Someone was feeling lazy tonight

Buttercup and Jack were feeling very lazy tonight.
Buttercup especially - when she was in the bed she was looking like a seal puppy almost - her tribute to the local seal hunt going on locally I guess - haha! You go, girl!
Out in the living room I was on the floor with the other dogs and when I looked around she had enconced herself on the love seat to make her self extra comfortable - and completely adorable - in behind the body pillow - she knows how to get cozy - that's for sure!

Actual Local Animal Conferences Coming up!

It's hard to believe, but there's some actual local animal welfare and animal training conferences that are coming up in our area in the next little while.

In the last few days there's been emails going around about the 2009 Atlantic Region Summit for Urban Animal Strategies being held Thursday April 16th at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel. It looks pretty interesting and seems to be focusing a lot on cats and also has a session on "the business of urban animals in Canada"

It looks really interesting - I've bought a ticket to it - I know that I'm personally starved for this kind of stuff - so when anything like this comes up - I'm always game to go.

You can find out more information about it at http://www.bsuas.com/Default.aspx?pageId=309860

The second thing that's happening is up in New Brunswick and I WISH I could go - but it's just too close to my Washington trip when I'm going to be going down to the No Kill Conference to stalk Nathan Winograd for 2 days.... I mean I'm going to go - okay, yes I'm going to go stalk Nathan Winograd for 2 days, I can't describe it any differently.

It's the Canadian Association of Pet Dog Trainers Annual Conference - and this year it's being held up in Fredericton - and I SO wish I could go. Dr. Jean Dodds is going to be there, great trainers from all across the country are going to be there - it's going to be amazing. It's 3 days long, and it's going to be so much fun. There's even a lobster supper. There's too much stuff to write out here - the conference schedule and bio's are at http://www.cappdt.ca/UserFiles/File/2009/conference_program_and_bios.pdf

A couple other things going on you might want to take note of is the Annual NS SPCA's Annual General Meeting is going to be on April 25th with member registration beginning at 8:30am in the McInnes Room at Dalhousie University - this will be a voting meeting - so it'll be an important meeting for members to go to, so it's important to show up and be counted if you're a member. More information is available on the SPCA's website at http://www.spcans.ca/resources/agm.html

The cutest pictures ever

Just when I think that I've taken the cutest photos I can ever take of Buttercup - she puts something new and different in her mouth -
and she gives me the opportunity to take pictures of her being just the cutest sentient being on this planet.

I don't think anyone could deny that this dog does not like having her photo taken when she's in the mood - and today she was definitely in the mood to have her photo taken. Usually you'll see big dogs with tennis balls in their mouth - so when you see a little dog with a tennis ball - it is so precious - and Buttercup does not let us down.


And she knows the effect she has because she will not give it up once she puts it in - she'll let me chase her all over the house - she loves to play with toys.
On another note - I have mentioned a couple times in the last couple months that I haven't been feeling up to snuff - and I think I figured out what it was, I have condition called "pernicious anemia" and in order to keep it under control I'm supposed to have monthly B-12 shots - which I haven't been doing because I'm not very good at taking care of myself.
On Friday I was at my doctor for an appointment and I got my shot - and I have felt 1000% better since then - so I think it was my anemia that had been making me sick - so I guess I'd better start getting my shots on a regular basis from now on. Now that I know my anemia actually makes me sick - I guess I'd better take care of it. Life is SO much better when you can stay awake for longer than 3 hours at a time.There's a slideshow of more of these photos at the bottom of this post - Buttercup was on fire today!

Your help is needed to show the HRM dog businesses are important

In June of 2005 a former competitor of Janet Chernin's lodged a "query" with HRM about the legality of the in home doggy day care that Janet was running in her home in Peninsular Halifax. For the past 13 years Janet had successfully - and without complaint from any of her neighbours or clients - been operating the Canine Casbah, the HRM's most successful and best run in home doggy day care in the HRM.

In the local dog community Janet is a local living legend. If you've ever met Janet - you've never forgotten her. She has the vocal cords of low-rider car's stereo and the heart of a lion. But because her former competitor had a personal beef with her - and wanted to make Janet's life a living hell if it was at all possible - she started a 4 year process that has brought us to an evening on April 21st, 2009 that needs to have as many dog lovers go to City Hall as possible.

