Learning to dance in the rain

In the course of researching, developing and maintaining the homeless pet site I have lost track of the number of great animal welfare sites that I've found, outside of this province. Like anything else in life ... some bad... some good and a few that deserve special notice, imho.
I try not to play favourites ... but these are definitely my top ten recommended sites for anyone interested enough to pursue them.
#10 Normally a site with the incredible information base of the history and current status of animal welfare legislation in this country should be much higher on the list, but the unfortunate and completely inexplicable partnership last year that the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies .... http://cfhs.ca/ ... engaged in with Kijiji ( http://cfhs.ca/info/partners) has earned it the #10 slot instead.

#9 Hopeful Hearts- Dog Rescue .... http://www.hopefulhearts.ca/index.htm ... for raising the bar by focusing on senior and special needs pets like Renee, pictured above ... who like my very own little Andy is a senior , except she has one tooth instead of his two. From her bio it very much sounds as if she has his energy and spunk too!

#8 Project Jessie, http://www.projectjessie.ca/. for its unflagging determination to end the horrible practice of pound seizure by educating the public, advocating for change and of course rescuing as many good pets as they can from the terrible fate of becoming research animals ( and before the keyboards catch on fire, explore the site and its links to discover how very few lives are actually sacrificed for medical breakthroughs ) When Theodore, aka Piglet .. pictured above, is adopted Project Jessie will have space to save another life.

#7 The Clarenville SPCA, http://www.clarenvilleareaspca.ca/index.php.... for really putting the web to work for their shelter. Even though they do not use the petfinder service, their web site is an easy to navigate site that fund raises, recruits volunteers and of course promotes their adoptables in an exceptional fashion .... Bo, pictured above, has a typical bio with several engaging pictures and a complete and appealing story that would warm the coldest of hearts.

#6 The Banned Aid Site .... http://www.bannedaid.com/ in the face of such strong resistance from the existing provincial government in Ontario, this site is attempting to tackle the BSL issue in the only practical way ... by advocating to change the legislation and stop the killing.

#5 Alley Cat Allies ... http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191 ... both for their decades of work bringing TNR into the limelight but also for the incredible resources the site offers to anyone looking to help feral cats on any scale at all.

#4 The No Kill Advocacy Center, http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/ , which is without a doubt required reading for anyone looking for information on the No Kill Movement. From well considered plans for Reforming Animal Control http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/Reforming%20Animal%20Control.pdf to copies of the model Companion Animal Protection Act http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/CAPA.pdf, the Center website is an easily navigated, commercial free site that is well worth the time it will take to explore.

#3 Anyone who follows this blog knows what an incredible resource that this middle aged granny thinks that http://www.petfinder.com/ is. Besides providing an amazing and free listing service for adoptable pets, it provides all kinds of great ... and yes free ... tools for promoting adoptable pets , such as Storm, who is pictured above..... AND it has a pretty impressive resource library, although it does contain a little too much from animal rescue organizations that have failed to fulfil their mandates in such spectacular ways... such as HSUS and the ASPCA. (which offsets their other good enough to earn them a #3 instead of #1 slot )

#2. Best Friends Sanctuary ... http://www.bestfriends.org/. Hands down it is the site with the most ... the most information ... the most resources and of course the most inspiration. From promoting their own adoptables ( including Buddy Boy , pictured above ) to providing their own social networking site for the animals, its a well crafted, easily navigated commercial free site.

#1 http://www.facebook.com/ ... and no before the keyboards catch on fire ... its not the site but the very good use that animals rescuers everywhere are using to communicate, network and promote the animals. From finding fosters ... to lining up transports ... to promoting adoptables, social networking is saving lives like sweet Miss Carolina, pictured above (for more info about this sweet girl, contact East Coast German Shepherd Rescue )

At the end of the day, it will be this ability to adapt and engage new tools to solve an old problem that will get us, and the animals, to better days.

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain" -author unknown