Building a door for Zowie

The Dear Santa letter on the holiday feature of the homeless pet site is becoming an annual tradition it would seem.

This year, it has been written by a beautiful Great Pyrenees youngster who is one very lucky youngster indeed. Lucky you say ... especially after reading the letter and going to the ARC site to find out about the VERY expensive surgeries that she will need?

Yes lucky, because ARC does not define healthy and treatable by the dollar sign. Regular readers of this blog, and the old one, will remember the heroic energy ( and of course resources ) that were spent to rehabilitate HANDSOME HENRY from his horrible old life as a chained dog .... shut away from any love and human contact. To put that into perspective, the adoption fee for this grreat guy didn't cover one half of one percent of the actual rescue costs.

In the No Kill world ... healthy and adoptable means exactly that. There is no loophole there .... its not "healthy and adoptable' if it doesn't cost too much. Nor is it "healthy and adoptable" until we run of out resources. Nope ... it is what it is ..... straight, sweet and simple. The term is too often misused because groups or shelters don't like to admit that they are willing to put a price tag on life, or worse, that they are either unwilling or unable to spend what ti takes to save a life.

Ahh ... but this is the holiday season and I am wandering afield here. As beautiful as Zowie is, she isn't just posing by that tree to brighten up the space. Her foster mom ... in true ARC style, has lovingly made the decorations as a fundraiser to support Zowie's surgery, which is scheduled for January 22nd. The tree is at the Westwood Hills Veterinary Hospital . If you don't live in the area and won't have a chance to pop in , there is more information on the front door of the ARC site.

BTW, for those who are on the watch for those tax deductible donations that must be made before the end of this month to count on this years returns... you will be happy to know that ARC is a registered CRA Charity.

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

Cat Cottage Eye Candy can only cheer you up

On nights when it seems to be raining homeless cats and dogs .... when its hard to catch even a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel ... its a real treat to find this years CAPS Christmas Cat Cottage pics waiting in my inbox.

(for the full lineup, go to Country Christmas, Kitty Style )

The pictures are so perfect and so pretty, it would be easy to overlook a couple of salient facts.

The first of course being that there are no elves to keep the cat cottages in such lovely ... and immaculate .. comfort. Every day, everything is scrubbed out .. taking hours of hard work that Anna refers to as "chores". From the refurbished furniture to the appealing decorations .... every little bit is powered by love for the animals without a paid employee anywhere to be found.

The second bit being that there are over 200 cats in CAPS' care ... 200 cats that were either tossed aside like rubbish until they were picked up by Annapolis County AC ... or who were born to the unfortunate little mothers who were picked up by AC.

Whenever I worry that nothing can be changed for the animals, I remind myself that CAPS is just having its fifth birthday this month. In five short years ... powered completely by volunteer love .... they have made a real change for the animals.

When Van Horne laid the original line for the CPR, he had construction crews working westward through the prairies and eastward from British Columbia until the tracks met in Craigellachie, BC. At the time, it was so commonly thought to be a pipe dream that our first Prime Minister was actually ousted for five years.

Yet within three years of its completion, CPR was back in the black and went on to be a leader in the transportation industry for the next century.

In a sense, every little Nova Scotia animal rescue group is "laying track" right now. The road to No Kill Nova Scotia isn't a pipe dream ... its a journey that is moving forward because of this type of love for the animals.

Seeing the bigger picture

One of the nicest things about living out here is that the starwatching at night is ever so much better than down in the village. That almost makes up for the bitterly cold wind that makes it so 'fresh' out tonight (fresh being valleyspeak for pfc or pretty darned cold if you prefer.)
Perhaps it takes living off the beaten path to really be able see the bigger picture. When I was working on the holiday feature for the site, I had emailed P.E.T. PROJECTS with a few questions about a new petfinder program they're taking part in this year, Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays . It really looks like a decent idea .... fostering a shelter pet for the holidays might not lead to adopting ... although in some cases it could ... but it would be a real lesson in the reason for the season that could be shared with one's children.
Now I've always had a lot of respect for PET Projects because they had the courage to pick a better path when the Beulah Burman shelter wasn't working out ... always in the red and with their volunteers badly burned out.
Instead of giving up, they chose a different direction and changed their focus. Instead of managing the shelter, the pets in their care are all in foster.
In fact, one of the innovative things they are doing is to encourage people who are surrendering their pets, or who have found a stray, to foster the pet for PET Projects until he or she is adopted.... and all of these 'stay at home' fosters are listed with their Petfinder adoptables
And that's not even their best idea. Besides offering Spay / Neuter subsidies and doing Trap Neuter Return in the Shelbourne area, PET Projects have some nifty little things up their sleeve:

