A little year end wrap up and (Year of the) catch up

I love getting a great hair cut!  It is one of the most economical beauty fixes around.   Even better, my wash and wear 'do' is well suited to a writer who does her best thinking outdoors.   Best of all of course is that it is quick and simple and chemical free!
Wouldn't it be lovely if everything in life was so easy to fix?   When the Year of the Cat was first announced, even the most optimistic advocates admitted that it was going to take a lot longer than one year to fix something so long in the making.
How did we do here in Nova Scotia?  Is it a better world today than it was last New Years?   I would say yes. 
How can I say that when the carefully crafted presentation for a Low Cost High Volume Spay Neuter Clinic fell on deaf ears?   Why of course because some progress has been made in spite of our politicians!
This time last year, who would have imagined that one woman would start a Spay Day weekend project which as a whole would become more than the sum of its 122 altered cats?  By every possible standard it has been a wildly successful venture!  It has inspired other communities to start fundraising for their own efforts!   Even better, it has refocused public attention on the desperate need for Low Cost High Volume Spay Neuter Clinics.   Best of all of course is this pioneer project has done double duty by helping to educate about the importance of Spay Neuter.
Throughout this past year, more TNR groups have popped up around the province ... which of course is always a good thing.  These hardworking little groups of volunteers have been quietly saving lives and creating healthier communities in spite of the lack of enthusiasm from our municipal and provincial politicians.   Just imagine what they could accomplish if our elected officials decided cats could be as big a priority as concerts and convention centers, eh?
By default, cats have benefited from the change of corporate heart on the part of PJ's Pets and Pets Unlimited ... at least in the outlets now offering satellite adoption centers.   Not to be mean ... but it really is just pure dumb luck that this plum should fall on Year of the Cat after years of animal advocates campaigning against the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores ;)
Fringe benefits can be a good thing though.   While the curious and unprecedented case of the shelter board that wouldn't go home is creeping through the courts, local Friends of the Sydney SPCA volunteers have created Arms Wide Open to help their local street kitties :)
Help can come in all shapes and sizes.   Inspired by the success of the Nova Scotia Lost Dog Network .. which has prevented hundreds of dogs from being mislabelled as stray when they were only really lost ..... a sister face book group was born.  Lost and Found Cats of HRM and Nova Scotia has a dedicated membership looking out for lost and stray cats in their areas!
Have you noticed a common thread?   That some of the most successful ventures this year have been initiated by volunteer kind hearts?  That it has been done in spite of our politicians .. not because of them?   It just boggles the mind to think of the possibilities should our politicians ever decide to work with the animal loving community that actually elected them!
It was the collective kind heart of the animal loving community that enabled a little private rescue to turn life around for The Mighty Quinn.   Thanks to that support and his foster Mum's love and hard work, Quinn is now available for adoption!
If I did not make arrangements to get my hair cut, in no time at all it would be back down to my waist.    The longer I waited ... the bigger the job would be and the longer it would take to fix it!
What time is it?    It is ... once again .. time to hope that this year will be the year our politicians recognize that a stitch in time to save nine is so very, very overdue!    If they cannot find the funds in 2012 ... it will not become any cheaper in the years to follow!
And that is how I see it in the early hours of Saturday, January 1st .... the FORTY - SIXTH day since the dismissed shelter manager and the disbanded board created the renegade shelter.