As you head into your weekend to hang out with your friends and family, please tell them about these companions still in need of a home. It’s just a matter of luck — whether good or bad — that has created their homelessness.

Buster and Patches took it into their own hands to save their own lives by breaking out of the barn; Bentley was discarded after a divorce; and Stary was left behind when his family moved out. You can read their stories by clicking on their names.

We can change their lives. We can help them start a new life in a new home. Please SHARE their stories.

Buster and Patches

Currently living in the Moose Jaw area
Since settling into their foster home, they have become more confident and independent. It seems they will do okay separated and so we are looking for a home that will adopt either one or both of them. They have been vetted, are current on their vaccinations and are neutered. They are ready to start a new life as Canadians!

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Bentley

Currently living in Vancouver
UPDATE: Bentley has been adopted! Bentley is a very loving boy, but he still has some issues of insecurity and occasional outbursts towards other cats and dogs. He loves people. He needs a special home that will help him adjust. The by-product of a divorce, he was tossed out when the Mrs. left. We need to find foster and/or an adoptive home for beautiful Bentley.

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Stary (formerly known as Stray Guy)

Currently living in Ottawa
Stary has been neutered and vetted. He is current on his vaccinations, however he has tested positive for Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). This is not a death sentence! His immune system is compromised 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 that explain FIV. So far, he has shown a love of everything and everybody. I think he is genuinely happy to be off the streets.

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If you are interested in fostering/adopting, please contact me.

Stray Guy spent the night in a house last night. The first time since his family moved out and left him behind to fend for himself.

Thank goodness for the generosity of a kind woman named Irene who has been feeding him. Because she has dogs, she was not able to bring him inside, so she sought help to find him a new home.

From the photos we have received, it seems he was so excited that, after eating, he spent a lot of time cleaning up. Probably felt like he finally had a reason to.

Through a couple coincidences, Stray Guy’s name is becoming Stary. First off, many people may be feeling that Stray Guy is just too hard or odd to say when you are calling a cat… “Here, Stray Guy, Stray Guy.” Others may feel it’s just not personal enough. “Stray Guy? Is that really a name?”

One of the women involved in the rescue misspelled it in a message as Stary. Then it was discovered that he has a small white star on his chest.

So, now off the streets and no longer a homeless stray, I guess Stray Guy is evolving into Stary.

Our next step is getting Stary vet checked. And he has an appointment on Friday to be neutered — or as a friend says, “to lose his ‘twins’.”

We are again putting the word out that we are looking for a forever home for Stary. Someone to love this guy as he deserves.

If interested in adopting Stary, please contact me.

I leave you with a few more photos from Stray Guy/Stary’s first night inside. Click the images to see a larger version.

UPDATE: Bentley has been adopted!

There is a home out there looking for this handsome man.

I got one of those emails yesterday afternoon that I hate to read –

“Hello everyone, My friend needs to find a home for his Labrador. He is 6 years old, inside dog and very friendly/loving. He has two small children and they are just taking precautionary measures. If they do not find a home by Friday they will bring him to the SPCA. The dog’s name is Frank.“

How do you do that? How do you simply discard years of loyalty? For no seeming reason. Precautionary measures?

Like someone unable to turn away from a train wreck, I scrolled down through the various messages to see the photos of Frank.

And I have to say, it was worse than I expected. Frank’s posture was so confident. His eyes warm and so filled with trust. He’s even a little chubby from living a pampered life.

He hasn’t a clue that his family doesn’t want him anymore. And that come Friday, he was “pound bound” if no one else wanted him.

With a sigh, I deleted all the extraneous comments and sent the original email to everyone I could think of.

Shortly afterward, I received an email from Sandra: Do a mass email.

Yes! A glimmer of light! Maybe we can save a life!

The email went out around midnight to a couple thousand people. Forty-five minutes later came the first response:

“I’ll take this dog if you can not find a home for him….I’ll stay back and prefer to let someone else take him, but please do not let him go to the pound. I will step up and take him if no one else will.”

The email responses continued coming in — some had questions, some expressed their disbelief and some to offer help.

At 2 pm came an email that Frank had a new home! He was moving to a farm in the country. Thirty-five acres. Guess that may help Frank lose a bit of that pampered house dog girth.

Best wishes, Frank!

Here are some of the messages received:

“franks owners SUCK. the least they could do is give poor frank a chance to not eat the kids… i say put THE owners in the SPCA”

“She is beautiful and I would love to have her, but we just adopted a male chocolate lab, Moses (9yrs) and a mix pointer, ????, named Bella (about 4 we think). I will ask my friends here at the beach where we live if anyone might like to adopt her. Please let me know if you find a home for oops, not her, him; Frank.”

“He is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L~ We are going to look at him! ”

“Frank deserves smarter owners that should be able to figure out that this dog could be great for their children and not a THREAT. ”

“Precautionary? I say LAZY. It infuriates me that so many humans think animals are disposable. After six years??? Unbelievable!!!!!”

