Cornering the Market isn't as crass as it seems

I love living in a multicat household.   Whats not to love?  Setting aside how very dear each and every individual is to me, as a group the six of them are just pretty darned interesting to live with.  Its definitely well worth the occasional chewed speaker cord and broken ornament.
Admittedly, Morgan is the only one who was actually adopted from a rescue ( SHAID ).  Clive came here when his human .. who was my best friend's brother... passed away.  The other four found their way here because there is something on my mailbox only cats can read : )
Noone likes to think of themselves as ordinary or average, but that actually makes me quite typical of Canadian pet owners, at least according to a survey that was commissioned by the Canadian Veterinary Association in 2008. (Perrin, T. (2009). “The Business of Urban Animals Survey: The facts and statistics on companion animals in Canada,” Canadian Veterinary Journal, 50(1): 48–52.) 
The short version is that means that roughly 140,930 people in Nova Scotia will get a new pet in the next year; of those 29,595 will get a cat.
According those surveyed:

• 17% adopted from a shelter
• 24% got kittens or cats from friends and relatives
• 16 % adopted strays
• 14% went the "free to a good home" route
• 11% were offspring
• 9% were from pet stores
• 5% came from breeders, and
• 5% were from "other' sources

Seventeen percent of 29,595 = 5, 031 kittens and cats.  Hmmm.    Bear in mind that this survey didn't promise that 17 percent were Planning to adopt.  Rather that number reflects the percent that Have adopted.
Today, if 5,031 people went to Petfinder, Kijiji and the animal welfare websites for NS groups and shelters that don't use Petfinder (  The subject of how the society can hope to fulfil its no kill strategic plan when  only six of  its branches use the Free listing services provided by Petfinder  ... services I might add that are regularly visited by a "target market" ... is an interesting topic to discuss on another day. In like fashion, it would take an entire post to speculate on the reasons why the cape breton branch seldom lists any cats on petfinder, when a tiny little volunteer group like CAPS can make time to post 124 well written listings, eh? )
Noone ever wants to see Pet Adoption in this province become a business where the bottom line matters more than the value of life.  Yet, many of the business basics would serve rescue groups well:

• there isn't a successful business that doesn't understand the value of advertising.   Nor would one find one willing to forgo the benefits of listing with a free service that has become a household name
• customer relations are key .... any restaurant owner will tell you that Canadians seldom complain ...  if they aren't happy they simply don't come back.   The animal rescue world is particularly susceptible in this respect as long time staff and volunteers have seen so much that they generally relate better to the animals than the people.
• customer convenience is very important.  People are more inclined to do the kind and/ or social responsible thing if it is easy for them to do so.  Lengthy application forms often deter wonderful prospective families from applying.  The new, simplified form that Metro is using is sufficient for starters.  After all, there will still be an interview, reference checks and a home visit, hmmm?
• Follow up.  If one buys a car/ hot tub / wood stove, its almost a standard practice to receive newsletters and Christmas cards in the mail from the vendor.    For animal rescue, this practice could do double duty by engaging support and volunteer effort as well as future adoptions.
• And last but not least .... customer support.   Most rescue groups and shelters are more than happy to provide post adoption advice and answer questions. Nor should the value of the standard "if you can't keep the pet we want him or her back" be underestimated.   This type of thing should be played for every bit that its worth, eh

What time is it?  Animal rescue groups and shelters have to remember that  'cornering the market' is the only way we will get to No Kill Nova Scotia.

More ways to have fun and help the animals.

. The long weekend may be over, but all around the province folks are still putting the fun in fundraising for the animals.

Don't forget that May 27th and 28th are the next dates for Cookies for CAPS at Classic Hobbies in Middleton

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TAPA is having a Yard Sale on Saturday May 29 starting at 8:30 am - 2:00 pm


280 Portland St., Dartmouth (close to 5 corners) Rain Date: Saturday, June 5

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On May 29th, there is a Music Benefit for the LA Shelter at the Amherst Lions Den .... and earlier that day, the Annual Yard Sale for the LA Shelter is being held by the Amherst Vet Clinic.