Do you want to know all City Council meetings, public hearings that we've already had to go through to get to this stage in order to legalize this type of in-home occupation? Can you imagine the amount of Municipal money that has been wasted so far? Let's see - there's already been a public information session where the public went to, a Peninsula Community Council meeting that we went to that the process was given the go ahead to, a Planning Advisory Committee Meeting (Heritage Committee) that the process was given a go-ahead to, ANOTHER Community Council meeting that the process was given the go-ahead to (the first one was District 12, this one was District 14) - next was the first Public hearing at a Peninsula Community Council to get the public's input (for the 2nd time)....Next was a Regional Council meeting where the Peninsula Councillors reported the Planning Departments report - and Regional Council approved Peninsula Councils request to move forward to approve Janet's request to have her in home doggy day care.

So you think that would be ENOUGH to legalize a business, don't you think? Oh NO - according to the HRM's planning department - you're only about 1/3 of the way through their process. Really. So that was last January - 2008. In May ANOTHER public information meeting was held at City Hall. The FIRST ONE was held back in October 2006 - that's how long this foolishness has been going on for Janet!

Then in February 2009 Planning submitted a report to the Planning Advisory Committee who TURNED DOWN Janet's request to operate an in home doggy day care. But luckily that committee is meaningless and everyone on that committee is nothing but a blow-hard and full of shit - and the Peninsula Community Council are the only ones who make any kind of decisions who mean anything - so they didn't have to accept the recommendation that the PAC made - and on March 9th 2009 - the Peninsular Community Council - District 12 - recommended to initiate a process to amend the Halifax Municipal Planning Stragegy and Land Use by law to consider pet care facilities in residential zones through a development agreements. Yea!

And then on March 24th - PCC reported to Regional Council AGAIN - and they approved PCC's request to initiate Janet's request - which leads us to April 21st when we are all needed at Halifax City Hall when there is going to be ANOTHER Public Hearing to get the public's input on how important in home doggy day cares are to dog owners who live on the peninsula in Halifax.

Janet has set up an event on Facebook that you can go sign up on at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=77980145836

We need as many people as possible to show up to show the City that dog businesses - and in home doggy day cares are important to dog owners - in home doggy day cares are different from institutional doggy day cares. We want in home doggy day cares because they are cage free, they are in the same neighbourhoods that we live in, they have a smaller ratio of dogs to humans, they are in the homes of the people who run the day care, the dogs are less traumatized, pick up and drop off times are usually less strict, they almost always do overnighters, there's a myriad of differences between institutional and in home doggy day cares - and there is a need for them on the peninsula.

If you want to read the history of Janet's fight - click on this link to go to all the posts about doggy day cares to read all about it - all the way back to the first public meeting in 2006. It's long and tawdry....

Some stuff going around

So my lack of blogging may be an indication that I am still not up to snuff on the health front.These are a bunch of photos that I've taken in the last week or so - even though I've been under the weather the dogs have all been perfectly fine, playing around and being their normal selves - so that all continues to be meticulously documented more or less - but it just isn't getting put on the internet.
I've had the strangest feeling of not feeling compelled to be on the computer - so I must be sick!
But as you can see, the dogs continue to be cute as hell.
Jackie and Buttercup are going to the beauty parlour tomorrow - Jack is getting a hair cut and Buttercup is getting a bath - so after tomorrow Jack will be looking very beautiful again for a little while - right now he's got a nice hum going -
I have never met a dog who can get so stinky simply from letting his hair grow - and he is NOT the kind of a dog that you can give a bath to. Neither of our lives is long enough to try and give him a bath. No thank you.Here's a couple shots of Daisy - I could take 20 shots of this to get one good shot - isn't this always the way?
Charlie as usual - is always perfect. See below for some more perfect CharlieWe did get out on the weekend and the dogs had a good time.
The snow is never going to go away I think, the only one who seems to mind is Jackie because his penis is so low to the ground.
But everyone else seems to still enjoy getting out.
Jack plays along though as long as the liver trail continues.These were some photos from a couple days ago in the living room while some naps were going on.... napping is good.

