Calling all couch potatoes! Sweet and snuggly little old man looking for a retirement home!

I freely admit to a fondness for older fellows ... the ones on four paws at least.  If its a crapshoot to be a homeless pet, the ante is really stepped up for the seniors.

Take Grampy for example.  If its risky business being an old pet, the odds get even worse for elder beagles.   All too often, people think that these little 'rabbit hounds' with their thin little coats actually prefer to live outside.  

So when they wander off and get lost ... instead of going out to look for them people just shrug and think that its natural for them to want to wander off and die.  Even worse are the ones who are deliberately dumped too far from home to find their way back.  Worse still are the other horrible variations of the Unhappy Tail that awaits at the end of a bullet or a needle.

People say that I'm a hopeless romantic, but I maintain the real delusionals are the ones who turn a blind eye to the outcome awaiting abandoned pets.  When Grampy was first brought to the Yarmouth SPCA, he was in terrible shape.  He was desperately thin and his nails were so long and curled he could hardly walk. 

Yet he is a dog and that means that he doesn't hold a grudge.  He may have been timid when the petfinder volunteer brought him out to take his picture, but he rapidly warmed up to snuggles and pets for her.

They say he gets along very well with cats but that bigger and more boisterous dogs make him a bit nervous.  After everything this little man has been through, who could blame him for that, eh?

What time is it?  Its time to remember that comic strips are not real life and Snoopy is the only dog that should actually live outside in a dog house.

Take a Chance on Chance

Meet Chance.  He's getting pretty discouraged because for two years he has watched the other cats come in and go out at SHAID.  For two years, kind hearts have managed to overlook this shy boy because he is neither a kitten nor the friendliest fellow at the shelter.
He's not the kind of guy to wear his heart on his sleeve, but everyone at the shelter has found out first hand how affectionate this dear boy is once he gets to know them.
Its a shame he can't talk ... or Chance would be able to explain why he doesn't roll out the red carpet right away.   Was he frightened by one of the all too many Unkind Hearts who treat strays like nuisances?  Was his little heart broken when the human he knew and trusted tossed him away like an old sock?
Whatever the original reason, the good news is that Chance is a tabby and they have a very well deserved reputation for friendliness.  He might hide his light under a bushell, but everyone at the shelter has discovered how quickly he does warm up, if given half a chance.
Once again, this year Chance is going to be part of the special holiday promotion that SHAID runs every year for the kitties who have been in care for the longest time.   What does that mean in realspeak?  It means that the shelter is going to underwrite half of his adoption fee in the hopes of attracting a kindred spirit.
If I have learned one thing in fifty six years, it is that the best things in life are often the ones we have to work for.  To be perfectly honest, I can only envy the kind heart who adopts Chance .  I know I say it all the time, but there really WILL be more love than anyone can possibly imagine waiting for the perceptive person who opens their heart and their home to this lovable lad.
Or as the four lads from Liverpool once said "And in the end ... the love you take is equal to the love you make "

Taking off the blinders

There was a survey on Saturday on the Herald Website asking readers whether they believed that Pet Stores should be able to sell pets.  I was delighted of course to see this, but the comments accompanying the survey really indicated just how much more mainstream education is needed on the subject.
In particular, I was struck by the rocket scientist who said " its a pet store ... what else should they sell?  Duh!"
I know I natter on like a stuck record on the subject, but we really do live in a convenience based world.  For every kind heart that cares about the chemical content of their food .. or how humanely it was raised and slaughtered ... there are dozens and dozens who are only concerned about the pricetag.  For every global villager who understands the local economic impact of outsourcing, there are hundreds more turning a deliberate blind eye if it doesn't affect their immediate circle of family and friends.
At the end of the day, people won't stop buying pets in pet stores because they have a collective epiphany .... they will stop when it is against the law.  Straight, sweet and simple.
After all, people KNOW that people like the Benoits have made a rich living peddling unfortunate .. and usually underage... puppies on the free online ad sites.  People KNOW there is only a curbside guarantee for anything there.  People KNOW all that and still persist in purchasing puppies from questionable sources through this venue.
So people aren't going to stop buying pets in pet stores until the law changes.   It doesn't even matter that it would actually be much cheaper for them to adopt a pet from rescue. 
The only thing that counts is that it is easy and simple and convenient to keep the blinders on.
Can you think of a better argument for off site adoption events?  Why not make it as easy and simple and convenient as possible for people to meet the lovely adoptables instead?  
At the end of the day ... pet stores in this province understand what most rescues still haven't grasped ... they are able to sell pets because it is convenent for people to meet them.
What time is it?  With the big money making holiday season just around the corner for pet stores, its definitely time for rescues and shelters to try taking it to the streets.

Building a door for the animals

What HAVE they been building back up on the North Mountain?  A stage?  A dance floor?   Not even close.   The first four pics were sent to me last June when the hard working volunteers with CAPS were just starting to build Violet Cottage. 

Now the last curtains have been hung and the Newest Cat Cottage is all decorated and ready for a very special Paws and Pumpkins Open House on Sunday.

Clearly the kitties are enjoying their new digs ...   but like a champion figure skater, these photos look so lovely and perfect that would be easy to forget how much love and elbow grease were involved.

No question about it ... CAPS always has the largest numbers of kitties in care of any group in the province.  ( 134 at the moment of this writing and that doesn't include the latest kitties just rescued from the pound who will be listed when the standard quarantine is up)

How do they do it?  Like the old poster of Garfield looking up at Odie sitting up in the tree ... with the caption "its amazing what can be done when ya don't know its impossible" ... they have created something very unique that is as individual as the kitties in their care.