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OOops .. I just realized that this poster didn't mention that this is takeing place at the Metro Shelter :)

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At the Kings SPCA, the adoption fees have been reduced for four of their longest resident cats.  The two black and white cats pictured here are Romeo and Carly and they can be adopted for $75.00 each or together for $100.00.  The grey and white kitties, Gilbert and Sullivan, can be adopted for $120 each or $100 for the pair.  They are vetted, vaccinated and altered and they all look like they are lovely.
PS ... I noticed that this branch is offering a discount for its adopted dogs for their obedience classes as well ... now if only the branch would start using Petfinder ...sigh.

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And last but definitely not least ... I only just noticed that they are going to have a plant booth at the SHAID Yard Sale on June 5th.  

Same old song ... different day

I love going to the woods with the dogs.... and being able to do this every morning is definitely one of the best bits about being retired.  Over the years, I've learned a lot about the landscape.  I'm able to avoid a lot of trouble by knowing which trails fizzle out, how to get up to the ridge / river / old logging road and even the spots where the skunks / deer / foxes and coyotes like to nest. ( If you have to ask why that's important you really should stay out of the woods, eh? )
There is a bag of odds and sods that comes along too.  I seldom need any of it, but have learned not to leave it behind... pliers for cutting ancient barb wire fences or snares ... a cell in a ziplock bag ... a spare leash ... roll of gauze and tape ..  you get the idea.  All inspired by lessons that have usually been learned the hard way.
I know I go on and on like a stuck record about the need for a law to ban the traffic of living breathing sentient beings on Kijiji.  I know there are some rescue folks who use the 'free to a good home' slot to advertise for their rescues.
But yesterday there was an ad, that is still there today, that really highlights the problems with being able to advertise pets online.  A couple are looking for a new pet for their family. Why is that a problem?  Because the 'old pet' didn't work out.  There were "behavioural and aggression issues" so they "had to give it up"
Odds are to even they found the old pet on Kijiji too.  Perhaps as a puppy that this busy family with three kids didn't have time to train ( the subject of how children don't train themselves either is a separate topic for a blog with a different focus than mine ...sigh )
Kijiji is always promising that ads that don't comply with their policies for posting pet ads will be removed ... but remember that is coming from the same folks who somehow let an ad slip through for a baby .
The bottom line is that legislation to ban the traffic of living breathing sentient beings on Kijiji ( whose parent company EBay Does forbid the practice on their site ) and the other free online ad sites, is as much about consumer protection as it is about animal welfare:

• The couple who are looking for the new pet won't get the kind of support and education from the curbside guarantee that will ensure they are getting the pet best suited to their lifestyle and experience.  
• The rescue people who list in the free to a good home could always ask Kijiji to set up a special section for pet adoption from rescue.
• The reputable breeders already have venues they can use to advertise their puppies and would be able to distinguish themselves from the less reputable folks who Don't Do the proper screening before breeding
• If it wasn't so darned easy for people to peddle the kittens and puppies when they were too careless or too cheap to spay the mother, perhaps there would be a public demand for low cost spay neuter clinics.
• And last but definitely not least, it would cut off a free advertising venue that allows people like the Benoits to hide behind a cloak of anonymity and prey on kind hearted people

What time is it?  Its time to let your MLA  and the Minister of Agriculture know that our Nova Scotia needs better protection for pet owners by banning the traffic of living breathing sentient beings on the free online ad sites. 

Here kitty kitty

Do you remember Becky and Huck from the post Stepping On Caterpillars ?  Well in a few days it will be June, and that means that these two little adventurers ... who so narrowly escaped a Horribly Unhappy Tail ... will soon be available for adoption from CAPS.  After everything that these two have been through, CAPS is looking for someone with enough room in their heart ( and their home : ) to adopt them both.   ( Scroll down for more Becky and Huck eye candy :)

Its very good timing for Becky and Huck that CAPS is still running its BOGO for all of their kittens and cats.  What does that mean?  CAPS already has one of the most reasonable adoption fees around at $80.00 for adult cats and $100.00 for kittens under six months of age.   With the BOGO, one pays the full fee for the first cat or kitten and the fee for the second cat or kitten is reduced by half.

