In a quick post to everyone who has been tracking the story of our little canine heroine, Faith, I want to spotlight the efforts of a group that should be heralded: the management and staff at the Brantford SPCA!

I think that we are often guilty of painting everyone with the same brush when they are affiliated with a certain group. In this case, the Brantford SPCA has received many unwarranted and inappropriate comments which I think are based on the wrongdoings we know occurred in the New Market SPCA last year when they attempted to kill all the animals in their care over an alleged outbreak of ringworm which was later determined to be false.

But this is not fair! The Brantford SPCA is NOT the New Market SPCA. The Brantford SPCA has not killed a healthy dog in more than five years! The management and staff at this SPCA go above and beyond to place the animals in their care, sometimes personally driving them to new homes. When it comes to finding homes, they know no boundaries. One dog was transported with a trucker to a new home in Las Vegas!

These folks “get it!” These folks are knowledgeable and compassionate about the animals in their care.

They have fielded offers for Faith from all over North America. They have carefully weighed their choices, checked references and made their decision.

Faith will be heading out west to start a new life as a free dog; no BSL hanging over her head.

The Brantford SPCA never considered killing this Pit Bull mix.

She was treated as all their animals are, except that her adoption would require her to live outside Ontario. And that is exactly what happened.

These are the facts and I hope they shall make the rounds on the internet so everyone knows the truth before they make comments or write angry emails.

Instead I encourage everyone to either stop writing to the Brantford SPCA, send them kudos or make a donation to them.

It is not fair to paint the Brantford SPCA with the same brush that you paint the New Market SPCA despite the fact they both fall under the leadership of the OSPCA. Again I tell you, the Brantford SPCA is one of the “good guys.” They work tirelessly for the animals in their care, going above and beyond. They deserve our support for all the good they do.

We need to recognize the good apples! We need to stand behind them as an example to the not-so-good apples. We need to support them.

So please, stop your angry comments to and about the Brantford SPCA… because you are wrong! Instead, please join me in spreading the truth!

Kudos to the Brantford SPCA for the handling of this adoption…

and all their work in placing the animals in their care! You have my deepest respect!

Ciao, Holly

GREAT NEWS!

Faith has found a new home! The Brantford SPCA has accepted an application from someone they “feel very comfortable about.” It is outside the Ontario province.

Congratulations — to Kalena for rescuing Faith, and to Faith on finding a safe and wonderful home where she can just be a dog and not a Pit Bull in a BSL-legislated province.

It’s great that in saving Kalena’s life, Faith saved her own life.

The story of Faith’s heroism is heartwarming and inspiring in a time when there seem to be no heroes and few examples of selfless good deeds. It restores my “faith” in values that seem almost dormant.

It is also inspiring to read and hear of all the people moved to action by this story.

What is missing are the stories behind EVERY animal in our SPCAs. They all have one. And they all deserve to have people line up to adopt them, too. Why is it important that we adopt the dog who risked her life to save a stranger? How about the dog simply given up because the family is having a baby? Or the cat that is being replaced by a kitten? Or the stray that has never known a real home and real love?

They all have stories, but we have no way of knowing them. And does it really matter after a while? We should accept them for who they are and the love they bring to us.

For all of you who were moved to the point of wanting to adopt Faith or who even began to consider adopting her, please keep the momentum going by adopting another animal that is in need. Statistics show that on average if 3% of a city’s population would adopt from their shelters, there would be no need for healthy animals to die. In larger cities, this number actually goes down. Another fraction of a per cent would save the cats and dogs in rescue.

You can be part of the 3% solution.. and in the process, add a wonderful companion to your household.

As a small sidenote: I heard that some people made terribly inappropriate comments towards Brantford and the SPCA; threats even. All I have about this is hearsay, but if there is any truth to it at all, I seriously have to ask you WHAT about this story would motivate you to be so out-of-line? Feel free to explain it to me via comment or email because I simply do not get it.

The goal was to find a home for a dog who would not find one in Brantford, or Ontario, because of her looks. While this legislation is steeped in what I think is ignorance of the proven facts, this is not an issue that the SPCA has any control over. The folks at the Brantford SPCA were rooting for Faith as hard as any of the rest of us. Their advantage was that they were rooting for her based on actually KNOWING her day in and day out whereas our knowledge was based on a few hours in her life one night.

It is one thing to challenge such prejudicial legislation as Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) or the Dog Owners’ Liability Act (DOLA), but it is quite another to make threatening statements. I am ashamed and embarassed that the search for a new home for Faith would include such antics. What were you thinking???

To end this journey on a happy note, my best wishes to Faith as she starts her new life as a FREE dog! Hey Faith, drop us a photo sometime and let us know how you are doing.

To everyone else, don’t let the momentum you felt for Faith just fizzle out. Save a life… today. Opt to adopt!

We received this message from Kalena’s husband this morning and so we turn our energies from rescuing Faith back into the family she saved to finding her a home outside the utterly unfathomable idiocy of Ontario’s BSL. Perhaps by saving this woman’s life, Faith was actually saving her own. Having even the appearance of what people identify as being Pit Bull could be the eventual scarlet letter of death for her in Ontario.

Here’s the message we received from Kalena’s husband:

“I am the husband who found my wife outside with Faith the dog standing over her. It was truly an amazing sight. Now this dog needs your help. Brant SPCA has renamed her Casidy. She needs a home outside of Ontario. Kalena and I would like to thank the 100s of emails we have received. But Kalena and I agree it’s not about us, it’s about saving this wonderful dog, Faith.”

