Sneaking in the back door on friday night

from the CBC News website tonight
Halifax area seeks new animal shelter
Last Updated: Friday, November 6, 2009 6:00 PM AT CBC News
The Halifax Regional Municipality is looking for a new animal shelter service to house rescued and neglected dogs, cats and exotic animals.
The city is looking for a shelter with a minimum of 15 kennels for dogs, five for cats and at least one for other animals such as ferrets and reptiles.
It must also have a contingency plan to handle any overflow and a way to care for animals for an extended period of time if they are held for evidence or court proceedings.
The shelter would be the keeper for all animals picked up by HRM Animal Services, so the tender also calls for a facility that can provide 24-hour access for animal by-law officers.
Coun. David Hendsbee said the city is not interested in building its own facility because it would cost more than $1 million.
"All we're doing is looking for a venue available to us to use for services … a proponent in the general public to see if they have a facility either available now or want to build a facility they can utilize to service this contract," he said.
Old contract expires
The current shelter, run by the Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, receives about $500,000 a year from the city for its services. But the city's contract with the non-profit organization expires next spring.
A study by the municipality in 2005 found that the SPCA shelter in Burnside was "barely adequate in virtually every aspect of shelter management."
"Because of its poor design, it makes it extremely difficult to provide proper upkeep and maintenance," the report said. "It is surprising what is being accomplished in spite of the condition of the facility."
The report concluded that upgrading the facility was "virtually impossible" without gutting the entire building and renovating the inside.
Hendsbee said Friday the SPCA may still put in a bid on the current tender, but there could also be other interested parties.
"I think there's a number of kennel operations and other pet-care facilities out there that may want to look at this as an opportunity," he said. "We may have vacant warehouses anywhere in the Metro area that could possibly be utilized."
The contract is for a maximum of five years. Proposals must be submitted by Dec. 1 and municipal officials want the service to be in place by next April 1.
For anyone who hasn't read the report, or who wants to revisit it, a copy may be found online at http://www.nshomelesspets.com/2008_04_24_10_17_51.pdf

So this is a very interesting little tidbit to see tucked away in the Friday evening news. Traditionally, that is where politicians try to introduce the action items they are trying to slip in under the public radar.
On the surface it seems innocuous ... so why does it have the hair standing up on the back of my neck?

• I know I've mentioned it before, but there is an ongoing study that is being done by the No Kill Advocacy Center, that concludes that that when animal control sheltering services are contracted out, the municipality only saves money because they are not actually assuming responsibility for all the costs associated with providing responsible pet adoption ( ie vet checks, vaccinating and of course altering ) http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/leadershipstudy_000.pdf
• According to the CBC article, HRM is looking for a minimum housing of 15 dog kennels, 5 cat kennels and 1 "other' kennel. Last year, nearly half (48.5%) of the 764 dogs taken into Metro were claimed by their owners, while only a fraction (1.8%) of the 1041 cats went back home to their owners. That begs the question ...what does HRM plan on doing with the cats.... bearing in mind that animal control is a municipal responsibility.
• Although I am continually advocating that it would be in the best interests of the animals ( and the taxpayers ) for all municipalities to assume responsibility for their animal control sheltering, the article is still quite skewed, because it fails to mention any of the significant improvements that have been made by the hard working folks at Metro. Instead it implies that nothing has really changed at Metro since the report was written, and makes no mention of the fact that this report, which was paid for by taxpayer dollars, was kept secret by HRM until last year.
• In spite of the improvements to Metro, apparantly Councillor Hendsbee feels that it might be more appropriate to utilize "vacant warehouses"
• No mention is made of any safeguards for the animals. Will these "vacant warehouses" be centrally located in an area convenient to the public? Will adoption be encouraged? If so, will there be user friendly adoption hours? Will "pound puppies (and cats) " be altered/vet checked/etc before adoption?
• More importantly, what will happen to the animals when the 72 hour hold period is up? Will they expect the SPCA to assume the burden of the rescue costs without any compensation at all? Or will there be another contract for Unhappy Tails with HRM veterinarians to kill the cats and dogs when their time is up?
• If animals are held for an extended period of time ... such as a Brindi... how will that impact on the outcome for the other animals?
• Contracting out a sheltering facility absolves the city of its obligation to save long term tax dollars by promoting the lifesaving programs recommended in their own report, such as free lifetime licenses for microchipped and altered pets. There will be no need for the city to invest in workshops for obedience training. Mind you, given the constant struggle that responsible dog owners and advocates like my friend Joan blogs about, http://dogkisser.blogspot.com/, it doesn't sound like HRM has a whole lot of interest in changing their status quo.