In plainspeak ... one can adopt two adult cats for a total of $120.00 and two kittens like Huck and Becky together for $150.

But really its not even about the money.  In this busy world ... two cats who are already friends make great pets for folks who have to work, go to soccer, flyball, etc.    Just like the marines ... noone is never left behind alone, eh?

Nor will things seem so strange for new pets when they can bring a pal they already know with them.

And of course there is the thing that somehow seems to escape the people who complain about any of the cat adoption fees ... and that is the simple fact that whether they are at the low or the high end of the range, they are ALL still a Very Good Buy.

When I adopted Morgan from SHAID, her adoption fee was $150.00.  She was already tested, health checked, vaccinated and spayed.   I live in an area where vet costs are lower than the city, and go to one of the most reasonable animal clinics in the area. 

Last year when I had Dora and Oscar tested and wormed and vaccinated ... and Dora spayed, I easily spent five hundred dollars.   And that was with a small discount on Dora's spay that Melissa so generously allowed and of course with the fact that we had discovered that Oscar was already neutered.

No question, wherever you live, adopting from a reputable rescue is a great way to go.  Granted that most people reading this blog are already awakened to the joys of pet adoption, but there is still a couple of Very Important Things that they can do.

Its easy to forget the power of word of mouth ... and yet it carries at least as much sway as what is written in the media.   If you are already full up, you can also post his or her Petfinder profile on facebook.  If you have a blog or a website, you can include the free featured pet generators and custom scroll lists that are so user friendly and easy to install.

What time is it?  Its always time to remember that every cat adopted from rescue into a new family represents a small step forward to slowing the "annual river of cats"

Summertime Blues

 Gardeners are real optimists.  No matter how bad last year's season was ... no matter how cool or damp or dry this year's weather is ... the beds are tilled and planted in the hopes that good things will come.   Is it raining?  Gosh doesn't that do the garden good!  Is it hot and dry?  Well ... we can never have too much sunshine either :)
There is a lot of romance attached to gardening.  The gardening shows and magazines are long on the loveliness and short on the amount of time and energy that is required to create successful gardens of all sizes. 
Why do they do that?  Because gardening is a big industry.  The reason the big box stores roll out the temporary garden centers is because there are big bucks to be made when gardeners come out of winter hibernation.
At the end of the season, it doesn't matter if everything was sold.   To be perfectly honest, none of the retailers really care whether the plants survived and settled in.  After discounting the remaining stock, its not a big deal if the unsold plants become part of the municipal composting system.
The pet industry represents big money too.   Like the gardening shows, more emphasis is placed on promoting the appeal than on the time and energy involved in the journey from infant to well behaved and well socialized adult pet.  
When the novice gardener, who remembers hostas from home plants a promising hosta bed on the sunny side of their house, it will generally not survive the first season.  A rookie wouldn't realize that the shade tag on the plant meant that full sun will kill the plant.  They might not know that new transplants need lots of extra water and tlc the first year.  Nor might they have thought that the kids might like to shortcut through that space to the front step.
Although it makes the gardener in me wince to see things like that, it is never the same thing as the pets that turn out to be the wrong fit for the family. Most of us live different lives than our parents and just might not have the time to train and exercise the Labrador that we loved when we were children. 
The pet industry resists regulation in the same way the auto and oil industries have.  All the stops were pulled out to discredit Ralph Nader.  Energy efficient prototypes were killed on the drawing board.   Two of the Big Three were brought to the brink by their failure to recognize the changing choices consumers were making.   The current crisis in the Gulf is brimming with industry altering implications.
When legislation, and more importantly the regulations that spell out the specifics, is on the drawing table ... it often gets bogged down with the very big question of how it can enforced.   As a result, the "new" Animal welfare bill in NS is still like a barebones CSS frame that needs to be filled out before it represents anything meaningful.
As a side bar to that .. it is Very Interesting Indeed to note that on the archived page listing the official status of bills that Bill 186 has been proclaimed except for "ss 31-33".  Why is that so interesting?  Those are the clauses that detail the Animal Cruelty Appeal Board which was supposed to provide a timely appeal process for owners of seized pets.    Hmmm.
But I am wandering a bit afield.  Regulations and laws do not exist so that they can always be enforced in a proactive way.   The RCMP don't go knocking on everyone's doors looking for drugs.  Their regulations are there so that when they DO find something, they are able to prosecute.
By the very nature of their limited funding for cruelty investigations, the society is never going to be able to go knocking on everyone's door looking for violations.  Their's is a reactive process that is normally complaint driven. 
So why do we need the regulations?   Without regulations, the RCMP would not be able to pull drunk drivers off the road.  Without regulations, the inspector from the Agriculture Department wouldn't be able to close an unsafe restaurant ... or post the violators names on their website.
We need the regulations so that when the society inspectors visit a puppy mill, they can actually do something about it.  We need regulations so that as other provinces and states tighten their own belt, so to speak, that we do not become the new puppy mill capital of the eastern seaboard.
Most importantly, we need regulations because companion animals are living breathing sentient beings.  At the end of the day, its not a big deal if the plants wind up in the composter.  But it is a Very Big Deal ... at least to me ... when the Unhappy Tails add up.
Everyone loves animals.  If our NDP government are looking for a great ... and fairly low cost ... way to restore their popularity, I can't think of a more effective way to do so than by fast tracking the regulations for the "new" Animal Welfare Act.
What time is it?  It is Always Time to let your MLA's know that you are an animal lover and your pet votes.

