WILL YOU BE THE CHANGE?

When I look around me I see cold wet noses and friendly eyes. For many people, the number of dogs and cats in my home would be an issue, for my husband and I it is merely our way of life. We have no children at home our offspring having grown, and themselves adults, moved away from home. Our house is not empty however, there are too many fur babies here to call it empty. I think I staved off empty nest syndrome when my last daughter left for college simply because you could still hear the pitter patter of tiny feet, even if they did belong to dogs and cats. Most of my friends who are not into animal rescue, think we are nuts for sharing our home with so many animals. We don’t see it that way, and I’ll tell you why.

Each of these animals was disposable to someone. They were seen as unimportant, not worth the effort to care for them, and they were thrown away. Each of them found their way to us, and for one reason or another stayed. The problem with being the final forever home for so many animals is not their upkeep or the expense involved, that has become a part of our daily routine and our yearly budget. The problem is that my house is full, and there are many more animals out there I can not help because I can not take them into my home.

Why am I telling you this?  Simply because without you, we can not save them! Without people like you willing to step forward and give an animal a second chance by becoming a foster, my hands are tied. Foster homes are the backbone of animal rescue. They are the safe haven from which to begin again, and they may very well be one of the most important elements in animal rescue.

Every time we put out a call for foster homes we struggle to find what we need. There are an overabundance of people willing to say “oh the poor thing, I hope someone steps up soon”. What we need is more people willing to say “I will step up and make a difference.” My Father always used to tell me, “if you want something done do not sit and wait for someone else to do it, step forward and be the example, others will follow.” So I am asking you to follow.

We are about to embark on the journey of a New Year, it is the time of year when people look at themselves and ask “what can I change about myself to make me a better person?” So this year when all of you are making your resolutions for the change you wish to make, consider becoming a foster care provider to an animal in need. The rewards far outweigh the work involved, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a new friend.

To Foster Families Everywhere

Your home may have been
The first one that I’d ever seen;
Your voice the first to teach, to praise,
To guide me through confusing days.
You’re the one who taught to me
What the We of a good dog ought to be.
Your patient persistence all the while
May have won my very first doggie smile.
And now that I am off to roam
With the family of my “forever” home,
Yours is the home I will always dream of
Your gentle hands, your smiling love,
The way you coaxed tangles out of my coat,
The sound of your voice, yes, every note.
If they learn to love me the way that you do
I will know that I owe my acceptance to you.
Though my paws may wander far away,
Yours is the home where I learned to stay.

–Kam Ellery, 2000

Those wishing to foster for Let’s Adopt should contact:

viktor@myletsadopt.com for European foster care

or

janettehamilton@bell.net for Canadian foster care

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK

Janette

Condemned dog Phoenix lounges with Dad and Pebbles! Look how vicious this dog is!

On December 18th, 2010, my husband and I made a trip to Toronto to pick up a dog no one else would take because he had been labelled aggressive and condemned to death. We were his last chance at turning his life around. Whoever labeled this dog as aggressive doesn’t know dogs at all! He is young, he is scared of the world, but he just wants to be loved. We named him Phoenix, and many of you are following his progress in his blog Phoenix Rising.

Phoenix’ case is not an isolated one, many dogs who bite once are condemned without any investigation into the reason the animal bit in the first place. Apparently for the powers that be, if a dog bites once it is a violent criminal and must be put to death! In many cases a dog does not even have to bite to be labeled aggressive, his or her breed mix is enough to serve as so called evidence of wrongdoing. (Remember the profiling of Bowser sight unseen by a local vet.) Imagine if we used this same philosophy when dealing with violent criminals of the human persuasion? Imagine if we condemned people as criminals according to their nationality or the color of their skin, or shape of their nose? We would never do that you say? Then why do we do it to dogs?

No one would support the idea that labels should be attached to people based on their nationality or skin color. No one would agree for example that all Mexican’s are illegal immigrants, or all Chinese people are bad drivers, or all black men are drug dealers, why then does society accept the myth that all pit bulls are inherently vicious? Why do people accept that every dog bite is an attack by a vicious dog? Why are we as a society so willing to hold the animal responsible when we really should be looking into the reasons for the bite incident in the first place? And my final question, why are we as a society so quick to solve every bite incident with a euthanasia order?

WE must stand up for those who can not speak for themselves. It is time that we let the Canadian government know that we will not stand by and watch as they condemn animals to death based on their breed or a single incident in which they bite. We must let the government know that we value the lives of our companion animals as much as we value the lives of our children or our own lives. We must stand firm and demand individual rights for companion animals. Do our pets not have the fundamental right to life?

In our society a criminal is supposedly innocent until proven guilty, however this does not apply to dogs. Dogs are considered guilty until proven innocent, although most dogs condemned to die are not given a chance to prove innocence or justification of their actions. These animals are not given a chance to defend themselves, and even if they were it would fall to their owners to speak for them. Most owners do not have the means to fight a euthanasia order in court. Further to this problem, is that so called government experts have dog owners convinced that once a dog bites it will always be aggressively vicious. The powers that be would have you believe that once a dog has bitten it will never be capable of controlling the urge in the future.