Thank Dog Everybody has different passions

I was interviewed a couple weeks ago by a journalism student at King's College and one of the questions she asked me was why did I do what I do about dogs and dog politics. To me, I feel choiceless, I feel compelled to help in some way because I have looked into the eyes of too many dogs who needed help in some way - and I thought that I had the ability and the wherewithall to be able to do something to make things better for dogs.

Everybody has the power to make the world better, and everybody has different passions - one person's life goals might include running for public office, another's might be to get all the highways in the province twinned because they've had a family member die because of the inadequacies of the road's locally - another person's life might be dedicated to getting drunk driver's off the road - and mine is to improve the lives of companion animals - and it's great that there's so many people out there who are doing different things so that everything and every cause gets covered.

The thought occurred to me tonight because a friend of mine was talking about a new book that's out about a lion named "Christian" - so I googled it and came up with the "Born Free Foundation" - and they've got a channel on You Tube with some videos that had me crying all the way through them - and it shows you that there are just SO many species in this world that humans have abused, neglected, and degraded. It's amazing. There's a line in one of the video's where a lady is looking at a lion who's been living in a tiny cage on a roof-top in Italy and she says incredulously and with such pain in her voice - "why would somebody do this to an animal, and why would they WANT to do this?" - she just couldn't believe that a human could do this to any living thing for 14 years - and really, how could anybody.

The Born Free You Tube Channel is at http://www.youtube.com/user/bornfreefoundation and their website is at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

You will need to click on the photo to actually read it!

Making up for a sick week

Me and Buttercup have been in bed all week, but it seems like the world has continued on without us - which is a good thing. I can't tell you how behind I am in my emails - I probably get 150 - 200 a day, and multiply that by 10 - and I am like everyone else in the world, and don't know when I'm ever going to catch up.

A couple stories today struck my interest though, so I thought I'd put them here, in the hopes that I am feeling better and will kick-start getting back to having a life again.

This week up in New Brunswick the SPCA up there has been busy - they have saved like 300 animals from abusers and puppy mills - I found 2 news articles about the stories.

I can't remember if I've talked about the fact that the Quebec government has decided to start cracking down on the literally 1000`s of puppy mills in that province by hiring a bunch of cruelty investigators and giving more teeth to the legislation in that province - right now they only have 5 cruelty investigators for the province, and Ontario has over 300 - so that gives you an indication that they might have some problems - but they are planning on tackling what`s going on. New Brunswick has also decided to crack down - and you can see by these articles and other recent raids - that they`re also making inroads and making their puppy millers uncomfortable.

So what do you think is going to happen? Ontario has 300 cruelty inspectors, Quebec has five but is hiring a ton more, New Brunswick has something around 10 I think and Nova Scotia has - 2.5.....

So where do you think puppy millers are going to want to set up shop? Especially with the legislation we have in place - and the crown prosecutors we have who don't even want to enforce the legsilation that the 2.5 cruelty invesigators work so hard to try and get justice for the suffering animals.

So unless this is an industry that the Nova Scotia government wants to cultivate and make money off of - these are news stories that we are going to become more familiar with - puppy mill raids in OTHER provinces - and then we're going to also start hearing about puppy mills setting up shop in OUR province.

Here's the couple stories I read today -

Three cases of animal cruelty probed that involve nearly 100 animals
Published Wednesday March 18th, 2009

Amid growing concern that Canada's animal cruelty laws are too lax, New Brunswick SPCA uncovered three more cases over the weekend involving a total of nearly 100 animals.

In the most alarming of the three, five full-grown Boxer dogs and 30 chickens were found dead Saturday on a property in the Restigouche area.

Marguerite Diotte, animal protection officer for Restigouche County, discovered the dogs in a shed with blood on their noses and mouths.

The cause of their death is still unknown and a necropsy - an autopsy for animals -has been ordered on the dogs.

Diotte said the SPCA was still working to track down the owners of the animals, but added that "there are charges that could come from this."

