Rain or shine .. this would be a very interesting way for anyone in the HRM area to spend some of this Sunday. Are not kids of all ages just fascinated with Reptiles and Amphibians?
Last year my brother went to the Halifax Reptile Expo and said that it was very interesting indeed. Its being put on by the very media savvy folks at Ssafe Haven .
These are not people who overlook any opportunity to promote both their rescue and responsible husbandry practices. Their Petfinder page is one of the best examples around that I can think of ... they have a very active Facebook Group where attractive posters of all their adoptables are listed and can be shared ... they are one of the few groups around that take advantage of the Petfinder Event Calendar.
( In fact the only other group event listed this month for the entire province is the Yarmouth SPCA Bark in the Park )
But I don't want to wander afield into yet another Petfinder rant ... simply to point out that Ssafe Haven have all the bases covered. This is the third year they have put on the Halifax Reptile Expo ... which in my books makes it an annual event, eh?
I know that the very well attended GPAC Pet Expo is also an established event ... but just imagine the possibilities if there was to be a Pet Adoption Expo? With information on adopting? Reps from rescues and shelters? Plugs for the merits of Spay / Neuter?
Gosh ... the rescues and shelters could peddle all the tshirts and magnets that do double duty for advertising their group! What about a Meet and greet with well behaved dogs and friendly cats ?
What an opportunity to promote the more boisterous dogs and the shyer kitties with free posters that visitors could take home! Gosh .. the staff and volunteers could even wear t shirts with iron printable transfer pics of the pets who had been waiting the longest!
Visitors could sign up for free E newsletters! Foster pawrents could be on hand to "recruit"! And best of all ... people who never go near an animal rescue site could take home an adoption or foster application to send in!
What time is it? Its always time to remember that everything has a beginning. Three years ago, the Reptile Expo was just a brilliant idea and now its an annual event.
Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does. Steuart Henderson Britt
Remember Nate? The lovely young "honorary Lab" whose huge surgery
bills were the inspiration for Lab Rescues' Speed Dating fundraiser? I'm happy to report that he is recovering well and has been adopted by lovely people with lots of land for him to run on. AND the speed dating fundraiser was so much fun , and such a success, that all but $650. of the bill has been paid.
There is a second speed dating fundraiser in the works ... stay tuned!
The geese are going south today. We were lucky to see part of the parade while we were having our post hike cool down / inspection tour of the play yard. I truly hope they survive the newfound enthusiasm for goose culls on both side of the border and that we'll see them next spring.
Summer really does slide away with such beauty and grace. If the nights are already noticeably longer, they are also lovely and cool for sleeping. The lions share of the heavy lifting in the garden is done and the only bits left are like a buffet to be enjoyed instead of something else to be processed.
Where would we be without the seasons? We live in a continual state of anticipation ... looking forward to the next turn of the Wheel that will bring cooler/ clearer/ warmer / hotter weather around.
Where would we be without change? We are a society that professes to love animals .... yet our compassion is often overridden by situational ethics. Its always easier to turn a blind eye than to take proactive steps forward, eh?
The society stats for the second quarter were published online last night. Coming out of the gate, its important to remember that these numbers only paint part of the picture.
They do not include the statistics for every AC and private rescue in the province. Nor do they include the numbers of pets who could not 'find room at the inn' Nor they do not include the number of Owner Requested One Way Trips to animal clinics. Saddest of all, they do not include all the Unsung Unhappy Tails where animals are shot/ drowned or abandoned to die lonely and hungry and afraid.
Still ... they are out there in the open for all the world to see, and if they don't paint the entire picture, they at least are an indicator.
Me and my trifocals haven't really had a change to digest them all yet, but once again the big thing that jumps out is the difference in live release rates for cats and dogs.
Would that not make this an excellent time to start doing off site cat adoptions? And before the keyboards catch on fire, I am not specifically picking on the society with this subject. Nor am I suggesting that implementing offsite cat only adoption fairs will magically fix things.
The homeless cat problem is so huge that many kind hearts can't even wrap their minds around it. Its going to take every tool in the arsenal to make a real difference ... and THAT includes all the other essential bits I'm always going on and on like a stuck record about. Low cost / high volume spay neuter. Meaningful support for TNR. Promotion of Early Age Spay Neuter to both pet owners and the veterinary community.
Like it or not .. the difference between cats and dogs in more than purely anatomical. Cats are permitted by more landlords, they are cheaper to feed and can be found 'free to a good home' everywhere. Add into that mix that pet owners who would never dream of opening the door and just letting the dog go out on tour unattended don't hesitate to do so with their kitties.
What time is it? If we wouldn't feed dog food to a cat, its time to stop expecting the same adoption strategies to work for cats and dogs.
I'm a middle aged grandmother, not a professional webcrafter, but even an amateur like myself has discovered the advantages to using CSS script for websites. It is just so darned convenient to be able to change every page in a website by editing a single CSS style sheet.
