The Mother of All Happy Tails

I'll freely admit to being a bit of a stick in the mud. Most mornings, there is a pretty set routine that starts with a small stroll for the dogs and feeding the cats before I sit down with my first cup of coffee. And ....like half the rest of the world .... I usually peruse the morning papers and pop into a few sites of interest to me while I savour my coffee.
I was saddened to see on the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies site, http://cfhs.ca/ , that this years National Animal Welfare Conference has been cancelled ... for several reasons but primarily the economic climate.
I'll get back to that topic in a bit, but the thing that DID delight me was to see the logo at right, which on the site is connected to the Clicker Leash Co website, http://www.clickerleash.com/ . For anyone who isn't aware by now, these are local NS entrepreneurs who have used their dog training experience and expertise to develop this very humane and convenient tool for dog training.
These are tough economic times .... every commercial and ad that we see in any form of media is geared to the whole 'lets be frugal and spend our money wisely' end of the stick. Which of course makes it even harder for every charity to keep afloat. For far too many people, the animals slip down the priority list when then going gets tough.
One of my favourite sites to visit, Best Friends, has a really decent feature called Help to the Rescue , http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=news&mode=entry&entry=5D621BA5-C4A3-B17E-00A2692569174D16 and I think its worth reading whether you are managing a group or you are volunteering and helping. Either way it offers some very sensible suggestions that make it well worth the read.
I noticed also that the Wet Nosed Wednesday page has a gorgeous gal named Myla, http://www.kool965fm.ca/index.asp?id=552&mn=14&cc=1. An eleven year old cat is just coming into his or her stride .... gosh when little nine pound Kitty Bear was eleven she could and would chase big dogs out of her yard ! ( The story of Kitty Bear ... who was my first stray and came here 14 years ago is an ongoing happy tail for another day : ))
I love the fact that the society is getting more of its adoptables out there. Wet Nosed Wednesday along with better petfinder listings and pictures have played a big part in the boosted adoption rate at Metro. But... like the figure skating finals... what we see is just the tip of the iceburg. The hard work by all the staff and volunteers that is the real underpinning to the more user friendly Metro Shelter.
That kind of willingness to change will be the real mother of more happy tails for the animals, in spite of the times.