• on the front door of their site, they are asking for donations of used doghouses to help shelter animals (chained and penned dogs are common practice in rural areas like Shelbourne)
• right below that, they have a diplomatically worded paragraph offering to help owners rehome chained and penned dogs so they can have a better life
• its not listed on the site, but they are working to help caregivers keep their animals ... admittedly easier to manage in a small community. When people are looking to surrender their pet because of financial need, PET Projects will provide short term food and / or vet care to get them over the speedbump.
• they were smart enough to get some admin savvy and fundraising help from the The NSCC Office Procedures class
• if you will remember, they found out first hand how successful offsite adoptions are too
• they've just started a Lost and Found Facebook group, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=89134693938
• they also have Lost and Found listings on their site http://www.petprojects.ca/lostandfound.htm
• the bit that I really like is the Pet Match form they have at the bottom of their page. If they don't have the pet of your dreams listed, they will keep their eyes open .... and your email address and information private.

And of course, in keeping with the season, they've found a fun way to fundraise by partnering with “Maria’s Santa Paws Giving Tree” at Maria’s Convenience with the clever idea of selling Christmas card inserts to let your loved one know that a donation has been made in their name for PET Projects.

Clearly P.E.T. PROJECTS are just far enough away from the madding crowd to really have a feel for the big picture.

Something to warm your heart on this chilly day

Do you remember Bailee, from Urgent .... the shelter system is letting this great dog down ? It warms my heart on this chilly day to be able to tell you that she has finally found her Forever Home!

A few updates

The 2009 holiday feature, The Reason for the Season, is up on the homeless pet site, and can be accessed on the front door. This years feature focuses on three things that anyone can do to help the animals:

PET ADOPTION
DONATING TIME AND RESOURCES
RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP

---

Do you remember Fire and Thunder on their way through the storm ? They are safely in Canada now and in keeping with their narrow escape have been renamed Bonnie and Clyde . For more info, you can also go to their new pet blog, on the homeless pet blog ..... Bonnie and Clyde

---

Do you remember She could be the spice of someone's life. ? The kind folks at CAPS have had Ginger in their care for a few days and so were able to take some new pics of this sweet girl as she is now.

Make a wish and save a life

There were a lot of tracks down by the river when we went for our hike this morning. Deer of course ... fox and coyotes and even a wandering set of kitty cat tracks. (Before the keyboards catch on fire, not all kitty tracks represent a homeless cat and many are simply born of the unaltered wanderlust of toms from the neighbouring farms )
IMHO, there really is no downside to going to the woods with my dogs. Its peaceful and quiet. There's always something new and interesting for them to sniff. Its just frosting on the cake that its the kind of good exercise that keeps this middle aged granny off the merry go round of medicines so many my age are engaged in.
Now this is where I have to come clean about a deep dark secret of mine. Although I advocate almost every day for groups and shelters to use Petfinder, I didn't personally adopt all nine of my kids that way.
Nope .... when I was looking for my girl .... I put in a preapproved application to ARC, NS Labrador Rescue. and S.H.A.I.D. The night that Miss Ruby was rescued, Elsie called me to ask if I might be interested in a malnourished, but very sweet girl. The next day .... Valentine's Day .... Elsie sent the first pics of my girl and the rest was history. Miss Ruby wouldn't have done well with a couch potato, but we suit each other just fine.
As anyone who has followed my blog this year knows, Andy never had a chance to be listed with Petfinder either. Once again, I had a preapproved app for a senior .... so when ARC was asked if they had room for Andy they were able to accept him right away.
Out of nine pets, only two of mine came from Petfinder and even then its a bit of a stretch to say that about Henry. I met him at the vets when I was buying food on the day that he was rescued. But, I was not preapproved with CAPS, nor was I sure I was ready to adopt yet after losing Ben a couple of months before. However, Morgan would not be here if her story hadn't been listed both on the S.H.A.I.D Petfinder site and her own listing.
For the benefit of anyone who just found this blog ... the other five found their own way here over the years .... I think I have a sign on my mailbox that only cats can read : )))))
Most rescues and shelters have a waiting list for owner surrenders. Granted that the adoptables in their care have found safe harbour .... but that still leaves a long long list waiting in the cold.
If you, or anyone you know, is thinking of enriching your life with a new pet, putting in a preapproved application to at least one rescue is an excellent idea because:

• reputable rescues around Atlantic Canada network and will pull out all the stops, including transporting, to find you the poodle/ spaniel/ etc of your dreams.
• rescues and shelters already have waiting lists of preapproved adopters. Many of the lovelies who come into their care never need to be listed on Petfinder because they are already spoken for. First time adopters have no idea how many lovely family friendly dogs are available because they never need listing, and of course last but not least
• all rescues work miracles on a shoestring. If they know that they have an adopter waiting and hoping for a poodle/spaniel/etc then it is easier for them to accept one in need.

People use matchmaking services when they get tired of going to the bars .... and virtual reminder services when they get tired of keeping track of birthdays and anniversaries. Preapproved adoptions are just one more way of letting the experts help adopters to have an easier life.

What time is it? Its time to remember that rescuers aren't psychic ... they won't be able to help you find the pet of your dreams unless they know what you're looking for. Its not just convenient and easy ... its also a great way to save a pet that might have been left waiting in the cold.

In the spirit of the season

from dictionary.com
fos⋅ter –verb
1. to promote the growth or development of; further; encourage: to foster new ideas.
2. to bring up, raise, or rear, as a foster child.
3. to care for or cherish.
4 .British. to place (a child) in a foster home.
5. Obsolete. to feed or nourish.
In the animal rescue world, the word foster has a world of other meanings as well. There are as many different ways to foster as there are lovely animals waiting in the wings.
Waiting you ask? Don't rescues always find space for every pet in need? Maybe in my perfect fantasy world ... but here in the real world each rescue, big or small, can only accept the animals they have space for. To quote a friend of mine who works animal rescue, "its not as hard to fund raise as it is to find committed fosters."
Admittedly, there is no shortage of initial enthusiasm, but rescues everywhere lose a lot of fosters to "their first" Many have no trouble opening their hearts and their homes to bring the pet in ....where it gets sticky is watching the pet go back out the door after what can sometimes be months of nurturing.
In all honesty, the pets listed on Petfinder and on the rescue websites are really only the tip of the iceberg. For everyone that has found safe harbour, more are just 'waiting in the wings'
The need is so great that more than one rescue maintains a waiting list for owner surrenders. Not all of these owners are prepared to be patient until a vacancy turns up ... resulting in a sad series of Unhappy Tails which range from an unhappy visit to the vet ( the subject of how vets who work to save lives should be protected by law from having to kill a perfectly healthy pet is a separate subject for another day ) to the abuse of abandonment.
Fostering is like any other arrangement in life .... the parties involved have a contract and in every case terms can be arranged. If one is unwilling to foster puppies, or feels they lack the training skills to work through behavior issues, they will still be welcomed with open arms.
After all, most of the good pets in need of safe harbour were 'somebody's baby' until for a wide variety of reasons the owner no longer was willing or able to care for their faithful friend.
Things of course vary from group to group, but generally the rescue is responsible for food and vet costs and the foster is responsible for the love. If you are thinking about volunteering, Best Friends has three 'must reads' Become a Foster Parent! , Becoming a Foster Home and Foster Care Handbook .
Another way to make a difference is to volunteer to transport animals. When rescues work miracles on a shoestring, there isn't money for transporting the animals to safety in their new foster home.
While we are all shopping and wrapping, there are good pets in need of a second chance with a more committed human. While we are sledding and skating, good pets will be travelling down another Unhappier Road.
No matter how one celebrates, the spirit of the season is all about compassion and kindness. What time is it? Its always time to put a little love in your heart.