In a separate incident Saturday, a total of 36 young dogs were recovered from a puppy mill in the Bathurst area after a warrant was executed with the RCMP.

Paul Melanson, chief inspector with the New Brunswick SPCA, said the dogs are in "various stages of health," with some suffering from frostbite, malnutrition and bite wounds.

The dogs were Bernese Mountain, a retriever-cross, huskies and a variety of mixed breeds. Twenty-one of the animals were brought to Fredericton and are being kept at a facility for seized animals. The rest are in Dalhousie.

The SPCA also removed three dogs and 20 pigs over the weekend from a property in Madawaska.

Melanson said the pigs have frostbite and that one of the dogs was emaciated. He anticipates charges in at least two of the incidents, if not all three.

Melanson acknowledged that there have been an inordinate number of animal cruelty cases in recent months.

"I don't know whether it's because more people are reporting them, or because there are actually more cases," he said. "We know that puppy mills are increasing, because they mean tax-free money."

The rash of incidents follows public outcry over a February court decision that found a Minto man not guilty of killing five Pomeranian puppies with a hammer.

Oromocto MLA Jody Carr, an outspoken critic of current animal cruelty laws, said both the federal and provincial laws need to be reformed.

He said the federal law deals with the penalty after the fact, while provincial laws cover prevention, enforcement inspection and regulations.

"Both need updating," Carr said. "The federal laws for the penalties - especially for severe cruelty - and then the provincial laws in terms of these puppy mills and (other) situations."

************************************

N.B. SPCA uncovers animal neglect cases
Published Wednesday March 18th, 2009

SAINT JOHN - New Brunswick's SPCA uncovered three cases of apparent animal neglect over the weekend involving a total of nearly 100 animals.

In the most alarming of the three, five full-grown Boxer dogs and 30 chickens were found dead Saturday on a property in the Restigouche area.

Marguerite Diotte, Animal Protection Officer for Restigouche County, discovered the dogs in a shed with blood on their noses and mouths.

The cause of their death is still unknown and a necropsy, an autopsy for animals, has been ordered on the dogs.

Diotte said the SPCA was still working to track down the owners of the animals, but added that there are charges that could result.

In a separate incident Saturday, a total of 36 young dogs were recovered from a puppy mill in the Bathurst area after a warrant was executed with the RCMP.

Paul Melanson, chief inspector with the New Brunswick SPCA, said the dogs are in various stages of health, with some suffering from frostbite, malnutrition and bite wounds.

The dogs were Bernese Mountain, a retriever-cross, huskies and a variety of mixed breeds.

The SPCA also removed three dogs and 20 pigs over the weekend from a property in Madawaska.

Melanson said the pigs have frostbite and that one of the dogs was emaciated.

More news stories about Lloyd Hines' hopes for political stardom

So it would seem that Mr. Hines isn't going to try to be premier as someone originally emailed me, which is a little better, and in order for him to become an MLA for Guysborough County -
he's going to have to unseat an incumbent (Ron Chisholm) who's been there for at least the last 2 elections, and was first elected in 1988 - so he's been around for a long time, and he's currently in a cabinet position as minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture - so he's also bringing in some good change for the county I'd imagine.

And right now - small county's like Guysborough need to elect MLA's that are on the side of the party voted into power, or they're screwed - so they can't be voting in candidates that are not going to take the house. And that is NOT going to be the liberal party I don't imagine.

People have sent in a couple more articles about Mr. Hines hope for political power - so here they are -

Lloyd Hines to seek Liberal nomination

A veteran municipal politician is taking the plunge into the provincial pool.

Guysborough County councillor and Warden Lloyd Hines announced his candidacy for the Nova Scotia Liberal party nomination in Guysborough-Sheet Harbour last week.

“This is not glamour; this is grunt work,” Hines said about the approach he wants to bring to provincial politics – the same one he said has characterized his more than two decades in municipal and school board politics.

The long-time Guysborough County businessman said he has contemplated a move to provincial politics for “quite some time.”

“I am running because I want to help the riding move forward, and I feel confident that my knowledge, experience and determination will make that happen. I am sensing that people feel it is time for a change,” he said.

