Meet Chester. Chester is a 13 year old (according to vet estimates) Chi-pom, looking for his forever home. He came to us to find his perfect match after his previous owners taped him up in a bank box and left him for dead. He was in bad shape when he got here. His nails were so long they were starting to curl and walking was painful. Of course we took care of all that and although he is still uneasy and a little scared, this elderly gentleman is doing quite well.

We feel Chester would do well in a home with a senior or a senior couple with a lot of love and time to devote to this little gem of a dog! He’s ready to retire with you, and enjoy all the benefits of a loving home and family to call his own.

Chester loves to cuddle up and sleep at your feet for the night, is always ready for a belly rub, and just wants to be loved. Are your heart and home open and waiting for this little guy?

Watch the video…

The usual Let’s Adopt conditions for adoption apply:

1. Family MUST have an existing animal.
2. Chester MUST live inside the home, not in the yard.
3. He MUST be fed a RAW diet (www.rawfed.com)

and finally…

4. The family will be a non-smoking family. Second hand smoke kills and makes miserable the lifes of both humans and animals. These two babies have already gone through too much in their short life, at least now they will enjoy a clean crisp air in their new home.

Those interested in adopting Chester please contact me:

janettehamilton@yahoo.com

Until Tomorrow Remember
BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK
Janette

Today I thought I would introduce you to a wonderful man who has made caring for over 500 rescued cats his daily way of life. Meet Craig Grant, owner operator of the Caboodle Cat Ranch.

Craig Grant, seen here with one of the many cats that call Caboodle home.

Craig Grant wouldn’t have called himself a cat lover when his son moved out on his own in 2003 and left his cat behind. Grant wasn’t happy about the situation but he agreed to keep the cat. Slowly the two began to get along, but it wasn’t long before Grant learned that the cat was pregnant. Great! He wasn’t much of a cat person to begin with and now he was faced with the prospect of an entire litter of kittens. Grant not knowing much about cats figured he would give the kittens away when they were born. Then his son informed him that the kittens would have to be kept with their mother for at least 6-8 weeks. In that time he began to bond with the animals and see something in them he had never noticed before. Each individual kitten had his or her own personality.

Grant had been worried at the thought of more than one cat in his neat and tidy home. They would destroy things! But now the kittens were hanging from the curtains and Grant didn’t care, he was smitten. The owner of his rented condo wasn’t as enamored. Time to find new digs for him and the now six cats. They weren’t safe where they were, one had come home with a B.B. lodged in it’s side and another had been bitten by a dog that Grant suspected someone had let out to chase the cats.

For a while Grant lived with the cats in a shed in his sons backyard, not willing to give them up, and not willing to live where they were in danger. He soon found a five acre parcel of land and moved onto it with the now 11 cats he shared his home with. (He had taken in strays.) That was in November of 2003.

Now 8 years later, Craig has expanded that initial 5 acres into a 30 acre home for over five hundred unwanted and strayed cats, and has made caring for them his full time job. He has built shelter buildings modeled like a small town complete with town hall, church, and school. I guess you could say that Craig Grant has gone to the cats, and is loving every minute of it.

Check out this video of the nightly walk at the Caboodle Cat Ranch:

If you would like to find out more about the Caboodle Cat Ranch, or would simply like to follow Craig Grant’s blog about day to day life in cat heaven, the Caboodle website can be found here: Caboodle Cat Ranch

We can’t all give up our lives to follow Craig Grant’s example, but isn’t it wonderful that people like Grant exist? I think if anything, we should be inspired by someone like Grant. Perhaps by sharing his story with you, you may feel inspired to commit your own act of kindness, by fostering an animal that needs care, or by adopting an animal that needs a home. We can’t all be Craig Grant’s, be we can all be compassionate!

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK!

Janette

Animal rescue is often heart wrenching and people who spend their lives “in the trenches” so to speak develop thick skins. That’s not to say they become less passionate or compassionate, but that the drive to help the animals is greater than the horrors they see. In order to balance out the sometimes horrific cases with the rewards of animal rescue, it’s important to hear happy stories to put it all into perspective.

FINDING GRYPHON

Today I have a story of one of the most adorable cats I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. But different aspects of the story still baffle me to this day.