(As a sidebar to that, the fact that their BOGO is now in place indefinitely is a worthy of a separate post as is CAPS' ever so sensible practice of charging a higher adoption fee for the youngsters than for its adults in care.)

So if you are looking for a good reason for a Sunday drive, scroll down through the sneak preview to the poster with all the details.

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. Milton Berle 

On finishing what is started

I remember the days when we didn't 'trust anyone over thirty'.  Now my own daughter is over thirty and I'm freewheeling down to fifty-six on Friday! 
What a long strange trip its been, looking back.  When I was a little girl, equal pay legislation for women was being passed at a provincial level around the country, but it wasn't until the year my own daughter was born that the Canadian Human Rights Act really lent any strength to provincial laws
I was actually almost thirty before the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms became part of our Constitution.
Before that ...individual enlightened men like my father knew that women were often shortchanged in the workplace, but there was nothing on the books to keep everyone else on the straight and narrow.
Legislation is ALWAYS the biggest tool for social change.  Deep down everyone knows its dangerous and life threatening to drink and drive.  Deep down.  But it took better legislation and stiffer penalties to minimize the odds of it happening.  
Does that mean that nobody drinks and drives anymore?  Of course not.  But now ... when they are 'caught in the act' there are meaningful penalties that can be applied.
So does that mean that the 'new' Animal Protection Act will stop animal abusers in their tracks?  Not even close. 
Why?   Until the regulations to support the bill are written by the lawyers, the Act is still just a nice idea that seems to have been only window dressing in response to the strong voter feedback relating to the very sneaky attempted inclusion of clauses 6 -8 ( read BSL ) into Bill 138, which was actually a municipal housekeeping bill.
( The subject of how clauses 31-33 were exempted from the proclamation is a separate subject deserving of its own space again on another day ..sigh. If you will recall, that was supposed to initiate the magical appeal board which everyone was so smitten with, eh? )
Do you know anyone who has ever bought a car so that they could just park it in the driveway?  Regulations are the gas that get any  bill out of the driveway and onto the street.  Without them, the society was only able to draft a White Paper on Gaps in Legislation.  Without them,  there are not enough specifics to support successful prosecution of animal abuse. Without them, there can never penalties meaningful enough to deter animal abuse.
Dogs will keep freezing to death on the end of a chain, cats will keep popping up in dumpsters and back country roads and there will be not one bit of justice for every Unsung Unhappy Tail.
Even worse ... without the regulations abuse can be publicly flaunted in the firm knowledge that there are enough legal loopholes to slide the biggest and worst puppy mill through.
If the NDP bobsled team would like to recover a bit of lost ground, there is no more efficient way for them to do so "gas up" the Animal Protection Act so that it can do the job it was originally supposed to do.   The Act has been "bought and paid for" in legislative and committee man hours already ... its even been proclaimed.  But all that is just a big fat waste of time and money if they don't finish the job of writing the regulations.
What time is it?  Its always time to remember that strong voter feedback is the most effective way to get response from any politician of any stripe.  In these budget conscious days, someone has found funds for a new site, and so one should click here now for MLA contact information.

Four Paws Up!!!!

Remember On Old Dogs and Young Girls ?  I am happy to report that SPCANS has won the awards in both categories it was nominated for:  

• in the Wellness category for their awesome palliative care program at the Provincial / aka Metro Shelter and
• in the Education category for their Pawprints on Your Heart outreach work with the Nova Scotia Girl Guides.

Congratulations!

on opening the barn door

I love home made beans.  Whats not to like?  They're tasty, healthy and the whole house just smells so darned good when they're simmering in the crock pot.  Its just frosting on the cake that they're so easy to make ... all that's needed is a little time and patience.  Today's yummy lunch had to be soaked day before yesterday...then simmered and tucked in the crock pot yesterday.
Still, for far less than fifteen minutes work there is a good hot lunch ready right away today after this morning's chilly hike:)
One of the cornerstones of TNR is that R stand for return.  There is documented proof that removing cats from an area that has been providing shelter and a food source only creates a vacuum effect that more will come in to fill.
That's all very fine and well for most situations ... but like every other rule on the planet there are always exceptions.  There is no such thing as a one size fits all solution ... especially when it comes to the animals.
Caregivers can pass away, properties can be sold, zoning can change ... you get the picture.  
Yet in most instances, the ferals neither want nor need space in a shelter or rescue.   If they cannot stay where they are because of changed circumstances for the property owner, then relocation should be considered as a more desirable option than the ever so less desirable Unhappy Tail.
When these situations happen, there is often a tight timeline involving multiple cats.   Wouldn't that make it a very good time to have a provincial 'Working and Barn Cat' registry ... perhaps maintained by someone in the society with enough "street cred" among the hardworking frontline TNR folks?
The Working Cat program could provide assistance and advice for those willing to offer a safe berth to ferals and most importantly, connect those at risk with a second chance.
Until the laws are changed on a provincial level, feral cats are always going to be vulnerable because existing municipal animal control bylaws encourage residents who do not understand  how TNR works to demand that their animal control officers simply remove the ferals. They don't care where they go .. they just want them gone.
Any working cat program would therefore be significantly more effective if legislation to protect feral cats could be lobbied for at a provincial level.   Otherwise, it could simply be used as a device to undermine the real accomplishments of the hard working TNR folks.
What time is it?  Its always time to understand that we we never get to No Kill Nova Scotia if there is no protection for the feral cats.