Hines said the “clincher” in his decision to vie for the nomination was the leadership of provincial Liberal leader Stephen McNeil.

“He continues to make great strides. He has great leadership qualities and he is going to make an excellent premier. I have a tremendous amount of faith in him.”

Hines said his municipal political experience will be an asset, including working cooperatively on issues.

“Having a great team, letting people know what you are trying to accomplish and involving them early on in the process has worked best for me. Mix that with hard work and anything is possible.”

He added many issues at both levels, including roads and infrastructure, are the same.

“I am familiar with the issues that affect the communities in our riding,” he said.

In more than 10 years serving with the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM), including his current position as chair has provided him with a close-up of the provincial-municipal relationship. His work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has provided the same insight of the provincial-federal dynamic.

“I think I will be able to hit the ground running in a lot of ways at the provincial level,” Hines said.

If he makes the move to provincial politics, Hines agreed he would miss the municipal scene.

“Nevertheless, I think it is time for me to be part of the team that will make the changes we need provincially.”

As far as a spring election is concerned, Hines is ready to roll.

“If I get the nomination, I would want [an election] sooner rather than later. Let the people decide,” he said

Describing him and his wife, Patricia, as “empty-nesters,” the father of four said he is prepared to make the commitment to the “full-time job” of provincial politics,

“Without the green light from Patricia and my family, I wouldn’t be able to do this. I am very lucky to have such support at home,” he said, noting their ongoing support throughout his political career.

The Guysborough-Sheet Harbour provincial Liberal nomination meeting will take place March 14 at the Guysborough Legion.

“There’s lots of work to be done and I am ready to take on the challenge,” Hines said.

Warden Lloyd Hines seeks Liberal nomination

Thursday, February 26, 2009 , 11:26 - 1015thehawk.com

A Quad County Warden has decided to throw his hat into the circus ring called Provincial Politics.

Guysborough Warden Lloyd Hines is seeking the Liberal nomination for the Guysborough-Sheet Harbour riding.

The seat is currently held by Ron Chisholm, the province's Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

He says Ron is a colleague of his, but once on the campaign trail, all bets are off.

" We've been through municipal government together. I look forward to debating the issues with Ron, I think that both he and I have a good even perspective on how things are to be done - but unfortunately only one of us can win - and it's going to be me."

Hines will seek the nomination at a meeting on March 14th at the Guysborough Legion.

There are no other declared candidates.

Some good and some bad dog politics news

There's some good and some bad dog politics news to talk about - I'll start with the good first.

I read over on Reigning Cats and Dogs today that there is a fabulous article in today's Cape Breton Post article about the fact that the Cape Breton SPCA is finally - after years and years of people in the Nova Scotia humane community trying to get them to stop using it - that they are finally going to stop using their gas machine to kill cats. Up until now they've used a box and put several cats in at once, filled the box up with gas and the waited for the cats to die slowly. There's no other way to describe it - although proponents of the method will tell you differently.

You can go read Janet's post - because she talks about it at great length and also quotes minutes from a February SPCA Provincial Board of Directors meeting minutes that are great where the management of the Cape Breton SPCA says that it's the first time they are feeling like they are starting to feel like they are actually being listened to and their feelings and needs are being taken into consideration - and it's also probably why they are being amenable to making positive changes at their shelter.

The Provincial Board really are doing great things all across the province in my opinion - and the results are starting to show in a palpable way. We can only hope that these great things continue.






And now for the bad news....

Do you all remember Lloyd Hines? Warden for the municipality of the District of Guysborough and president of the Union of Nova Scotia of Municipalities? The man who has banned pit bulls and rottweillers in his own municipality and tried to pass breed restrictions throughout the whole province last year by inserting a section into a housekeeping bill into the Municipal Government Act?

Well - he has just made an announcement that he is running for the head of the liberal party in Nova Scotia and he wants to become PREMIER of our PROVINCE!!!!

Can you imagine? If he becomes premier of our province how soon do you think it would be before he introduced legislation so that we would become the next Ontario - or even worse?

This man is afraid of and HATES dogs - this man CANNOT become any more powerful in governmental politics than he already is.