I am an outdoor person and spend a lot of time in my garden in the summer. I also feed several feral cats in my colony and occasionally I get transient visitors to my feeding stations. I’ve seen some cats come and go and suspect that some are just neighborhood pets checking out the turf. So when one comes along which tends not to leave I have to pay attention.

This big stray orange cat was named Gryphon by his new family.

Last summer I had noticed this one particular cat a few times but didn’t really pay too much attention until it had been around awhile. I decided to determine its status and invited it to come and let me pet it. It was reluctant at first, but once it realized I was friend not foe, it was pretty much hooked. From that point it hardly left my yard or my back deck to be more precise. All it wanted was attention and to have a place to hang out.

I learned it was a “he” and an altered “he” to be exact. He was a gorgeous orange and white Persian who had a gentle nature and was not affected by much. After one whole weekend of living on my back deck I decided to bring him inside to see how he faired with my other cats. He found himself a nice quiet corner and basically ignored the rest of my cats and made himself right at home.

So now I knew he was a domestic indoor cat obviously (I thought) cared for by someone. I advertised as many places as I could to find his owners.  Someone must be looking for him. 2 weeks went by with no response to my ads or any inquiries from any neighbors about a missing cat. Most unusual for a beloved family pet.

So I began to look for a suitable home and placed an ad on Kijiji. I had several responses to the ad but one person in particular seemed to jump out at me. He was persistent and patient with my concerns and my screening.

2 weeks after posting the ad for a new home, he was on his way to meet his new owner. My first concern was of course his welfare and the next was of course would he be admired for a short period then after the novelty wore off totally ignored. When I walked into the home all my fears were put to rest. The 3 resident kitties said it all, all of them being well looked after and obviously loved by their owners.

I kept in contact with the new owner for the next couple of weeks and had given him explicit instructions that if “anything” should happen that changed his mind, that he contact me only and I would come and get him right away. As it worked out, he fit in beautifully to his new home. The owners were in awe of how calm this cat was and were thrilled with him. I learned his new name was “Gryphon”.

But I can’t help wonder why I have never heard anything to this day about a lost family pet. So my only guess is that he was a dump off. This beautiful, well behaved, altered, lovable boy who had obviously been well cared for had suddenly found himself alone and unwanted. But, I had found him a new family and he had been given his second chance. Gryphon was one of the lucky ones!

Story Courtesy: Gloria Simpson

To share YOUR rescue.s “Happy Tail” please write it in 500 words or less, add pictures and send it to me at:

janettehamilton@bell.net

Until Next Saturday

Happy Tails to you and Yours!

Janette

For those few people who would like to side with the SPCA, let me clear up a few misconceptions. Yesterday when we discussed unlawful seizure and sale of animals by the SPCA you all seemed to want to try to tell the world that I was saying animals should not be seized until after a court has ruled. WRONG! I never said that nor did I imply it. Of course in legitimate cases, animals must be seized to protect them from harm. Leaving an obviously abused animal in the care of its abuser would be utter madness, and I would NEVER suggest such a thing. However, I do believe that allowing the SPCA to transfer ownership of a seized animal to a new owner BEFORE a court decision is reached, is a blatant violation of our right to due process of law. What is worse, is it amounts to nothing more than legalized theft of property. (Hey the government is the entity that put that label on our pets not me!)

Let us look at these cases for a moment as if we were talking about confiscated property and not the family pet. Let’s suppose for a moment that you and your neighbor own the exact same 7 carat diamond ring. Your neighbor looses hers, and then sees you wearing yours and calls the police accusing you of stealing her property. The police come along arrest you and confiscate your ring. Okay you with me so far? The ring is now evidence in a criminal trial. (THe same way a seized animal is supposed to be evidence in an abuse case) The police are not going to take that ring and sell it for profit before your day in court are they? Of course not, it is the evidence they plan to use against you.

Okay so you go to trial and your husband produces the receipt for your seven carat ring. You are released because you have been proven not guilty. Now the court must return your property, because they have been proven wrong. The same should hold true for an animal that has been seized and it’s owner declared not guilty in a court of law, but in Nova Scotia this rarely happens because the animal has already been sold to a new owner, or given away to the family of an SPCA worker. The NS SPCA consistently violates the rights of NS citizens by selling property they have no right to sell.