LOST DOG IN TANTALLON AREA !!!

There is a new facebook group,  LOST BLACK RUSSIAN TERRIER "MAVRA" IN TANTALLON AREA.... that has been set up to find a lost dog in the Tantallon area.  Mayla is only ten months old and tends to be a bit shy of people but might come to someone walking another dog.

Ahh ... a long weekend

What a beautiful day! This early in the week any weekend forecasts would be guestimates at best ... but rain or shine it IS the long weekend. Around here, the Victoria weekend signals the start of the season for campers and day trippers alike.

• If you happen to take a tour to the Valley on Sunday, HART/ is holding an Open House Adoption/ Donation Day for their lovely kitties ( see poster below )
• If you are browsing for bargains around HRM, the Nova Scotia SPCA are hosting a booth at the Harborview Weekend Market in Dartmouth from 9am until 4 pm every Saturday and Sunday
• This Saturday, TAPA is holding a yard sale at 280 Portland Street in Dartmouth with all kinds of goodies ... Books, garden plants, Holiday wreaths from Props Flower Shop and all kinds of household items.
• If you happen to be in the Yarmouth Area between 10 and 5 on weekends .. they have all kinds of nifty merchandise for sale at the shelter, as well as tickets for their upcoming Funny Fundraiseron June 11th
• CAPS will be at the Middleton Market every Friday from 2 - 6 pm
• Tickets are also on sale now for The Big Doggie Do being held on June 12th for Lab Rescue
• The GPAC rescue folks really understand the value of getting out into the community and have an entire page devoted to the events where they will be
• There is a gorgeous quilt set being raffled off for the benifit of Feral Cats ... see poster below

BTW ... if I have missed anything, please don't hesitate to email me.

And of course, if you want to help your favourite rescue in a really meaningful way, why not offer to foster. Summer vacation is coming up and many of them will need short term fosters to step up to the plate so that the kind hearts who foster for them all year long can go on vacation too: ))) What a wonderful opportunity to find out if fostering really is for you, eh?

Last but definitely not least is a gentle reminder for all pet owners that unless it pours rain all weekend, there will be fireworks. Make sure that your own pets are safely leashed after dark, even in fenced yards. Every year there are Unhappy Tails of lost pets who skittle away in fright and are never seen again ... at least by their original owners.

The subject of how that can also be prevented by having pets carry their own ID .. either tags or microchipped .. is a separate subject deserving its own post coming soon

What time is it? Its always time to have some summer fun ... especially when you can help the animals at the same time.

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