On making mud pies

Like any gardener, I always like to spice up my repertoire of favourites with a couple of new bits every year.   Some, like okra, get added to the annual roster.  Others take a bit of time to find their right niche in the yard.  And a few simply become one hit wonders.

Truth be told, gardeners are masters at the old childhood game ... 'lets say' :) That is because gardening really is a journey .. not a destination.  Without yesterday's science projects there would be no old standbys ... and we would still all be foraging for nuts and berries.

It is much the same with the No Kill Movement ... which began with the wonderful premise ...'lets say' we didn't kill millions of homeless pets every year.  

Yesterday's science projects have a proven track record ... and there is now enough evidence to show that it is possible to adopt the way to No Kill.

Does this make the commercial pet breeders that form the mainstay of PIJAC nervous?  You bet!  In fact, the political ads we are seeing this month pale  by comparison to the campaign afoot on the PIJAC website.  

I was looking at it last night while perusing interesting documents such as 'Arguments against banning the sale of pets in pet stores'.  Word to the wise, don't have any beverages in your mouth when reading about how pets stores are reliable, trusted sources that are part of the solution.... and if you have high blood pressure issues, please don't read the bit where they pull a quote from an industry study that claims that 51.9 % of all cats and dogs adopted from shelters in 2008 had health problems within one week of adoption. 

That's pretty rich coming from an organization whose recommended  Stocking Densities  for pets in retail environments is measured in square centimeters and inches.

( Note from author ... when I popped into the site at time of writing there is a new emotional little video on the front door of their site inviting pet owners to help PIJAC become part of the solution.  Who knows what new little tidbits we can look forward to? )

Lets face it .. the Pet Industry represents big bucks.   The very fact that they have initiated this new campaign is real proof of the pudding that campaigning against selling pets in pet stores has elevated public awareness of the problem.   Of course some of their own, like Bud Wheatley, have done a bit of consciousness raising as well, eh?

So how CAN the rescue community counteract such a campaign?  Especially when PIJAC is so closely associated with our own 'national voice' for the animals?  How can genuine non profit groups without big money PR budgets get their own message out?

With offsite adoptions of course!   The animals make wonderful ambassadors!  Even better, their healthy, friendly, fully vetted and altered selves are the most effective way to discredit the scare tactics being promoted by PIJAC.  Best of all, every good pet adoption experience is the best possible PR for animal rescue in general and the shelter or group in particular.

Its almost frosting on the cake that it really boosts adoption rates, eh?

Tomorrow, the Yarmouth SPCA is holding another Adoption Fair at the Beacon Church Hall.  Admission is free and one can even pick up Rappie Pie for five bucks!   And of course, there will be beautiful cats and dogs to meet there as well.

What time is it?   It is always time to remember that there is no downside to offsite pet adoptions!

A Beautiful Happy Tail just looking for a place to happen!

Its no secret that I have a special soft spot for senior pets when they become homeless.   In a world where a three month old 'teenage' cat is considered by many to be past their 'best before' adoption date, senior kittizens really get the short end of the stick.

To be perfectly honest ... while kind hearts seem to be waking up to the mellow delights of senior dog adoption, senior kittizens can still wait for months and more for their own lucky day.

Gosh ...   Freddie from ARC waited a full calendar year ... Friday has been waiting for months and (her) Majesty down in Yarmouth is practically on the shelter inventory!

So it was a real pleasure to have a chance to meet the two sweet senior kittizens that have come into HART's care yesterday when I popped by for tea.  They have lived together for all of their lives and in human years would actually be considered young teenagers.   ( The subject of how a 13 ish year old cat is more middle aged than senior these days is a well worn hobby horse of mine that has ....and likely soon will again ... get a separate post all of its own:)

They are such a well oiled team that Laurie would like them to have the opportunity to be the only cats in their new home.  She did think that they got along well with dogs ... its just other cats that seem to intimidate them, eh?

So how did this pair of beauties become homeless?  Did their human die?  Were they left on some back country road to fend for themselves?

Nope ... if they could play the guitar they could sing you a sad old country song about how their mom left town and dad's new girlfriend doesn't want them around ....sigh.    Before the keyboards catch on fire ... in my fifty six years of living I have not seen one single solitary instance with either friends or family where the relationship with a new partner who insisted that the old pet had to go has actually lasted.  In other words ... to paraphrase Eric Segal ... Love means never asking your partner to do something they will be sorry for, eh?

