Taking Stock, part one

My great grandmother was a baby when the current federal animal cruelty legislation was introduced in Canada. Not my 54 year old self .... not my mother....not even my grandmother .... but my great grandmother! Over the years amendments have made improvements for farm animals and wildlife, but companion animals are as legally vulnerable now as they were a hundred and seventeen years ago in this country.
Her generation would be the first to legally hold property, but before that happened, inventors of both genders would have already introduced the first X Rays, Movies and even the electric vacuum cleaner. Since rights varied between provinces, my great granny in PEI became legally eligible to hold property in 1903 .... the same year that the Wright Brothers built their first plane.
She would be forty before women were recognized by the Canadian Supreme court as persons in their own right. Before that happened, the Model T would have burst on the world. Although they wouldn't be yet be found in everyday homes, electric washing machines, air conditioners and Television were off of the drawing board and on their way. She was still considered property when the first rocket took flight.
She was on her way to being a great grandmother before Canadian white women had the right to vote .... and she was part of the family history before all women in this country had the right to vote. Working helicopters were being built before that happened.
She never did have the right to equal pay for equal work .... that wouldn't happen until her grandaughter's (my mother's) day. They were building nuclear power reactors and (possibly) walking on the Moon before that happened.
I belong to the first generation of women whose jobs were protected while they went on maternity leave ...in fact the ink was still wet on the legislation when my daughter was born. The first Apple and the original Dyson were launched before that.
From laser surgery to computers that fit in a cell phone ... gosh to cell phones themselves the world has changes tremendously since the late seventies. When I was a young mother, I could never have imagined that I would have a computer, let alone the multitude of conveniences it would offer.
My daughter was past being a toddler when I bought my first color tv. At the time, banks were still refusing loans for cars to divorced women with permanent jobs. Supervisors were still advising women not to pursue harassment charges because it "would be bad for the man's career" and priests were still counselling forgive and forget for assault and battery.
I'm not one of these women who yearns for yesteryear with nostalgia. I love having the ability to choose which electrical appliances I wish to have in my home for my own convenience. (Although I do have sympathy for the elderly women who never expected to have to pump their own gas and carry their own groceries )
With all of the changes that have happened in the last century and a quarter ... how is it that the federal animal cruelty legislation has stayed the same for companion animals?
Its not for a lack of trying ... but every time something meaningful is put on the table, it is either watered down by the voice for the puppy millers/ aka PIJAC or lacks the (voter driven) priority to get through parliament before an election is called.
Added to that is the popular misconception that moving animal cruelty offenses out of the property section means that pets will no longer be able to be owned. In reality, the latest attempt, Bill C -229 still refers to companion animals as "owned" ... the shift from their current status as property does not change that.
What it does change is the ability for justice to minimize animal cruelty offenses as property offenses by legally recognizing that companion animals are living breathing sentient beings who are capable of feeling pain and suffering.
The other important change that Bill C-229 is hoping to make is the removal of the phrase "willful neglect' from the language of animal cruelty legislation. Neglect is a very hard thing to prove legally and the stupid card is often used by defense lawyers to keep animal abusers from being convicted or having harsh penalties applied .... your honor my client didn't know that would hurt/harm/wasn't appropriate/etc.....
What time is it? If the whole world can change so radically in such a short time, its time for our federal Members of Parliament to stand up for the animals with Bill C-229.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. - Bishop Desmond Tutu (1931- ), Nobel Prize for Peace 1984

Something fun for a Sunday

Looking for something to do on Sunday afternoon? Lab Fest 2009 is being held, rain or shine, this Sunday at Seaview Park, from noon until four pm. There will be a Halloween costume contest ... cake for the dogs and a silent auction. The legendary Trish, who runs Lab Rescue, has created a facebook event for this Lab Fest halloween ( in which Trish asks people planning on attending not to bring toys as she will have orange hockey balls on hand so they all have the same toy)

To see how much everyone has had at previous Lab fests, go to http://dogkisser.blogspot.com/search?q=Lab+Rescue

