a gardener, and have long ago learned the importance of boundaries. I'm lucky enough here to have room for a generous play yard without cutting into the 4000 + square feet of gardens around here. Nor did I have to scale back on the parts of the yard that the wildlife enjoy so much.
Nor have I ever found need to get upset about any of the neighbours cats when they come calling. Any minimal damage they may do to the garden is more than offset by the natural pests they come stalking. In all honesty, I've lost more of my garden over the years to deer and raccoons than I have ever lost to the cats.
Tame or feral it makes no difference. Not to be mean .... but if a cat can get its paws on a bird, then that particular bird wasn't making a positive contribution to the gene pool.
There are a lot of little tricks that I've learned over the years to protect the more ornamental gardens:

• The crushed oyster shell ( available at most feed stores ) that the farmers use for their chickens makes a splendid deterrent as few felines care for the feel on their paws. Not only that but it makes a lovely looking mulch and does double duty for keeping away the slugs
• water the gardens in the evening ... given the choice between a dry area to play and a wet one, most cats will choose not to get their paws wet
• I walk my dogs around the perimeter of the gardens fairly regularly .... when they water the edge, that is also acting as a deterrent
• freshly tilled and planted gardens are protected by laying down chicken wire
• if a person had a smaller garden, there are excellent sensor operated water sprayers that really work well, and of course
• it never hurts to offer them a more attractive alternative .... till up a tiny spot in some out of the way part of the yard . For added enticement, start a patch of anything in the mint family nearby ( of which catnip is only one of their favourite treats .... lemon balm, mint, oregano all entice equally well )

If it seems like I'm wandering afield here, it is only that there really is no time in the year when it is NOT gardening season. It is never just tilling and planting and harvesting .... all the rest of the year is just dreamtime for a gardener.

Nor does one have to make a choice between having a great garden and pets/ wildlife/ feral cats or visiting neighbour's kitties.

What time is it? Its way past time to remember that there is no point in pursuing perfection at the expense of our own humanity.

Comfy as an old slipper

One of the loveliest bits about being fifty five is the ability to thumb one's nose at fashion. Its hard for me to imagine that there was a time when I was quite comfortable wearing four inch heels ... these days I'd be in traction if I tried that.
Its getting cooler now ... so my winter rubber boots have replaced my Wellies at the front of the hall closet. What they lack in "fashionomics" is more than made up for in comfort. Honestly, they are getting past their best day and are no longer the kind of thing to wear down to the village, or even out on the road walking the dogs.
But they are as comfy as a pair of old slippers .... so I will probably mend the little tear on one, and put a little patch on the other and keep right on wearing them in the yard and the workshop. A new pair would likely take all of the winter to be half as comfortable and could even take years to be properly broken in.
Andy hasn't been here all that long, yet he is already as comfortable with us and our routine as we all are with him. He is as glad as any of the others to greet me whenever I come in the door and already has his favourite spots in each room. He was quick to decipher the visual clues that would help him master our routine ... such as which jacket meant hikes and which meant that I'd be off shopping.
Now don't get me wrong ... because I dearly love Miss Ruby and Henry. They are sweet and loving and generally well behaved ... but they didn't come in the door that way. Miss Ruby had to learn that the cats were not here for her personal amusement. Henry was so unfamiliar with domestic bliss that we had to start from scratch with housetraining and home rules.
Andy came here already housetrained. To date, he has never woken me up galloping down the hall with the cats in full flight. Nor has he thought we should go out at two in the morning to investigate every interesting noise. He hasn't horrified the cats by watering their litter box while I was out shopping. Nor has he chewed a couch cushion corner or sang in the car the 2km we travel every morning to go to the woods.
Nope ...Andy has fit in so easily and comfortably that a newcomer to my kitchen would have no idea he hasn't been here for his entire life.
We are in the middle of Adopt a Senior Pet month, and Andy has EVEN more new friends !!! Happily quite a few of the first pals have already been adopted, but as always, there are more waiting in the wings. I've left the adopted ones in ... just so that AC and rescue folks can see how very many senior pets do get adopted... especially if they are properly promoted.
Just think .. anyone who adopts one of the lovely senior kittizens ... like Clank or Casper or Penney. or NuNu or Josephina will very likely be able to put up their tree for the holidays without any misadventures. Even better, senior kitties are ever so much better with their claws around children than the juveniles are. Best of all, senior kitties are so happy for a second chance that they are not going to treat your house like one big giant cat toy when you have to go out.
Its Adopt a Senior Pet Month .... Embrace the love without the sleepless nights!

More Rescues without borders

Most of them may be 'honorary shepherds, but all of their lives have turned on a dime.... going from knocking on heavens door in Georgia to the safety of a second chance in Nova Scotia. Brody, the white shepherd mix shown in the first picture with Jennifer and Leah is safely off to foster, as is a little chi mix that found his way into the trip.

Leah is still looking for fosters for two of the dogs .... Max... the little Lab mix and Buster the setter cross. Max is about 35 lbs and as a black dog is VERY lucky to have been included in the trip... not only because his time was up but because its just so difficult to get folks there to adopt a black dog. Both Max and Buster are very bright ... although Leah does stress that Buster will need a cat free foster.

The two white vans in the picture met in Calais ... Jennifer had driven one up from Georgia with the dogs and Leah and Keith brought the second van to meet them there.