Every dog owner in Nova Scotia has to know what he thinks about dogs and make their own decision about him before they vote for or against him - and that includes every member of the Liberal party - and decide whether or not he is an asset to their party.

And it behooves us as dog advocates to make that happen - sooner, rather than later. So it is time to get busy.

There is a great document called "Panic Policy Making: Canine Breed Bans in Canada and the United States" - and it's all about how politicians and bureaucrats have passed laws and policies based on fear and bluster and not on anything concrete or real - and Lloyd Hines is noted in particular starting on page 30 -

No violent dog attacks occurred in the 1990s in Guysborough County or Nova Scotia. No local event was even manufactured, although the threat of such an event was implied within the council. Instead, Warden Lloyd Hines of Guysborough became heavily involved in attempts to pass breed specific legislation in his community. He was a vocal proponent of bans, possibly due to his personal fear of large dogs
(confidential interviews). In 1995 he introduced a proposal to ban pit bulls, citing the need to prevent attacks like those in Ontario. He thus effectively constructed the danger (confidential interviews). Characterization There was no evidence of a contagious public fear of some dogs, no panic, and no emotional calls for a ban from local groups or the public. Virtually no media attention was given to the issue, there was no cascade of dangerous dog information in the press, no public hearings were held to detail any public fears, and no local opposition to the ban appeared. No other officials or groups voice proposals, and Hines did little to rationalize the reasons for his proposal in a public forum (confidential interviews). Alternatives and Choice The county of Guysborough quietly passed a breed specific ban covering Pit Bull Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and any breeds mixed with these breeds.

The 1995 ban did not allow pit bull type breeds to live in the district. Because the media paid virtually no attention to this issue, most residents of Guysborough were unaware of the new law. Apparently without public support or, to the contrary, outrage, the county amended the by-law in 2004 to ban Rottweilers (the amendment contained a grandfather section to exempt Rottweilers already living in the county). The ban on Rottweilers was passed after the New Brunswick attack that led to the death of the four year old child. Warden Lloyd Hines was active in pushing for these bills, and he has been threatening to push a breed specific ban through the Union of Municipalities (confidential interviews). His aide, however, described the Hines proposal as a province-wide dangerous dog law rather than a breed ban. No one has been able to see a copy of the proposal (confidential interview). However, the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities is currently compiling a report that is not yet available to the public (Goldberg 2007).

As well - Lloyd Hines is the man who said -

"I don't want to be the warden of the Municipality of Guysborough and have to go to the funeral of some kid who was eaten."

I wrote a post about that last June when the legislature was dealing with his horrible workings with bill 138 and "responsible dog ownership". He is just bad all around.


Here is the article from Friday's Chronicle Herald:

Hines hopes to run for N.S. Liberals

By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter
Fri. Mar 13 - 5:33 AM
Liberals are looking to a couple of veteran municipal politicians to carry the banner in the next provincial election, The Chronicle Herald has learned.

Lloyd Hines, the warden for the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, said he felt the time is right for him to leave municipal politics for a shot at the provincial arena.

He’ll be seeking the Liberal nomination in Guysborough-Sheet Harbour at a March 21 meeting.

Mr. Hines, president of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, said working with the other levels of government will help prepare him for the job if he gets elected.

Fisheries Minister Ron Chisholm is the incumbent.

In Halifax Regional Municipality, Coun. Jim Smith (Albro Lake-Harbourview) is said to be looking at running in Dartmouth North, but Mr. Smith wouldn’t confirm that.


A nomination meeting is set for April 29.

Some money shots of canine perfection

I have had a bad string of headaches in the last week, so I've been spending an extra amount of time in bed.
The dogs have been very obliging as usual and spent their time in bed with me - Buttercup especially likes to spend her days in bed if she can get away with it.
Today I got some fantastic shots of her being herself on the bed.
There really is no other dog like her in the world I think - but I'm sure there's probably about a million other dog owners who think the same thing about their own dogs.
She seemed to be especially on fire today - maybe it's because a headache hasn't developed so far today - so she's free to play and jump around and be a nut.
It's only when I'm actually in agony that she's nice and quiet and licks my face and is a very good nurse.