Honestly ... I was in tears on my way home.   These are two of the sweetest cats I have ever met!   Nesta just perched at patting height on the cat tower in the spare room and I suspect he would have stayed there as long as I was petting and talking to him.  

Kaya was a little quieter ... as if this gentle soul is still wondering why life took such a turn.

What time is it?  It is time for everyone to put on their thinking caps and try to help these well behaved, wonderful,  middle aged cats find a second chance at love.

What greater gift than the love of a cat? Charles Dickens

Some Saturday Afternoon fun for a great cause!

Small in name only ......

I love the view from the ridge.  What's not to love?  Its good exercise getting up there ... lots of interesting bits for noses to sniff on the way up and of course we are afforded a birds eye view of the river and woodland below.

Somewhat akin to the birds eye view that I get doing the site, eh?   The work is always offset by the interesting bits:)

Now I do try not to play favourites, but its hard not have a soft spot for the folks who really go the extra mile.  Take Atlantic Small Dog Rescue, for instance.   They are always willing to broaden their horizons with 'honorary' small dogs and they never hesitate to take the tough cases.  To them, life is life, no matter what it costs or how long it takes to find the right fit.

As a result .. they are pretty darned creative when it comes to fundraising.  They pioneered the Facebook Rescue Auctions.   Even better ... they set a pawsitive trend by generously sharing their own auctions with other rescues, as well as promoting each and every other group's auctions.

Best of all, they always find fun ways to fundraise.  Their latest endeavor ...  Easter Baskets for ASDR ... features two beautiful baskets.  First place gets the adult basket, second the child's and tickets are available until this Saturday, the 16th.

Thinking outside of the box allows ASDR to help great dogs like Rascal.   At the middling age of ten, Rascal has been orphaned.  Even worse, there is noone in the family who can take in this good boy.  And even worse than that .... when ASDR had him vet checked, it was discovered that his enzymes were too high for him to be neutered right away.   They are going to retest him in a couple of weeks and then the decision will be made whether or not to neuter him.

Does that mean he isn't available for adoption?  Of course not!  In realspeak it simply means that ASDR is willing to place him now ... on a foster to adopt basis.   They would love to see this little guy have a chance to mend his little broken heart, eh?  Once he is neutered, and his teeth have been cleaned, ( at ASDR's expense ) then the paperwork can be finalized.

Rascal is a friendly little fellow in that happy 'I've been well loved and socialized all my life' kind of way.   He has had surgery for bladder stones so ASDR would like his new home to be willing to keep him on the S/O diet for that.

If you are looking for a very elegant evening with that special someone ... next month ASDR is hosting La Vie en Rose at the Tempest in Wolfville on May 28th.  Whether one was sharing a special occasion or simply celebrating a love for the animals, it would be a memorable evening, hmmm?

What time is it?  Its always time to applaud the folks who really know how to save a life ... by thinking big!    

As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think BIG.  Donald Trump 

child's basket

Adult's Basket

Nova Scotia's Lost Dog Network makes the Paper!