If you can offer Max or Buster a safe berth until they are adopted, contact Leah at the East Coast German Shepherd Rescue site or through facebook, on her home page .... Leah Parsons

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope. Maya Angelou

Tis the Season .... Its time for SHAID's Home for the Holidays

Tis the season ... and that means that its time for SHAID's Home for the Holidays adoption incentive program for the kitties who have been at their shelter for more than six months. Once again, they will underwrite half the adoption fee for the lovely cats .... each of them purrfect in their own way and everyone of them has somehow been overlooked by adopters.

This year, I still like the idea for all the same reasons that I did last year. It isn't just that its kind... although of course it is. It isn't just their ability to understand that adoption incentives do work.

It is simply that they understand that adoption incentives are great attention getting devices for all the animals in their care. What is that word I hear? Ah ... it is good publicity for the animals, hmmm?

These kitties can't sing you a carol or bake your plum pudding. But each and everyone of them can offer you years of love and purrs, long after the holiday trimmings have all been put away.

Along the road in the Search for Clarity

Researching the backstory for the Rescues Without Borders thread has definitely had me digging into some dark and dirty corners ... and sadly not all of those grubby little places were south of the border.
We've been pretty pleased with ourselves because the society finally pulled out all the stops to ensure that the CB branch stopped using the gas chamber this year.... the actual announcement this year triggered the blog post ... Its Already an incredible day
One of the other research projects that I've been working on it to try to compile accurate statistics with respect to the homeless pets in this province. There is no difficulty obtaining the society stats ... in their newfound spirit of transparency the provincial branch has been publishing them online ( the subject of how much Cape Breton Fudge might still be included is a very interesting topic to pursue on another day )
Nor is it any trouble to get stats from any of the groups who do rescue. Generally they are pretty proud of the lives that they've saved and don't hesitate to "dish up the goods"
Yet there will be no meaningful numbers without accurate data from Animal Control .. and that's where it gets a little sticky. Although AC in our province is a municipal responsibility, if there is one constant in the equation it is that there is no constant.
The operations are as varied as one can possibly imagine. In some places there is an animal control officer.. in others that job is contracted out. Some have their own pounds .... others contract out for sheltering services.
Outside of Antigonish and Guysborough Counties, who both still have restricted dog breeds on the books, generally the dog by laws are pretty consistent throughout the province. There is a 72 hour holding time for impounded animals... after which the designated animal control person can destroy or sell the unclaimed animals.
Destroy how? It was only five years ago in Annapolis county that the dogs were still being shot by Animal control. Sheltered how? When the SPCA shut down Celtic Pets, the Town of Port Hawkesbury had to scramble to make other arrangements to shelter and dispose of their impounded animals.
If there is one standard, it is that there is no standard, only secrecy. Animal control information should be freely available on all municipal websites. In some instances, its only possible to find anything when one of the participants runs afoul of the law... such as the recent difficulties that one contractor has landed in with Revenue Canada.
Irregardless of the contractual arrangements, monthly and annual animal control statistics should be publicly available on each municipal or county web site, just as the society is doing. Unfortunately, secrecy always inspires suspicion.
Now this is where it really starts to get dirty. To the best of my knowledge, it isn't happening in Nova Scotia, but the fact that its happening anywhere in Canada is nothing to be proud of for sure. Its called Pound Seizure and in a nutshell it is the practice of selling homeless pets from pounds and shelters to laboratories for experimentation.
In fact the land of BSL likes the idea so much that they actually wrote it in legislative stone ....hard enough to be a pit bull up there but clearly there are fates worse than death in Ontario for the pitties. Nor is the practice limited to Ontario... Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec are also engaged. Indeed animal welfare advocates estimate that Quebec has become the largest unregulated supplier of pound source animals for research in Canada.
And before the keyboards catch on fire, yes.. I am very opposed to the use of animals in research. There is a common conception that this is acceptable because it allows researchers to move forward with the cure for diseases like Cancer. The reality is that according to statistics released by the Canadian Council on Animal Care, nearly two-thirds of all animal research carried out in Canada has little or nothing to do with curing disease or advancing human medicine.
In addition to which, as a DES daughter, I have had personal experience with the fact that the drugs that were tested on animals didn't always turn out to be safe for people after all. Given existing data on species specific reactions, most animal deaths at the hands of animal research are inspired by curiosity or that old 'publish or perish' bit.
The last little dirty bit flew through my radar by accident, in the form of a story about a farmer up near Truro whose neighbours have taken legal action to stop his practice of fertilizing his fields with liquid sludge from rendering plants. My curiosity got the better of me and when I started digging I was almost sick. Dead animals, even diseased animals, from all manner of sources are disposed of in rendering plants which produce a product that eventually becomes the 'animal fat' ingredient in some commercial pet foods. The list of potential problems with that one runs right around the block... starting with the concern for spreading BSL and winding though the issues of using animals which have died from cancer or communicable diseases.
How many times has assumption left the animals out in the cold... or worse it would seem? In light of that, there are three pieces of protective and/ or preventative legislation that should be tabled in this province, to ban :

• the disposal of companion animals from any source at rendering plants.
• pound seizure, and
• the use of the gas chamber or any other inhumane method for killing

As always ... in so much dark no light is little. I tripped over an amazing group of volunteers who run Project Jessie ( http://www.projectjessie.ca/ ) Among other things, these folks are working hard to save every animal they can from pounds where they are vulnerable to seizure, while at the same time advocating to have the law changed.
If you have men that will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. St Francis of Assisi