Seeing the bigger picture

One of the nicest things about living out here is that the starwatching at night is ever so much better than down in the village. That almost makes up for the bitterly cold wind that makes it so 'fresh' out tonight (fresh being valleyspeak for pfc or pretty darned cold if you prefer.)
Perhaps it takes living off the beaten path to really be able see the bigger picture. When I was working on the holiday feature for the site, I had emailed P.E.T. PROJECTS with a few questions about a new petfinder program they're taking part in this year, Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays . It really looks like a decent idea .... fostering a shelter pet for the holidays might not lead to adopting ... although in some cases it could ... but it would be a real lesson in the reason for the season that could be shared with one's children.
Now I've always had a lot of respect for PET Projects because they had the courage to pick a better path when the Beulah Burman shelter wasn't working out ... always in the red and with their volunteers badly burned out.
Instead of giving up, they chose a different direction and changed their focus. Instead of managing the shelter, the pets in their care are all in foster.
In fact, one of the innovative things they are doing is to encourage people who are surrendering their pets, or who have found a stray, to foster the pet for PET Projects until he or she is adopted.... and all of these 'stay at home' fosters are listed with their Petfinder adoptables
And that's not even their best idea. Besides offering Spay / Neuter subsidies and doing Trap Neuter Return in the Shelbourne area, PET Projects have some nifty little things up their sleeve:

• on the front door of their site, they are asking for donations of used doghouses to help shelter animals (chained and penned dogs are common practice in rural areas like Shelbourne)
• right below that, they have a diplomatically worded paragraph offering to help owners rehome chained and penned dogs so they can have a better life
• its not listed on the site, but they are working to help caregivers keep their animals ... admittedly easier to manage in a small community. When people are looking to surrender their pet because of financial need, PET Projects will provide short term food and / or vet care to get them over the speedbump.
• they were smart enough to get some admin savvy and fundraising help from the The NSCC Office Procedures class
• if you will remember, they found out first hand how successful offsite adoptions are too
• they've just started a Lost and Found Facebook group, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=89134693938
• they also have Lost and Found listings on their site http://www.petprojects.ca/lostandfound.htm
• the bit that I really like is the Pet Match form they have at the bottom of their page. If they don't have the pet of your dreams listed, they will keep their eyes open .... and your email address and information private.

And of course, in keeping with the season, they've found a fun way to fundraise by partnering with “Maria’s Santa Paws Giving Tree” at Maria’s Convenience with the clever idea of selling Christmas card inserts to let your loved one know that a donation has been made in their name for PET Projects.

Clearly P.E.T. PROJECTS are just far enough away from the madding crowd to really have a feel for the big picture.