from today's Herald
Missing dogs focus of online search network

Sisters who operate website share passion for animals
By GEOFF BIRD
Mon, Apr 11 - 4:54 AM
(PETER PARSONS / Staff)
When Duke went missing last week, a team of investigators quickly mobilized to find the 40-kilogram boxer.
Shortly after he posted his dog’s information on Kijiji, Duke’s owner Tyler Naugler of Spryfield got a call from Anne Morrison of the Nova Scotia Lost Dog Network saying she was on the case.
"She was absolutely unbelievable," Naugler said.
The network, launched with a website in January, has quickly grown into a popular resource for dog owners whose pets go missing, with around five new posts every day.
Morrison gave Naugler a template for a lost dog poster and told him what steps to take to find his missing dog.
He made calls to a local shelter and filled out posters with Duke’s photo. The following morning, Halifax Regional Municipality’s animal services brought Duke home. The happy ending is one of many the lost dog network has had role in.
Morrison and her sister, Heather, see their website as a way to get the word out about missing dogs and provide a resource to those who are under emotional stress while their dogs are missing.
"We’ve all lost a dog, whether it was for five minutes or five days, and it is just heart-wrenching," said Morrison.
The sisters are volunteers with the Alliance for Responsible Pet Ownership and are passionate about animals.
They created the website after locating a missing Burmese mountain dog over Christmas using Facebook and posters. The network of people they created through Facebook
"We thought, ‘Wow, we could do this for a lot of dogs,’ " said Heather Morrison. They created the lost dog network website, found at bit.ly/eCGsAQ, soon after.
The sisters trawl Craigslist and Kijiji every day looking for new posts and people they can help. But people are now coming to them when their dogs go missing.
The majority expect the worst, thinking their pet is either stolen or lunch meat for a hungry coyote, the Morrisons said. They give encouragement to them, reminding them that 80 per cent of the time dogs are just lost.
The sisters post the information they receive from owners on their website and send it out via linked Twitter and Facebook accounts.
The site has photos of lost dogs as well as posts for dogs that people catch roaming in their yards and neighbourhoods.
And there’s a list of happy endings, dogs reunited with their owners, each filed with the same update: "Home safe ’n’ sound."
( gbird@herald.ca)
To visit The NS Lost Dog Network Facebook Page, click here
To visit their lovely website, click here
to find out more about ARPO, click here
What time is it?   It is always time to applaud the volunteer love that powers initiatives like this!    Way to go, Ann, Heather, Janet C and every kind heart who takes the time to share and use social networking to get these dogs back home to the families that love them!

Tomorrow is the Spay-ghetti Supper at Michaels!

I heard the Marsh Wren this morning, hooting high overhead when we were out for our first tour of the yard.  What does that mean?  In this neck of the woods it means that spring is really and truly here.  It means its time to start my veggie and annual herb seeds.
In other words ... its time to get cracking!   All those lovely country garden vignettes generally don't apply to an April day in a Nova Scotia garden.   We are still at least three good months away from that lovely place where I can stroll through the garden in straw hat and sundress, leisurely picking herbs and flowers.
In April its all rubber boots and wool socks and well worn work clothes that would send the what not to wear people into absolute shock.  
In the wheel of the animal rescue year, April is also the start of the kitten season in Nova Scotia.   Every cat rescue, every shelter and every hard working TNR Group will be obliged to pull out all the stops and still will not be able to accept and/ or alter every cat and kitten in need this spring.
They are NOT selling tickets at the door for the Spay-ghetti Dinner. , but as I understand they may still be available today by calling 425-3983.  Sheesh .. not having to cook supper tomorrow night AND helping out with the historic first annual Spay Day in HRM is a pretty delicious deal in my books!
What time is it?  If you are planning to support this great initiative, its time to get cracking!

In praise of a bit of new math

from the Letters to the Editor in this morning's herald
Homes vs. habitats
Sat, Apr 9 - 4:54 AM
I am 11 years old and want to share my concerns about coyotes and other wild animals. I am not old enough to vote, but someday I will be, so I sent a letter to two politicians. Up where I live, we have coyotes, deer, rabbits and other wild animals. I have been hearing about coyote attacks, and I’ve noticed that new houses are being built right where the wild animals live. Humans are tearing down the woods these animals call home.
Now maybe some people agree with me and maybe some people don’t. I think it would be a great idea to have a vote to see what people think of putting a stop to the construction of homes in woodsy areas that result in the destruction of animal habitats.
Lauren Humes, Middle Sackville
Honestly, I don't know what impresses me more ... the opening line of 'I am eleven years old', how carefully it was written or the fact that this lovely young lady has already ticked in to the power of the pen.
Is this brand new information?  Of course not!  But it just seems to have more impact when it comes 'out of the mouth of babes, eh?
Out here the cull doesn't seem to have made any kind of a difference.   We still have the odd hike where we have to carefully backtrack  .... we still have the same daily parade down to drink at the upper pond ... and any sensible souls still do not leave dogs tied out unattended or cats to wander at will.
What time is it?  When the truth is so simple that even a child can see ... it is way past time for our provincial politicians to take a better tack with wildlife management than culling and killing.
'How can you do new math with an old math mind.' Charlie Brown /Peanuts