One page or fifty, anything can be changed with one edit. Who wouldn't find something like that useful? And the really lovely thing is that it doesn't cost any more to build or host a CSS site.
I think that's one of the things that I really love about Petfinder. Whether an adopter lives in Berwick or Broad Cove, they simply have to punch in their postal code to search. Petfinder even offers the option of choosing the distance the adopter is willing to travel in pursuit of their new best friend.
Even better, Petfinder offers adopters advanced search options to research the pet a bit before contacting the shelter or group. For instance, in a few months, my daughter and her husband are planning on adopting a dog. My granddaughter turns four tomorrow and they already have two cats .... so they are searching a narrower set of criteria than an empty nester might.
Petfinder is rapidly becoming a household word. In the past couple of years, popular TV shows such as NCIS have actually incorporated a characters use of Petfinder as part of the storyline. This week, there was an awesome huge advertising feature in Time promoting Petfinder It was sponsored by Petco and no doubt timed to launch their National Adoption Weekend Sept 18 and 19.
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record .. whats not to love about Petfinder? Its a well known free service that allows rescues to engage adopters with great pics, a good bio and even a video.
Now an adopter living in Broad Cove might broaden his or her search, because even when the Cape Breton SPCA list one of their adoptables, a picture usually has to be worth a thousand words.
As the old saying goes .. the devil is in the details. Adopters full of questions are turning to Petfinder for answers. Is the dog good with kids? Housetrained? How about cats?
How many potential adopters move right along to the listings that DO offer the information they are looking for?
Which brings up another one of my Petfinder beefs. In a province where there at at least eight cats for every dog listed on Petfinder, good cat bios are far and few between. At the top end of scale is CAPS. This morning, CAPS has 146 cats listed on its Petfinder site.... all with good pics and a nice little bio.
One of the busiest women I know, Sonya who runs Sonya's Cat and Animal Rescue Society, never stints on the time spent doing Petfinder bios for each and every cat in her care.
Honestly ... NOT listing all the cats with interesting bios is exactly the same as expecting to sell the old car without listing it anywhere, eh?
Isn't it just another version of Cat(ch) 22 .... there are so many darned kitties that not everyone makes the time to do their listings .... and yet there is seldom any room at the inn because the kitties don't get adopted as quickly as the dogs with the better listings.
What time is it? Its time to recognize the connection between the double standard for Petfinder listings and there never being any room at the inn for the poor second class kittizens.
I could have used some of this nice cool weather last week when I was rushing to put the wood away before Earl arrived. I'm a middle aged grandmother not a twenty-nine year old weight lifter and it would have been so much easier to tarp it down securely and hope for the best.
Happily, I'll never know if that would have done the trick. The lovely summer sundried wood is snug and safely tucked away now so anything else would be just sheer speculation.
One of the other bits bout being a middle aged grandmother is understanding the real value of an ounce of prevention. And nowhere is that more evident than in the urgent need for low cost spay neuter clinics.
If there is one single, solitary subject that everyone in the rescue community agrees on, it is the need for low cost high volume spay neuter clinics. Every discussion that I've had with every group this summer has included some version of the phrase" this is the worst summer we have ever seen for stray cats and kittens"
Why? In everyone's perfect fantasy world, the only people who would get pets would be the ones who could afford to alter them. But here in the real world, when it can cost a months groceries for the surgery, it just isn't happening.
Here in the real world, people fall in love with the cute face. Decisions on the affordability of pet ownership are based on the cost of food and litter without calculating the cost of trips to the vet. Nor does it help the situation that the "free to a good homes" aren't screening for vet records. Nope .. they are simply grateful to have their own oversight settled so easily without worrying about that.
So there is a Cat(ch) 22 where the very people who should be adopting the altered cats either don't qualify or don't have the adoption fee readily at hand.
Here in the real world, most people still haven't heard of early age spay neuter ... nor are all the vets in this province on board with that either. All too many folks also live in that fantasy universe where they will be able to keep a cat in heat from getting into mischief.
Which in turn of course creates more "free to a good homes" or worse, more strays when the teenage mommies are abandoned ... often because there is no 'room at the inn" Another Cat(ch) 22
Should low cost/ high volume spay neuter only be available to low income families? Not if it is to be effective! Especially in times like these, there is a country mile between net income and disposable income, eh? Life events of all sorts can leave no wiggle room at all irregardless of the tax bracket.
So what happened to the wonderful Low Cost / High Volume Spay Neuter clinic proposal that the Nova Scotia SPCA presented to HRM council back in Jan 22?
Was it put on the back burner? What happened to it?
Was it too expensive? Not self sustaining? Or was it just another instance of politics being played at the expense of the animals?
The only thing we DO know is as of this writing its still just a great idea. A well considered thoughtful idea based on a successful program in another province. But the longer it sits on the drawing board the more urgently it will be needed. Cat(ch) 22, eh?