Show me the money honey

from this morning's Herald
Public picks up Willie’s scent
Support mushrooms for senior and little dog in canine custody dispute
By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Staff ReporterSat. Oct 17 - 4:46 AM
Free Willie seems to be the rallying cry ever since the story of Earl Shadbolt’s dog became public Friday.
The little dog lived a relatively quiet life in Eastern Passage up until a small notice of sale appeared in this newspaper on Thursday.
» See comments from Friday's story
Now the pup has his own Facebook site and legions of fans. Supporters have vowed to help the 75-year-old Mr. Shadbolt get his dog back.
"I can’t believe all the people who are calling me to say they want to help me get Willie back," Mr. Shadbolt said during a telephone interview Friday.
"He’s just a fine little dog — anyone would love him," he said, his voice breaking.
A compact terrier mix with a pure white body and floppy ears that are as black as coal, Willie turned a year old in August. Those who know him well say the six-kilogram dog has a winning personality.
Maybe a little too winning.
When Mr. Shadbolt’s house was gutted by fire in April, his insurance company paid for an apartment while his house was being fixed. The apartment didn’t allow dogs, so a neighbourhood woman, a member of the same church as Mr. Shadbolt, agreed to look after his dog.
He moved back into his home in August but the woman wouldn’t return his dog.
In an interview this week, Laura Naugler said she wouldn’t give the dog back until Mr. Shadbolt paid her more than $1,700 she claimed was for expenses and kennel fees.
That’s why the advertisement appeared in The Chronicle Herald, indicating a dog owned by Earl Shadbolt would be put up for sale on Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. in accordance with the Warehousemen’s Lien Act.
"I’m not a mean person. I’m a Christian and I believe in Christian love," Ms. Naugler said. "I was quite willing to take the dog back but I just wanted to get paid."
In any event, Ms. Naugler said, the dog has fallen in love with her neighbour Nora Landry’s dog.
"This really is a love story between two dogs," Ms. Naugler said.
She said the dogs played together all the time and they should stay together.
But during an interview Thursday, Ms. Landry said she had only looked after Willie on a few occasions. She said she’s only involved because Ms. Naugler is her friend.
"He owes her a lot of money and he got insurance money but he has not paid her," Ms. Landry said.
She denied that she and Ms. Naugler have been trying to persuade Mr. Shadbolt to give up his dog.
The sale is to take place in Dartmouth at 192 Wyse Rd., a complex that houses a real estate company that Ms. Landry co-owns.
For his part, Mr. Shadbolt is heartened by all the calls of support.
"It’s just so nice to know there are people out there like that who would care about this kind of thing," he said.
He even received a telephone call from a Montana woman offering assistance.
Annette Armitage of the Animal Rescue Coalition in Halifax has vowed not only to be at the sale but to accompany Mr. Shadbolt to small claims court on Nov. 10, when he hopes to persuade a judge to give him back his dog.
"This is just awful what is happening to this man — just awful and we will support him in any way we can," Ms. Armitage said.
Meanwhile, Cpl. John Stoddart of Cole Harbour RCMP said Friday he is continuing to investigate the evolving case.
"We talked to the Crown about the allegations and whether or not there could be enough evidence to justify a charge of theft but it was determined to not be in the public interest to bring this matter to court" at this time, he said.
The officer said he has notified Halifax Regional Police about the upcoming sale of the dog.
( mmacintyre@herald.ca)
So let me get this straight, a woman wants money for an act of love? Hmmmm. Enough vestiges of my Catholic upbringing linger that it always saddens me to see people try to pull the Christian card to justify their actions, right before they do something particularly unchristian.
Yesterday's article mentioned that Mr Shadbolt felt that the stress of this situation had been the reason for the series of small strokes he has had since he has been unable to get his dog back.
If the small ad in the paper had not been brought to the attention of the animal loving community, the 26th would have come and gone with Mr Shadbolt being none the wiser that he was no longer the legal owner of Willie. Christian no ... sneaky yes.
The only upside to this story is the speed at which the animal loving community has reacted. Big kudos to Annette Armitage from the Animal Rescue Coalitions for lending the strength of her support and her voice to a senior who simply wants to get his dog back.
(The Facebook group can be found at Give Earl Shadbolt His Dog Back!, btw )

Common Sense can be such a rare thing

from this morning's Herald
A furry fight for custody
No money, no dog, says neighbour who offered to care for pet after house fire
By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Staff Reporter