Jackie on the other hand has his own agenda - he wants up on the bed, he wants down, he wants to go for a pee, he wants a piece of cheese, he wants to go down on his bed - it doesn't matter what's going on - he's got his daily schedule that's got to be followed. He's a very punctual old man. This shot is of him telling me - "I want to get down - it's time for my late mid morning snack, please!"





These photos are of my other piece of perfection - Daisy - she's a great bed mate - a super spooner - she would be happy if I actually laid on top of her. I've done that before - laid right on top of her, and she takes a deep breath and just relaxes. Some dogs who've had hard lives are odd about full body contact.
There's nothing like the love of a good dog, and all dogs are good.

Some stuff to do and junk

This Saturday, the Halifax Typographical Union is holding a protest at 2pm at the Halifax Grand Parade (which is directly outside City Hall) because the Chronicle Herald is laying off 25% of their unionized staff - which is going to mean much less access to local news for us here in Halifax. It's not just a concern for staff at the Chronicle Herald - it should be a concern for anyone who's interested in getting unbiased local news.

We've seen what happened to a newspaper when the Daily News shut down last year and became the "Metro Newspaper" - do we want that to happen to the Chronicle Herald? I hope not. And the event is also dog friendly - so if this concerns you - you should go and show your solidarity with the members of this union. There's a poster with information about the rally at http://www.htunion.ca/releases/News%20Rally%20Invitation.pdf

On another subject - I had a thought a couple days ago about the case last week of Susan Keizer who drowned the 2 day old kittens up in Windsor Nova Scotia - some people have laid out the question - "what happened to the mother cat?"

I also have the question - what happened to the mother cat - and where is she now, is she still on Ms. Keizer's property, and what if she becomes pregnant again? Is Ms. Keizer going to kill these kittens too? With only a $5 fine as her punishment - it's not much deterrence for her feeling like she can go ahead and just do that again - it's certainly a lot cheaper than doing anything else. So where is that stray mother cat now? DID some agency finally come and pick it up? Or is there still stray cats on this lady's property? If there is - I'd say they are in pretty dire danger - and if they have kittens - consider them dead.

The NS SPCA has got some GREAT stuff going on - and I'm going to make a separate blog post about it, but I wanted to get something in now, so that people would go to their website to check it out.

They are currently calling for applications for Board positions for their provincial board because their AGM is coming up at the end of April - so if you are thinking about becoming involved in the politics of animals in Nova Scotia - THIS is the time to step up. Go to the main page of their site to click on the appropriate link.

They also have a couple of well paying positions being recruited right now - a shelter director, and an Executive Director.

The Humane Education branch of the NS SPCA is also doing something very neat and have launched an art contest - their 1st Humane Education Awareness Art Exhibition. "The aim of this exhibition is to encourage Nova Scotia youth to think about society's relationship with animals. The two themes for the exhibition are: "What being kind to animals means to me" and "How the SPCA helps animals".'"

You can find out more information about it for your kids on the education page of the SPCA's website at http://spcans.ca/education/ and the contest ends March 31, 2009

A Better World Through Kindness to Animals

Today I went to lunch with a a coworker and a sales rep at the hospital I work with, and as usually happens with me - we started talking about animals, and the sales rep said - "screw cats and dogs - humans are way more important - we should only think about humans and animals can just die - they're "just cats and dogs"".

And you can guess what kind of response that got from me!

He said that we shouldn't even be thinking about cats and dogs and their welfare while people are dying in Afganistan and Iraq and on the streets and being murdered - we should be focusing our energy on humans.

What I said to him was the "life IS cheap - life REALLY IS cheap - for humans and for animals. It MUST be, because people are so willing to kill each other - humans are, for such silly things - all around the world, and even next door to us.

Last week I was out at Bayer's Lake Industrial Park and I saw a woman hit her about 2 year old child - she just hauled off and give him a good smack - they were outside the Burger King and he was sitting on the pavement and she bent down and just smacked him because he was crying and he recoiled back like he was so afraid of her and he started crying louder and she hollered "STOP!" and she grabbed him by his coat and he was just this innocent little thing and I just stood there watching it - and I was like - how could she do that to her little child? I think it was the first time I've ever seen a human do that to a child and it stunned me - that someone could do that to a baby, and it affected me. But people do that to other humans all the time - I mean a man over in Switzerland or Finland or one of those countries kept his children as sex slaves in a dungeon for a couple DECADES.