Phoenix and I beg to differ! We know that in most dog bite incidents the animal feels threatened and therefore defends themselves the only way possible, by biting that which they fear in the hopes it will go away and leave them alone. As a matter of fact the only time I have ever seen a companion animal deliberately attack without provocation, it was rabid.

To the government I have this to say: “Just because the “criminal” in question is an animal, doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to a fair trial. You can not continue to slaughter defenseless animals based on archaic philosophies of animal behavior. The shelter system in this country is inadequate and operates under ancient understandings of our companion animals behavioral traits. Workers are not properly trained and assessment of animals is being carried out by people unqualified to assess these animals. Training and compassion are non-existent, after all it is just a dog, in the scheme of things does it really matter? To those of us who value the lives of our companion animals, YOU BET IT MATTERS!

We must call for legislative change and hold owners responsible for the actions of their animals. The killing must stop!

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK

Janette

Many of you may have decided to adopt a dog ths holiday season. Whether you have a new puppy or an adult rescue dog, they will have to be taught to toilet properly. The following should help.

Unless you have a sixth sense you can’t predict when and where your dog is going to do the toilet, that is why dog toilet training is necessary. Dogs need to learn to “hold it” and go where they are supposed to, however they don’t know the difference between doing their toilet outside on the grass where it is acceptable, and inside on your living room rug where it is not acceptable. Dogs like children must be toilet trained.

Dog toilet training can be something of a difficult task. Every day needs to be the same and you need to give him constant attention when you can; this will make the toilet training procedure a lot easier. Your training process will take longer if you are working outside of the home ,as your dog will need to go and since you are not home to take him outside, the house is the only place that he can do his business.

When you start out dog toilet training you need to give him a place of his own, maybe a corner of your back room. That should be where you put his food and his bed and his toys and cover the whole floor in newspaper. When you leave the house make sure he is in that room and can’t get out.

When you are gone he will obviously need the toilet and will go where he is standing, but over time he will pick a place and start to do his business in the one place, when he starts to do that you can then start to remove the paper from the area furthest away from his chosen spot. Gradually continue this until it is only a small space available for him to go, if he misses the paper then you are moving a little bit too fast and need to go back a step or two until you get to as little papers as possible. When he gets older he will be able to control his bladder movements a lot easier.

When you are at home spend as much time with your dog as possible. Dog toilet training will be much easier if you do. Every 45 minutes or so take your dog outside and whenever he does the toilet outside make sure he is praised very happily and excitedly with lots of enthusiasm, and do this everytime that he “goes” outside. He will realise that this is where he needs to go to the toilet and when he can control his bladder a little better he will wait until you come to let him out. It does take a lot of time and patience, so be prepared for frustration.

Never scold your dog for doing the toilet in the house as he does not know any better. We did the toilet in our diapers until we were potty trained because there was nothing else we could do about it, when we needed we went, well dogs are the same. No dog is properly toilet trained until he is about 6 months old so it is a lengthy procedure but a great one when the end results start to show!

It can be frustrating, but with a little patience and a lot of love your dog will learn to “go” outside and you will have a long and happy relationship.

Tradition has it in many countries around the world that the day after Christmas is Boxing Day, or St. Stephen’s Day. It’s a day when goods or money are wrapped in boxes and shared with the poor and the needy.

One of the earliest accounts of the origin of this day appears in the Christmas Carol, “Good King Wenceslas.”

“Wenceslas, who was Duke of Bohemia in the early 10th century, was surveying his land on St. Stephen’s Day, 26 December, when he saw a poor man gathering wood in the middle of a snowstorm. Moved, the King gathered up surplus food and wine and carried them through the blizzard to the peasant’s door.” [1]

Given that bit of history about this day, it seems quite fitting that today I tell you the rest of the story about one of our Canadian rescues who came to us in need.

Stray Guy had been left behind when his family moved away. He was on his own to forge out a survival. But from the scratch on his face, it did not look like things were going so well for him. A woman named Irene who lived nearby did all she could to help him, but because she had dogs of her own, she did not feel she could take him into her home. So she began her search for a home for him.

One of the people Irene contacted was Ginette, a Let’s Adopt member, who contacted me. We immediately sent out a request for a forever home or a foster home so we could get this boy off the street. This was in July, 2010.

A woman several hours away from Ottawa offered her home, but the lack of transportation became an obstacle.

That’s when Maggie stepped up saying she could foster him in her home. She had several cats of her own and was familiar with our needs having rescued and fostered cats on her own in the past. She had a bedroom she could keep him in while we went through getting him tested and neutered and on his way to a new life.

We had a plan! Irene caught Stray Guy one evening and put him in a carrier. Ginette picked him up and delivered him to Maggie. In the coming days, we got him vetted and neutered. At this point, Stray Guy became Stary. In making his vet appointment, Stray was misspelled as Stary… and it was discovered that he had a small white “star” on his chest.