Earl Shadbolt of Eastern Passage displays a new leash and dog cushion he bought for his pet. A neighbour has been caring for Mr. Shadbolt’s dog ever since his Eastern Passage home was destroyed in a fire last year, but now she is refusing to give the dog back. (TIM KROCHAK / Staff)

EARL SHADBOLT was shocked to hear that a notice of sale in Thursday’s paper featured his little mixed breed dog.
After learning about the ad from a reporter, the 75-year-old Eastern Passage man rested his chin in his hand and shook his head.
"I can’t understand what’s going on," he said.
Last April, fire gutted his house.
"I lost a lot of my possessions and the fire was just devastating," he said. "But I made it out with my cat and my little dog, Willie."
Unfortunately, his house was uninhabitable.
"The insurance company put me in an apartment, but the apartment wouldn’t let me keep the dog," he explained.
He said a neighbour who attends the same church as he does agreed to keep Willie, a six-kilogram, black and white terrier mix.
"Everyone thought Laura Naugler was doing it out of the kindness of her heart and I used to go and visit Willie and I’d take her flowers and bring treats for Willie — I thought she was so kind to help me out in this way," he said.
Ms. Naugler said she did agree to take the dog out of the kindness of her heart.
However, she said there is much more to the story.
"This really is a love story," Ms. Naugler said during a telephone interview Thursday night.
Willie and "a neighbour’s dog literally fell in love," she said. "They started connecting and they shared bones — one would get on top of the couch and roll the bone down to the other and it was so cute to watch them play."
Although Ms. Naugler said she intended to ask Mr. Shadbolt if he would allow the dogs to socialize occasionally, she said she didn’t get a chance to.
"After I gave him the bill there was no discussion of anything," she said.
Mr. Shadbolt moved back into his renovated house in August and asked Ms. Naugler to bring Willie back in time for his first birthday.
"I got him a brand new winter coat, a new bed and some treats for his birthday," he laughed.
He said Ms. Naugler refused to give the dog back.
Ms. Naugler said she called Mr. Shadbolt’s insurance company and was told they would be giving him a cheque for $1,200 and he would pay her.
Mr. Shadbolt said he offered the compensation.
"The insurance company said they’d pay $630 and I said I’d match that amount for a total of $1,260 but that wasn’t enough," he said. "She sent me a bill for $1,797 and it isn’t even itemized — I don’t know what it’s for."
Ms. Naugler said she was quite willing to give him the dog but she wanted to get paid first.
"He could have phoned and said look I’ve only got so much money but he didn’t."
Mr. Shadbolt said he’s had a series of small strokes and blames it on his distress over his dog.
When he sought help from police, he said he was advised it was a civil matter. He went to a bank for a loan so he could retain a lawyer.
The dog is supposed to go up for sale on Oct. 26, pursuant to the Warehousemen’s Lien Act, in the parking lot of 192 Wyse Rd. in Dartmouth.
Mr. Shadbolt said he has a date in small claims court in November. Ms. Naugler has been served with a notice of the court action, but said she still intends to go through with the sale.
"He can come and buy it if he wants — he needs to do the right thing," she said.
( mmacintyre@herald.ca)
Wow! For once, words almost fail me. All may be fair in love and war, but in a province where there is an unending need for people to adopt puppies, what can this woman be thinking? In spite of the cliche, all is NOT really fair in love and war.
In a province where shelters and groups are constantly struggling to find good homes for all the puppies, no wonder the rescue community is abuzz with this story.
What time is it? While this only highlights how rare common sense can be ... it is definitely time for a sense of fair play