What time is it? To paraphrase the old newscast from the seventies ... its eleven o'clock ... do you know what your politicians are doing?

Hmmm... billing the animal abusers ... its about time!

From the CBC News website tonight
Online pet store owner to be billed for seized animals
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 6:09 PM AT Comments0Recommend2
CBC News
The owner of a now-defunct pet business in P.E.I. will be held financially responsible for the animals seized from him last month by the Department of Agriculture.
More than 80 animals were taken from kennels belonging to Bud Wheatley, who owned PuppiesAcrossCanada.com. The website has since been suspended.
The pets were taken to the P.E.I. Humane Society, which said it would bill Wheatley for the extra costs.
"It was the first time in the history of the P.E.I. Humane Society that anything that large had been undertaken and that we had helped that many animals so suddenly," said Kelly Mullally, the organization's executive director.
She said under the Companion Animal Protection Act, it is the group's responsibility to take care of the animals seized and to bill the owner of those animals for any expenses incurred.
"We're responsible for that debt and we have to collect that debt," she said. "If we're not able to collect that debt within 24 months from the owner, then we're able to go to the provincial government and get some assistance."
The seizure doubled the population at the animal shelter, which now cares for more than 200 animals.
Mullally said there have been corporate donations and extra volunteers to help, but the task has been expensive and time-consuming.
In an effort to increase adoptions, the shelter is keeping its adoption floor open until 8 p.m. on Thursday and on Nov. 12.
Now if they could make that stick, that might be a more significant deterrent that slap on the wrist fines will ever be. As anyone with a pet knows, its all too easy to wind up with a substantial vet bill for a normally healthy animal that has been well loved and cared for. Even with the available resource of the vet college, it doesn't take any imagination to picture the vet bills for this seizure.
Collecting the debt from the owner is on the books for the existing Animal Cruelty Act here in NS, and has been for some time. If a prosecutor could be found who was not willing to coddle animal abusers, this could be both a useful tool and act as a deterrent against abuse.
As always, the penalty is only part of the picture. Until the language of the Criminal Code sections pertaining to animal cruelty changes, there are far too many loopholes that still permit animal abusers to evade prosecution. How many times have the Benoits slithered out the courtroom door because the crown has been unable to prove they were the "owners" of the unfortunate animals in their care. If you will remember, the paltry thirty day sentence Gail Benoit received this year was NOT for animal abuse ... it was for assaulting a peace officer in the person of an SPCA constable.
Inadequate penalties will continue as long as the the phrase "willful neglect" , which is nearly impossible to prove 'beyond shadow of a doubt" , remain in the language of any animal cruelty laws.
What time is it? Its always time to remember that the single thing ... the only thing ... that will inspire our federal politicians to effect any meaningful change for the animals is strong voter feedback. Its time to remind our politicians that getting Bill C-229 to the first reading is only the very first part of the journey.
This is not new ground ... so for the convenience of readers whom I continue to nag about contacting their MP's, ( and for my own convenience in not reposting this material regularly : ))) Scroll down to the bottom of the page for contact information for your Nova Scotia MP

Grreat news about Riley

Riley, the Missing Injured Golden Retriever in Dartmouth has come back home ... soaking wet with a cut paw but of course her family are taking her to the vet for xrays, JIC. The family would like to thank everyone who helped spread the word and those who were out looking.

Willie is home!

from the Herald just now
N.S. man gets Willie the dog back
By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Staff ReporterTue. Nov 3 - 12:37 PM
Willie has been reunited with his owner.Earl Shadbolt, the 75-year-old Eastern Passage man who asked a woman to care for his dog after his house was gutted by fire in April, is sitting at home with his terrier mix by his side.The dog was brought back to Mr. Shadbolt shortly after 11 a.m. by local animal welfare advocates.The woman who had cared for the dog refused to return him unless Mr. Shadbolt gave her money.A combination of insurance money and funds raised by the Animal Rescue Coalition helped convince the woman to give up the dog.
This story has definitely highlighted the importance of two things .... microchipping and licensing one's dog and of getting a written contract for private fostering. I found a fairly decent generic one on www.Petfinder.com and have put a link to it on the front door of the homeless pet site.
Now of course, if Willie had been adopted from a reputable rescue or shelter ... there would have been no quibble because the adoption contract provides pretty solid proof of ownership, eh?
And ... before the keyboards catch on fire, if helping an elderly man get his dog back is somewhat outside the normal parameters of animal rescue, good old fashioned compassion and kindness never goes out of style.