You wouldn’t get away with stealing the keys to your neighbors car and selling it to a passing stranger, you would be charged with theft, so how is it that the SPCA in Nova Scotia can steal people’s animals and sell them? When did the Nova Scotian government give the SPCA the right to be judge, jury, and police department, and what of the accused’s right to due process and a fair trial? Does being declared innocent of the crimes you were charged with make losing your pet any easier? Then of course there is the question of why a person who has been cleared by the court is not entitled to the return of their property. By law they are, but apparently no one bothered to tell Kristin Williams and company that that is the case. They seem to think that once they accuse someone of a criminal offense and seize their animal, that animal is theirs to do with as they please despite the fact that they have yet to prove their case.

And one final question, how is it that the SPCA is allowed to get away with such blatant criminal activity under the guise of animal protection? Should the government not be addressing this behavior that so clearly violates the rights of Canadian citizens?

It is clear to most of us that the SPCA in this country is a organization out of control, and our government is giving them license to harrass, extort, and steal from the Canadian people.

Until Tomorrow Remeber

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK!

Janette

Folks in Nova Scotia aren’t enamored of the province’s SPCA. The mere mention of the organization is enough to send some NS residents running for the hills well fed pets in tow. Why? Because according to some NS residents I have spoken with, being a responsible pet owner in Nova Scotia doesn’t keep you safe from the long arm of the SPCA. Nor are their pets and farm animals safe from seizure and sale.

The last time I checked, we lived in a democratic society where we are innocent until proven guilty. Get accused of animal welfare violations in Nova Scotia however, and the reverse seems to be true. In Nova Scotia they will seize your animals, impound them and send YOU a bill for caring for them, all before the case ever lands in front of a judge, and if you are really privileged, by the time your case goes to court the animals in question will have already been sold to new owners by the SPCA.

Yet Kristin Williams, Executive Director of the NS SPCA claims there is nothing wrong within her organization. She won’t tell YOU that, she has been invited to have her say more than once but still prefers to communicate by private email. (I have had two private emails from Ms. Williams the text of which have been reproduced in yesterday’s blog posting which can be found here: An Email from Kristin Williams Exec. Dir. NS SPCA: UPDATED!!! )

My question of course is this Ms. Williams, what are you afraid of? If your organization is as above board as you claim, then surely you should have no trouble publicly defending it? Or are you reluctant to open up that particular can of worms? You claim to be transparent, however the manner in which you have chosen to answer our concerns is anything but transparent. I am not quite sure you understand the concept of transparency as it applies to non-profit organizations. You see being a transparent organization means that there is no aspect of your operation that is guarded from the public eye. You seem to be VERY guarded in your dealings with the public.

Ms. Williams, Nova Scotians see your organization as a charity out of control. A charity that, given police powers and accountability to no one but themselves, has decided to abuse those powers for financial gain. I suppose I had better add a link here to one of the stories I keep referring to, lest you tell me once again that I haven’t got my facts straight.

Here is a link to the court documents of one Janice Bingley. Bingley’s dogs were confiscated and sold before her case went to a judge. Bingley fought the NS SPCA and won, but her dogs are gone.

Janice Bingley’s Case Report

How is it that the SPCA was able to sell Bingley’s dogs BEFORE any court decision was reached? Do animals not remain the property of the accused until there is a conviction? Is it possible that the dogs were seized simply because of their value to the NS SPCA as a commodity? This is NOT an isolated incident Ms. Williams, how do you explain what basically amounts to your organization stealing family pets?

What of your decision that you would no longer bill those accused of animal welfare violations for the care of their confiscated animals BEFORE court proceedings? Why you should be allowed to bill anyone for the care of an animal you have chosen to seize is beyond me in the first place, but levying animal care charges upon people who have not even been convicted of an offense sounds like blatant abuse of power to me.

C’mon Ms. Williams, we are all waiting for your explanation. You claim that your organization is above reproach, but your tactics leave much to be desired and violate the basic rights to a fair trial afforded Canadians accused of criminal offences. What have you to say for yourself and your organization? The public you are supposed to serve are waiting for an answer!

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK!

Janette

I apologize for the length of today’s post but sometimes things can not be condensed.