“And why the deadline? If they really cared about their pet, they would find a new home themselves versus threatening to take him to the SPCA—where he will more than likely be put down. And for what reason?????”

“If you want to do this poor dog a favor, please return this to Franks’ owners.”

“Do they not know that children that are raised with a dog have less allergies and are sick less that children with out a dog in the house. Tell them to read up on this. I do not know how someone who has had a pet for 6 years can just give him up.”

“Remind them that My little brother as an infant was saved by this type of Dog .. He ran out in front of a moving car and the Dog pulled him out of the way,.. so the family should rethink.. I would not worry about the dog but, the parents fear of the unknown.. the baby will be protected by the dog.”

“do they have an acre for mr ? I have no flees..”

And then came the one I was waiting for –

“Frank found a home. I had a friend call to retrieve him and the owner said he had been relocated. Great job.”

Thank you, Sandra, for opening your heart and your network to helping Frank.

And thank you to everyone who participated today. We saved a life!

How was your day?

Un beso, Holly.

Statistics say we needlessly kill millions of companion animals every year; they also say more people could actually adopt a cat or dog this year than we kill. But we need to direct them to where the biggest rehoming need is: from rescues and shelters.

Please become a pro-active pet owner and adopt a cat or dog from a rescue group or shelter. There are mutts and purebreds alike; strays, owner surrenders, young and old and in-between. They are not “damaged” animals, but merely dislocated.

Most rescues and shelters promote their available animals online, so look for their websites.

If you find one you want and it is outside your area, contact a local rescue group to assist in transporting the cat or dog to you. There are many groups of volunteers that transport animals every weekend.

Here are some of the cats and dogs that have come through our doors. Gentle souls who have enriched our lives as rescuers and the lives of the families they become members of.

There are homes for our homeless animals.

Please adopt from a rescue or shelter. The life you save may really be your own.

Join us. Let’s Adopt! Canada.

Ciao, Holly

You’re reading this because you’re probably a member of Let’s Adopt! I applaud you for joining our networks.

Now I want to ask you to join our tribe, by becoming an active member of our operations!

We are of course animal lovers, but we are activists first. Which means, that we love all the cute pictures of pups and kitties. However, there are too many cute pups and kitties dying in our shelters and by the hands of abusers and breeders every single day.

We must act – NOW!

I am often disillusioned by what I see, especially on the web. Horrendous abuse, crush videos, starved animals, scared animals going crazy in their kennels at the pound. I have seen many of these cases in my work as an activist and rescuer. The 1-day-old kittens I raised with an eyedropper or feeding tube, just to see them succumb to a simple upper respiratory infection. The kittens that were exposed to FIP, and ultimately died because their intestines and organs literally liquefied inside of them.

However there were hundreds that were a joy to foster and raised to be strong enough to be adopted. There are many, many success stories, which by far outweigh the bad experiences.

Now I want YOU to experience the feeling of saving a life and what an impact you alone can make in your community.

I want YOU to reach out to your local pound and rescue a dog or a cat.

Become its caretaker and angel. We will then rally as a network to adopt the animal into a new home.

Our adoption criteria are strict, yet very simple.

• the adopter has at least one other animal
• the animal will live indoors only! Not in the yard, not on a tie-out, not in a garage, or a barn. It will live indoors as part of the adopters family.
• the animal will be fed a raw diet only. Your animal will be healthier, you will be happier, and you’ll save money in the long run, on cost of food and vet bills. More info can be found at http://rawlearning.com
• We do not apply an adoption fee. One can’t buy any Let’s Adopt! dog or cat.
• We believe that adopting an animal is a privilege, not mercy.
• The adopter will create a Facebook album with photos of the animal with its new family and updates.

These are our adoption rules in a nutshell. Do you think you can handle it?

Have you been thinking of how in the world can you make a difference at these overcrowded pounds? Well, here is your chance to put your action where your heart is.

• Pull an animal.
• Then take it home, let it settle in,
• Take pictures and post it on the Let’s Adopt! Canada page,
• Include all details you have about the animal:
   – Age, temper, likes, dislikes, history (stray, dumped by owner, etc)
   – We’ll campaign to get the animals adopted.

Do you realize that you will be saving TWO lives at once. Not only will you be taking the one dog off death row, but another one will have a better chance, because there’s new cage space. And hopefully, you’ll inspire friends and family to do the same all over the country.

Perhaps concentrate on high kill facilities. Here’s where you can make a big difference.

There are many small groups that are willing to help you pull an animal and organize transport.

For now – please search your heart and decide whether you can open your home to a rescue this summer. I know you can and want to.

Let us help you figure out how and make it a reality. For the animals and for you.

We can potentially save hundreds of animals this summer. Are you with us?

Got Foster Dog?

Let’s start saving lives – one dog, one cat at the time.

Contributed by
Misha Dee