When goodness sake isn't enough

from the CBC news website this morning

Man sentenced for abuse of puppies left in snow
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:18 AM AT
CBC News
A Cape Breton man charged with abandoning puppies has been handed a conditional sentence.
The RCMP said the man from Wagmatcook was sentenced last week in Baddeck provincial court on five counts of animal cruelty.
The man, who was not named by RCMP, is required to perform community service and is prohibited from possessing firearms for three years.
The man and a male youth were charged after five dogs were found in the snow near Hunter's Mountain last winter.
Two puppies had suffered blows to the head and died. The other three survived and were given new homes.
A veterinarian at the Baddeck Veterinary Clinic said the three puppies he saw were dehydrated, malnourished and had puncture wounds. One had a broken leg.
RCMP said a youth from Wagmatcook who was sentenced in the same case received a probation order, which includes community service.
This is exactly the kind of soft penalty that fails to protect the animals. Back when the story broke, animal lovers around the province were horrified. There were high hopes when the RCMP pursued the investigation and arrested 2 men, one of whom was a youth . At the time, I did a post called, A few home truths that discussed the need for more meaningful penalties for animal abuse.
Abandoning the five puppies to fend for themselves in the sub zero temperatures of the middle of a Cape Breton winter was horrible enough on its own. But these two men did not stop there .... two of the puppies had fatal head injuries and all of them were suffering from hypothermia, malnutrition, dehydration and puncture wounds.
Conditional sentence? Community service? Yup ... that'll stop the next round of animal abusers and killers in their tracks.
What time is it? Its time to remember that judicial penalties exist to provide an effective deterrent for unacceptable behavior. If you would like to express your concern about this latest episode in a long list of failure for the animals:

• contact our Premier, the Honorable Darrell Dexter at premier@gov.ns.ca
• contact our Justice Minister, the Hon Ross Landry at justmin@gov.ns.ca
• and find the contact your own MLA at, Members - Constituencies

"Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one" Mark Twain

Happy Thanksgiving

We are the Happy Tails and none of us need a special day to be thankful for our second chances. Some of us were too young to understand what close calls we had. More than a few of us were passed by so often we were starting to lose faith. We weren't all well behaved ... nor were most of us purebreds.
We came in all different sizes and sexes and ages... but the one thing we all had in common was that we were all innocent bystanders who had been let down by our humans. Not everyone understands that and there are still far too many nice folks who think we might be broken or flawed.
We are the lucky ones who found safety somewhere when we were no longer wanted. So many good pets don't live to tell the tail when life changes for their people or when their people just plain turn their back on years of love and loyalty.
Every day when our feet hit the floor we are thankful for the new lives we have because someone was kind enough to open their home and their heart to us.
We want to thank each and every human who did make the time to apply to adopt us. We know it would have been quicker to simply go shopping and we are thankful that you didn't do that.
We especially want to thank the humans who could see past special needs ... even those of us who were blind can see how special that makes the people who adopted any of us.
It really doesn't matter where you adopted us from. What matters is that you opened your hearts and your home to give us all a second chance. Sometimes it wasn't the easiest thing to do ... indeed some of us took an awful lot of work.
Without you we'd all be knocking on Heaven's door instead of living the good lives we have right now.
But most of all, on this Thanksgiving... with apologies to Sly and the Family Stone.... WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LETTING US BE OURSELVES AGAIN!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Going around in Circles

Andy has only been here for three days and already its clear that he has the heart of a lion. He has needed that to survive being abandoned.....as he is a small senior with only two teeth. Honestly ... I have cats that weigh more than he does.
Andy is living proof that size doesn't matter and has no trouble at all keeping up with the big dogs. In spite of having been let down before by his last owner he is a sweet and gentle optimist.
I'm at an utter loss to understand how this great little guy wound up being tossed away like rubbish. Did his people move and leave him behind? Was he free to a good home when someone had a baby? Did his owner's children cut him loose after settling the estate?
I can already tell that there is enough terrier of some type that he has no sense of his own limitations and is willing to take hold of this better life that has been offered and make it his own. Big dogs, strange people, cats and even wildlife the size of deer are opportunities not obstacles for Andy.
Year ago when I taught at the military cooking school, I had a poster in my office that showed Odie sitting up in the tree with Garfield ... and the caption read " Its amazing what can be done when you don't realize its not possible"
For months now, my friend Joan and I have been mulling over the role that different levels of government and that different organizations should be playing to better the lot of homeless pets in this province. Last night, she summed up her thoughts rather well on her blog Me and My Dogs in Halifax Nova Scotia .
A while ago, while I was out in the woods with the dogs, I had an Ah Ha moment. Money is NOT the root of all evil and it definitely is not the biggest stumbling block on the road to No Kill Nova Scotia.
The biggest obstacle is the same thing its always been .... IGNORANCE. To overcome that, we are in desperate need of:
1. Honest statistics from all Animal Control Shelters, Rescues, TNR groups and SPCA Branches . These numbers need to include:

• total intake
• total refused intake
• total killed for any reason... why is this important? An ongoing study by the No Kill Advocacy center has shown that when any group or shelter are killing more than a total of ten percent, the term unhealthy and untreatable is being misapplied. To read the document http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/leadershipstudy_000.pdf

Without numbers, it is too easy for the public consciousness to allow the problem of homeless animals to be ignored. Making the public aware of the real scope of the problem and the actual numbers of animals being killed annually is the only way to galvanize any action for the animals. Remember how they were shooting animals in Annapolis County? Everyone 'knew' about it for years until it became public knowledge and couldn't be ignored any longer.

2. Existing provincial animal cruelty legislation must be changed to include effective prevention and deterrents of both animal abuse and irresponsible pet ownership, by including:

• mandatory breeder registration, including limitations such as the ones in effect in England - minimum breeding ages for bitches and both annual and lifetime limitations on the number of litters each individual bitch can produce.
• specifically defining minimum humane housing for companion animals
• banning the traffic of living breathing sentient beings on the free online ad sites

3. Municipalities need to be responsible for their own animal care and control centers with:

• legislation to ensure that all centers have convenient hours for adoption and that all adoptables are spayed or neutered before leaving the facility
• according to Petfinder application rules, any AC is automatically eligible for a petfinder listing. This lifesaving tool should be used by all NS municipalities.
• a provincial database for lost and found animals
• a 'red flag' network legislated ... in other words .... before an animal can be killed, rescue groups and shelters must be given the opportunity to save the life
• free workshops on responsible pet ownership topics such as obedience, health care and feeding
• public information on TNR that is broadly available on the county website, tax mailings and through community cat workshops
• no questions asked readily available spay neuter chits
• low cost microchip clinics
• free lifetime licensing for all microchipped and altered pets, and last but not least
• if municipalities can pay for commercials about not flushing tampons and newspaper ads about getting permits, then they can pony up for ads in all media about responsible pet ownership.

It should be noted that it would also be more difficult for the municipalities to ignore the reality of the killing when it must be physically engaged in by their employees and not buried in a dry report filed in their Protective Services office.

4. The society needs to rethink the limits of their mandate:

• first and foremost, their shelters should not engage in AC contractual arrangements. The above mentioned study has also discovered that when communities have to pay to run their own 'pounds' it costs them more. Why? Because the shelters that contract to do so wind up subsidizing animal control and that in turn inhibits their own ability to do lifesaving work. In addition, the study also suggests that it simply saves more lives to have two shelters instead of one because there is more space for the animals.
• adoption methods need to be changed. There are proven methods for boosting adoption - mobile and offsite adoptions and offerring a broad variety of incentives.
• The traditional practice of using the adoption fee to either recover some of the rescue costs or determine whether an adopter can afford a pet is a large part of the reason why there is 'no room at the inn' for strays. It doesn't matter that the adoption fees are much less than the vet check/vaccine and altering costs. What matters is the public perception of that.
• I know I go on like a stuck record, but the society should get behind a Nova Scotia Week for the Animals. It would be an apparelled opportunity for the society to fulfill their education mandate while broadening the public support base for all animal rescue
• Another hobbyhorse of mine is Petfinder. Its important to remember that Petfinder is like E Harmony ... people using the service are already looking to fall in love. Until all the cute / little / well behaved / purebred / and/ or puppies are listed ... no matter how briefly .... first time adopters will assume that none are available and will move on to another source for their pet. There is no sense in getting huffy about people who opt for the pet store, the online ad or the backyard breeder if there is no indication that the society has as much selection to offer as they do.

The old adage ... the better you do the better you do... is so very applicable here. In every single instance where communities have pooled their resources and changed their approach, support has been immediately forthcoming. They didn't have to get to complete no kill ... it was enough for them to be making the effort.

The legislation isn't enough by itself. Nor is the municipal support. Or the society. Or all the great rescue and TNR groups working in NS right now. But if everyone could just grab and oar and pull in the same direction, the boat would get there instead of going around in circles.