Some of you may remember last Thursday’s blog post entitled “Canada’s SPCA Makes the News Again.” For those of you who did not get a chance to read it, it can be found here: Canada’s SPCA Makes the News Again

I bring this post up again because yesterday when I checked my personal email I discovered a message from Kristin Williams, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia SPCA. Seems Ms. Williams is unhappy with my take on the current situation in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Below you will find the text of her email word for word as written to me.

“Ms. Hamilton, I had the opportunity to read your article (reference: http://canada.myletsadopt.com/2011/02/10/canadas-spca-makes-the-news-again/) this morning and I felt compelled to write to you.

The Nova Scotia SPCA acted swiftly and appropriately with respect to allegations involving Mr. Hackett.  The RCMP was involved at our request because we believe in handling this matter properly. I do not appreciate your characterization of our organization or the suppositions that you levied. If you would like to take the opportunity to review our website, you will see that we believe strongly in being not only accountable to our donors, supporters and the government, but we also believe in being transparent. This case is a serious matter and we have taken it seriously.

I hope that in the future you will seek to present articles based in fact.

Regards,

Kristin Williams

Executive Director

Nova Scotia SPCA

Provincial Office

1-888-703-7722 x 228

KWilliams@spcans.ca

www.spcans.ca

The information contained in this email message is solely for the intended addressee. This message may contain confidential and/or privileged material and access to this message by anyone other than the intended addressee is unauthorized. Unauthorized recipients are required to maintain confidentiality. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this message by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately and destroy the original.” (I am reproducing it here as it was sent to me personally and as such is now my property)

My answer to Ms. Williams:

“I do present articles based in fact and fact is the SPCA in this country is in dire need of oversight. Of course you’d write to me telling me how above board you are, no one would expect you to admit your shortcomings. However as my blog is a page in which people are encouraged to speak their mind I am entitled to my opinion and no matter how much spin you attempt to put on the matter I have no intention of changing my opinion or siding with the SPCA in this or any other matter.  I have yet to meet any SPCA branch that was totally transparent. The SPCA in this country has spent years making sure people DON’T know what is going on behind closed doors. You do not have control over what I think and feel and last time I checked speculation wasn’t illegal. You have no authority over me or my thoughts, and are just as entitled to have your say in the comment forum of my blog as anyone else is. Why are you not addressing this issue there, where all members can see what you have to say, instead of privately if you feel so strongly? The SPCA is in no better than any other rescue agency that exists in Canada. You, are a CHARITY agency and it would serve you well to remember that. You are not above the law, something else you would do well to remember. If you have a problem with my writing style or my take on your shelter’s situation feel free to address it publicly on the blog post page. Have a nice day!”

The following chart put together with the aid of research information obtained from petabuse.com outlines the completed cases in Nova Scotia to date since 2000. Ms. Williams claims that HER province has a wonderful SPCA system that is above reproach, and conscientiously investigates every claim of neglect and abuse. If that is so explain the fact that most of the following cases either remain open or there were no charges laid. In one case of bestiality charges were dismissed altogether.

You accused me of not sticking to the facts Ms. Williams. Well here are your FACTS why don’t you explain them to all of us? Tell us why we should trust your word when we have all seen evidence to the contrary from every branch of the SPCA in the country at one time or another.

To you my readers, as always, have your say whether you agree or not! You are entitled to your own opinion.

THIS JUST IN TONIGHT!

Kristin Williams has responded to my response to her email, once again by PRIVATE message to me, here’s the brief text of her response:

“I am sorry to hear that. If you ever find yourself in Halifax I hope that you will look me up. I would like the opportunity to change your mind if you are open to that.

Regards,

Kristin Williams

Executive Director

Nova Scotia SPCA

Provincial Office

1-888-703-7722 x 228

KWilliams@spcans.ca

www.spcans.ca

The information contained in this email message is solely for the intended addressee. This message may contain confidential and/or privileged material and access to this message by anyone other than the intended addressee is unauthorized. Unauthorized recipients are required to maintain confidentiality. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this message by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately and destroy the original.”

My response? Why wait until I am in NS Ms. Williams? I’m right here, why don’t you come change my mind for me right here in this forum?

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK!

Janette