What time is it? Its time to recognize that every summer from here on in will be the "worst one ever" until somebody smartens up and turns off the tap. As always, the way ahead will only be paved by strong voter feedback:
from this morning's Herald:
Dog rescued from hot car
By Eva Hoare Staff Reporter
Fri, Sep 3 - 4:53 AM
A long-haired dachshund found inside a car in a grocery store parking lot nearly died Thursday in sweltering 53-degree heat.
"We were very fortunate that a Good Samaritan, just in the nick of time . . . removed the dog from the vehicle and called us," said Kristin Williams, executive director for the Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty.
The young, male dog recovered. It was one of more than 20 such cases that had SPCA officers busy during the day, Williams said.
The SPCA was called to the Atlantic Superstore lot on Joseph Howe Drive around 11:30 a.m. The dachshund was in really bad shape after being inside the vehicle for about 20 minutes, she said.
It was the second call to the same location that morning, although the other dog — a long-haired, mixed-breed collie — wasn’t in nearly as bad condition, Williams said.
"We tested the surface area of the vehicle; it was 53 degrees . . . although inside the vehicle, it was probably much higher," she said of the car that had the dachshund inside it.
The owner didn’t realize the dog was so close to dying, said Williams.
"That was definitely the worst we’ve seen in a long time," she said. "He was quite surprised that it was such a serious concern and that the dog became so ill so quickly."
So far, Thursday was the busiest of the year to date for this kind of call, said the spokeswoman.
It wasn’t clear Thursday whether the society would proceed with charges in this or any of the other cases, said Williams.
Such severe incidents serve to let the public know just how serious it is to leave a dog unattended inside a vehicle or outside without shelter in extreme heat, Williams said.
The SPCA will be on standby over the weekend and has a number of volunteers on duty to deal with any animal troubles associated with the impending storm, she said. Homeowners should consider posting a sign on their doors to indicate the number of pets in the residence, their behaviour and other needs if the hurricane causes great damage in the area, she said.
( ehoare@herald.ca)
Twenty dogs? Somehow I suspect thats the tip of the iceburg and that the total around the province would stack up a lot higher than that.
And yet it "isn't clear whether the society would proceed with charges in this or any of the other cases"?
Laws by themselves are never an adequate deterrent. What would happen if people were pulled over, given a breathalyser and then sent on their merry way if they told the rcmp they didn't realize they had too much to drink?
In all fairness, I suspect the society is caught in a funding catch 22 type of situation with respect to cruelty investigations. In the publicly available board minutes for the June 28th meeting, it was reported that "Provincial is still having a challenging year with respect to investigations". In realspeak that could mean that charges that cannot be successfully prosecuted might not get laid.
And yet .... people will continue leaving dogs in hot cars until a few ARE successfully prosecuted.
Otherwise ... people will keep pulling the stupid card and dogs will continue to be in harms way.
What time is it? In a world where not everyone can be 'good for goodness sake', its time to set a precedent by making an example. In this less than perfect world, the best defense for the animals could just be a good offense.
Gosh.. is it EVER hot out today! When there's a blue heat haze shimmering on the mountain, we just skip the trails and head straight for the river. We don't usually see fish jumping in the river this late, but its just one more delight to amuse and entertain the dogs.
Like everyone else in Nova Scotia, I'm "battening down the hatches" for the possibility of a hurricane this weekend. In countryspeak, that means putting away the sundried wood and filling the freezers with tubs to make ice. Closer to time, I'll get kettles and buckets of water organized.
When I was thirteen we spent a summer in Sardinia, where we found out first hand why siestas are so popular in sultrier climes. Even though its not nap time here, its a chance to get out of the heat by checking my mail and doing site updates.
I was very pleased to see this waiting in my inbox:
SPCA asking pet caregivers to take precautions and prepare for Hurricane Earl
Nova Scotia (September 1, 2010) – The Nova Scotia SPCA is alerting pet caregivers to take precautions with the upcoming category 3 storm: Hurricane Earl. Though downgraded from a category 4 storm, the still powerful hurricane is expected to hit the Canadian coast this weekend. During a storm, it is important to bring pets indoors and to try to keep them calm. Some simple precautions and preparations include:
1. Ensuring vaccinations are up-to-date and that records are handy
2. Keeping a collar with license and identification on your pet
3. Preparing a special kit for your pet that includes a leash, carrying case, food, water, bowls, toys, medications and any special instructions for the care of your pet
4. Put a sign on your door that indicates how many pets live at your residence in the event that you must leave your home
For more information consult the SPCA, Disaster Animal Response Team of Nova Scotia, or the Emergency Management Office (EMO) or this website: http://emo.gov.ns.ca/content/plan-your-pets.
Its a good thing, imho, to remind everyone to think about what would happen if they had to leave their homes with, or worse, without their pets. And before the keyboards catch on fire, people generally don't deliberately leave their pets behind but if you will recall the last time they had the fires out at Porters Lake not everyone was home when the roads were closed off by the police during the day.
Its early yet in the week to say for sure how severe the storm will be ... but its a sure thing that its always good to to take a proactive approach and have a plan.