During vetting, we ran into another speed bump. Testing revealed that Stary had FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). Though that is not a death sentence, it does require a special family to adopt him. One that is aware of his illness and can provide for his needs. Simply put, he has a compromised immune system so he has to be treated quickly if a secondary infection occurs. Here is a link to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine’s webpage about FIV.

In late September, Inessa and Paul came forward and asked about Stary. They were familiar with FIV and were interested in meeting him. Emails, Facebook messages and phone calls were exchanged; a visit was arranged; and it was unanimously decided that Inessa and Paul were perfect for Stary.

On the first Sunday in October, Stary was loaded into his carrier for his trip to his new forever home.

And the news is all good. He has since been renamed Vovochka (or Вовочка). His family describes him as a playful, friendly cat. In the beginning, he slept with his new family in their bed and never let them get very far from his sight. He has become more secure, but still keeps his eye on them. And from the looks of things in these photos, life is good in his world. Stray Guy aka Stary aka Vovochka is finally and forever home!

So on Boxing Day, we wrap the story of this once needy little guy who was left behind by his family, but was eventually adopted by a wonderful couple in a tidy box for you to enjoy.

It takes a concerted effort of caring people to rescue our homeless pets and find them the forever homes they deserve. I hope in the coming year, you will be a part of the efforts to find homes for them. Did you realize that if just 3.5% of a community adopted the pets from their shelters, the shelters could be empty?

Please be part of the 3.5% solution and opt to adopt.

Click the photos to enjoy all of Vovochka’s handsomeness.

Ciao, Holly

Merry Christmas!

So here we are two days before Christmas! I have been so busy with my rescue work that our tree is not even up yet! I am writing today to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and to let you know that in order to get that tree up and spend time with my visiting daughter, this will be the last blog posting until December 28th, 2010. I will still be around to answer your questions and monitor what’s going on, but will only be responding to emergencies until that date.

We here at Let’s Adopt Canada wish you all (furry family members included) the Best for the Holiday’s and hope the New Year is a healthy and prosperous one for all. 2011 ushers in new opportunities to do great things! I thank you all for your phenomenal support in 2010, and urge you to stay with us as we enter 2011 and launch new projects. We saved many lives this year, and educated many people to the benefits of raw feeding, and the importance of spaying and neutering your pets. Together in 2011 we can do more to stem the tide of animal abuse and neglect.

This year, together as a group, we have:

Let’s Adopt Canada/Advocates for the Undercat

- your contributions made it possible to neuter Wybie, one of the ferals from the new TNR program

Let’s Adopt Canada

- Bowser, Diva, and Chloe adopted for Christmas

-the rescue and rehabilitation of Phoenix

-saved the lives of five dogs when the city of Barrie threatened to remove them from their home

-supported efforts to repeal BSL in Ontario

-supported efforts for oversight of the OSPCA

-signed petitions on animal concerns

-developed friendships that will stand the test of time

I thank you all! We look forward to new opportunities to make a difference, and the opportunity to save more lives in the coming year.

Once again Merry Christmas!

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK

Janette

Our house is crazy this morning! Yesterday our dog Nakita had spay surgery, and today it is Phoenix’ turn to go to the clinic and have his surgery. Two convalescing dogs for Christmas! I must be nuts right? I don’t see it that way, this is rescue and having an unfixed female and an unfixed male in the same foster home is unacceptable, so as soon as was humanly possible they were both scheduled for surgery.

We don’t take unnecessary chances where our rescues are concerned, and we dearly wish we could get this through the heads of pet owners out there. Spaying or neutering your companion animal is the best thing you can do to help reduce the number of unwanted pets in our country. It is also healthier for your pet.

I hear many of you moaning and groaning about how expensive it is, and how you have better things to spend your money on, but do you really? Let’s look for a moment at this logic. You can spend five dollars every morning on some expensive cup of Starbucks coffee no one can remember the name of, but you can’t afford to take Fido to the vet and have him neutered?

Let’s break down the cost of vetting and caring for an unwanted litter.

1.) Examination of Momma dog by vet before birth: $125.00 (not including medication or treatments which are an extra expense)

2.) Vetting of puppies after birth: $200.00/pup (the last litter of pups we dealt with was a litter of 8 so total vetting costs for puppies $1600.00)

3.) Examination of Momma dog after birth: $125.00 (not including medication or treatments which are an extra expense)

4.) Total cost for unwanted litter $1850.00 (if there are medications or treatment involved that price goes up)

Now let us compare the cost of the unwanted litter above to the cost of spaying or neutering your pet:

Dogs under 20kg. will cost approximately $350.00 to have spayed/neutered.

Dogs over 20kg. will cost approximately $500.00 to have spayed/neutered.

Cats will cost approximately $285.00 to have spayed/neutered.

Now before you tell me it is too expensive to have your dog spayed or neutered, I want you to think of the expense of that unwanted litter, and ask yourself is it REALLY too expensive to spay/neuter my pet?

Don’t be stupid! SPAY OR NEUTER your pet it is the kindest thing you will ever do for them!

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK

Janette