Love means never having to say you're sorry

Even with the promise of another storm this afternoon, there were still plenty of signs of spring this morning when we went for our hike. From the big ravens to the little chickadees, every bird we saw had some little bit of nesting material in their mouth ..... and the boulders and bushes that have been buried for months are starting to submerge from their wintry hibernation.
Rescues and shelters all around the province are bracing themselves for their least favourite bit about spring .... the annual flood of kittens and by extension the hapless mothers who become homeless because someone was too careless or too cheap or just too darn stupid to spay their cat.
Now S.H.A.I.D does something that I really like .... when they have space, they will take the litter of kittens if the pet owner will keep the momcat and get her spayed. That's a great program, but SHAID is a little privately run shelter and they very rightly do not kill any pet in their care to make room for some more. There is always a waiting list for them as a result.
And of course, every private rescue has their own intake policy. CAPS does not take owner surrenders because it is committed to saving the lives of the pets who come into AC in Annapolis County. Private rescues simply cannot do everything on their own ... its not a matter of not wanting but rather an issue of picking their battles so that they can work with the resources they DO have.
Anyone who has read this blog, or the old one, already knows what high regard I hold TNR in. Its an effective and humane way to control the existing feral cat population with a proven track record of success.
But what about all the 'future' ferals and stray dogs too for that matter, that will wind up homeless this year and every year after. Until the tap is turned off ... there is no realistic chance for making any effective change.
Even the society doesn't have the resources to do the trick. So should we throw up our hands? Of course not.
We need a "Fix Your Mama" campaign. Anyone who works in rescue already knows that the Mama's sit on the shelf long after their babies have been adopted. Essie May has waited nearly a year and a half at the Valley Animal Shelter since her kitten was adopted. Marion 's kittens are all grown and gone and she is still waiting for CAPS to find a home for her. And those are only a couple of the many momcats who have been left waiting.
That's the beauty of 'fix your mama' campaigns. The rescues and groups take the kittens and puppies when they are weaned if the people will keep the moma's and get them spayed. In the course of my work with the homeless pet pages, it didn't take long to realize that the youngsters really 'fly off the shelf" in comparison to their mommies. ( The arguments in favour of adopting adults are a separate rant for another day )
Hand in hand with that, if the society could promote early age spay neuter, it would also 'nip things in the bud'. Even in this day and age, there are still so many good and kind pet owners who simply don't realize that they don't have to wait until their puppy or kitten is six months old to get fixed. There are so many benefits for early age spay neuter and society support for it could make all the world of difference.
This is March and most municipalities are firming up their budgets for the year ... so that makes it a very good time to contact your own municipal councillor and suggest that support for this measure be given to the rescue groups and shelters in your area. For information on contacting your municipality, http://www.unsm.ca/members.html
If the roof was leaking, it would get fixed before it fell in. Fixing the mama's doesn't just help with pet overpopulation .... it promotes pet retention as well. And that in turn promotes the kind of good values that will really help Nova Scotia 'come to life"