We are now seeking foster care and a forever home for Faith (aka Casidy at the shelter). She has done her part to show what an incredible character she has; to show her true moral fiber; and to show the values we used to admire in Pit Bulls from years past.

Remember that bystanders just stood and watched whereas this young dog risked her life for a stranger she had never met!

Please, if you have room in your home and your heart for this baby or if you are interested in fostering (outside Ontario), contact the Brantford SPCA in Brantford, Ontario:

539 Mohawk Street
P.O. Box 163
Brantford, ON
N3T 5M8

Telephone: 519.756.6620

Email
Robin Kuchma, Branch Manager
Adoption Inquiries

Adoption info & applications

Transportation from Ontario to Calgary and points along that route may be possible in a couple weeks via a kind soul’s offer.

Though we are not out of the woods yet, I would like to extend heartfelt kudos to Kalena and her family. Had she not said a word about this event, this canine heroine would likely have been quietly killed because of her parentage of which no one knows for sure, at least not that anyone will admit. Last I knew, the people she came from have not stepped up in her defense.

Please take the time to educate yourself about the true evil of BSL and do not ever assume your dog will be immune. Do an internet search for the results of studies from communities around the world that are repealing their BSL legislation because it has not worked, is costly and causes such needless emotional distress to families… among other tested reasons. Regardless of breed, the list seems to grow each year.

When I changed my homeowner’s insurance this year, I was asked if any of my dogs were on their list of troublesome breeds. It was a lengthy and surprising list.

Take a look at your dog and imagine what it would feel like if suddenly you were required to surrender him/her to be killed. Then support anti-BSL in your province and beyond.

Ciao, Holly

ps… the photo on this page is NOT Faith. I have requested one from the SPCA but have not received it yet.

Puffy has been an Ottawa neighborhood cat for about a year now. Neighbors have been feeding him and keeping an eye out for him. However, he was an unneutered male, so, though handsome to the eye, a “baby-maker” nonetheless. And a bit of a rabble-rouser who got into fights with other cats in the neighborhood.

Recently, a concerned neighbor stepped up and befriended Puffy.

“…he let me pat him and cut some matts out of his fur. He had a huge tick on him, a big healing abcess and lots of smaller scabs and scratches.”

After talking to his neighborhood “watch group,” it was decided that Puffy needed to be caught and neutered. Then he could possibly be released back into his neighborhood.

So this week, Puffy got a full checkup, de-worming, vaccinations, FeLV/FIV tests, and a neuter. All went well except for the FIV test. He has tested positive for the FIV virus.

If you are unfamiliar with FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus (or “slow virus”) which is characterized by a long incubation period. An infected cat’s health may deteriorate progressively or be characterized by recurrent illness interspersed with periods of relative health. Sometimes not appearing for years after infection, signs of immunodeficiency can appear anywhere throughout the body — poor coat, gingivitis, stomatitis, various cancers and blood diseases; much like any other cat might experience. [source]

What does FIV do to a cat? Infected cats may appear normal for years. However, infection eventually leads to a state of immune deficiency that hinders the cat’s ability to protect itself against other infections. The same bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi that may be found in the everyday environment — where they usually do not affect healthy animals — can cause severe illness in those with weakened immune systems. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FIV. [source]

In other words, FIV won’t kill him, but rather a secondary infection could. Therefore, to lessen the possibility of acquiring a secondary infection and for keeping his immune system as strong as possible, it is best for Puffy to live indoors now.

So we are looking for a home that can take Puffy in. He currently lives in Ottawa. Taking him to the Ottawa Humane Society would likely be a death sentence (read some of the reasons an animal is destroyed in a shelter) and rescue groups called are full at this time.

Per Judy who took him to the vet:

“The vet says he is young and seems to be in good health other than being a bit thin. He seems gentle and friendly. When he was at my house for a little while he was comforted when I rubbed his cheeks and ears.”

“I have a foster home for him only until Sunday, and then maybe another foster for a few days after that.”

If you are interested in fostering or adopting Puffy, please email me and I will connect you with Judy.

If you want to learn more about FIV — what it means, how it is transmitted, what you might expect — the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University has created this great page to explain. It needn’t be a death sentence. Puffy can live a long and happy life. Even in a home with other cats.

And please… SHARE Puffy’s story by clicking on one of the icons below so we can find him a new home.

Ciao,
Holly

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

Meet “Stray Guy.”

Stray Guy needs our help.

It seems that his family moved away a few months ago and somehow forgot him. While he is doing his best to make good from a lousy situation, it’s abundantly clear that he is not doing it very well. He has a nasty scratch on the side of his nose.

A kind woman has been feeding him, but she has dogs and doesn’t think he will fit well in her home. We need to get him into a foster home, get him checked out by a vet and on his way to a better life.

That’s where the two possibilities come in.

ONE — The transportation option. We have a woman in Brantford ready to foster Stray Guy, but we need help getting him there. Brantford is about 6 hours southwest of Ottawa. If you can help us with transportation and/or can recommend someone that can help, email me.

TWO — The foster option. If you are in the Ottawa area and can foster Stray Guy, email me.

Let’s help this guy get his confidence back, his feet on the ground  and let’s find him a new home.

Please SHARE his message.

Many gracias, Holly.