Update on Rescue without Borders,

Two of the Georgia Four have been adopted, and now only Shep and Lily are still waiting for a Forever Home .... East Coast German Shepherd Rescue want him to be the only dog in his new home as he is not fond of other dogs.

Missing Injured Golden Retriever in Dartmouth

Riley .... a young adult spayed female reddish Golden Retriever... is missing ... her people have had a death in the family and the house is upside down right now. They live 35 Montibello Drive in Dartmouth , Riley got the door, ran across the street, was hit by a car and was last seen galloping down Gourok Ave.
Riley is wearing a red collar and HRM tags. If you see Riley, please contact 434-1514.

Its November and that means its Adopt a Senior Pet Month

Happy New Year! Somehow I suspect that wasn't why November was chosen as Adopt a Senior Pet Month .... still I can't think of a more meaningful time for it. Senior pets should be celebrated because they bring some very special gifts to the table.
When Andy came here, just as Scamp did years ago, he settled in right away. He was old enough and wise enough to get the hang of our routine on the first day. At his age, he was quick to appreciate what a blessing it was to have a second chance at domestic bliss. Best of all, in spite of having been let down by his human(s?) in the past, he is still willing to open his heart and take a chance at love again.
After having lost my sweet senior McG, I knew that it would be too much of a jolt to go back to square one with a puppy. I like sleeping through the night and am getting a little long in the tooth to want to get back into to the housetraining routine again.
Not to mention that, for me personally, I felt that the best way to repay the (all too short) years of love that McG gave me would be to give another senior a safe berth.
I've been looking around the rescue sites and there doesn't seem to be anything special going on for the senior animals for this month .... but I AM happy to report that in at least a couple of branches, the society has reduced and in some cases completely dropped the adoption fee for the seniors in its care.
CAPS also has a very special program going on that they call PAWS ... Pairing Animals With Seniors. How that program works is that seniors can apply to be long term fosters for the more mature pets in CAPS' care. They work very closely with the RCMP liaison for Seniors on this one. Because it is foster, not adopting, CAPS retains responsibility for the food and vet costs ... allowing many seniors who might not be able to afford a pet to benefit from the companionship of a pet. There is also a measure of security for the senior, because in the process of checking on the pet, volunteers are aware of whether or not all is well with the senior human.
Then there are the Georgia Four .... three of whom are seniors. I think that this story, the Rescue Without Borders thread, really highlights how much love and compassion there is in the Nova Scotia Rescue community for senior pets. And before the keyboards catch on fire, this is not the first time that homeless pets have been "imported' in from away. The very fact that there is enough love for the animals here in NS that good pets have been able come here from Nfld, NB, PEI and beyond is one of the big reasons that I truly believe it is possible to get to No Kill Nova Scotia.
Closer to home, the story of Adara and her buddy Desi, is just one more example of how rescue is willing to go the distance. Even though they know it might be a challenge to find someone with a big enough heart to adopt this pair, the LA Animal Shelter is determined to find these lifelong companions a home together.
I've lost track of how many seniors have waltzed through NS Breed Rescues ... lovely Labradors ... great German Shepherd Dogs .... not to mention the many lovely little elderdogs.
There was a time when it was usually a death sentence for a senior pet to become homeless ... when no one understand that they could be placed if they were presented and promoted properly.
There is a whole "market" of adopters that is ideally suited to adopt senior pets.... the Baby Boomers. I'm at the young end of the group and believe I am fairly typical. I've retained the social conscience that carried me through the sixties. With my busy life, I really don't have the time to properly train a youngster. While I do not think of myself as an old lady, I must confess that I have reached the age where I'm never my best self if I don't get a good night's sleep.
Baby Boomers like to do things a little different and (hopefully) a little better than their parents. So campaigning to their conscience with campaigns to adopt a Senior pet is about so much more than saving lives .... its a great way to engage Baby Boomer support for animal rescue.
What time is it? Its always time to remember that animal rescue of all kinds should never shine its light under a bushel if they expect to save lives. To that end, there is a special section on the homeless pet site this month for the wonderful elderpets in need of a home - Andy's Friends