So it makes sense that people can be awful to animals - and it's my belief that dogs and cats and pigs and cows and chickens and humans are all the same - we're all equal and deserve the same treatment - even though life is so cheap - we should still all be treated the same - and we've got to start somewhere, so we might as well start with animals" and my sales rep friend said - in the countries where all the wars are going on that they eat dogs - and it pretty much tastes like chicken - so the animals are at least all the same to him!

So I don't know if I was getting through to him too much!

It just boggles my mind that people don't have the empathy to see living things other than human as requiring consideration of concern. It makes me wonder if they have enough empathy to even have concern for other humans - maybe that they've never met or only heard about - if they have the depth of perception to be able to understand that people exist in 3 dimensions and actually exist outside of their own personal space.

If you can't treat a dog humanely - how can you treat a human humanely? It confuses me.

Social Networking Websites & Some More Photos

I might be behind the times, but I've discovered the world of social networking websites other than Facebook - websites that you go to where there's more than just message boards. You sign up and there's a section for people to post their photos, have a blog, there's a message board, people can exchange information, you get an email address, plus other stuff I have yet to discover. I have found 2 so far - one I joined today called "Pit Bull Positive" that describes itself as - "a social network for pit bull owners, rescuers, activists and even just admirers - for like-minded people to gather and help with rescues, funding, transportation whatever is needed to save pit bulls. A place to educate people on how wonderfully rewarding being a pit bull owner can be! A place to eliminate the stereotypes placed on the breed by the ignorant! Let's all work to end the stereotyping of these wonderful dogs."

Another one I joined a couple months ago that I enjoy is called "Wallace the Pit Bull" - and it revolves around a disc dog who's also a pit bull named Wallace, and also his brother Hector, who's one of the Vick dogs - and his adventures out in the world now as an ambassador for his breed.

I took some more photos tonight - this time of the dogs - I pretty much took today off and spent it with the dogs, just goofing off. I had a good time, anyway. Below is a slide show of some of the fun.

Some pictures of Whisky

I thought in honour of the horrible court decision this week I'd take a couple photos of my cat Whisky
He was sleeping right in front of me for awhile this afternoone when I was doing computer stuff - and looking particularly cute, so it was pretty easy to get the shots. He's an SPCA cat and I've had him for about 6 1/2 years - he's a great cat, but for some reason he is not a sit in your lap cat.
He does love to be picked up and carried around though, so we do some of that - he likes that - but mostly he likes to do what he's doing in these photos - stretch out and sleep
And when he's not doing this, he likes to bat the dogs around. He's pretty good at that too. I am so lucky to have a bomb proof cat, with all the dogs that have come through this house over the years - to have a cat that doesn't take any shit - it would have been impossible with a cat like Whisky. He's a good cat.

Solving stray-cat issue must be a joint effort

from today's Chronicle Herald -

Solving stray-cat issue must be a joint effort

By MARY HILL
Sat. Mar 7 - 5:29 AM
In response to letters in this paper on March 5, the Nova Scotia SPCA wishes to clarify its position and mandate with regard to the stray cat situation in the province.

The NS SPCA’s primary mandate is the prevention of cruelty to animals. In order to carry out this mandate without public funding (aside from a $3,000 annual grant from the Department of Agriculture), the NS SPCA must raise several hundred thousand dollars a year to pay for the cost of 2.5 cruelty investigators plus all costs associated with investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty acts in Nova Scotia, and caring for the animals seized and surrendered through those cruelty cases.

In addition to our core mandate of prevention of cruelty, the NS SPCA also works very hard to take in abandoned and unwanted animals whenever space and resources allow.

The NS SPCA provincially accepts over 5,000 unwanted cats a year. While the function of animal control falls under city/municipal responsibility in Nova Scotia, the NS SPCA cares about the welfare of all animals and works hard to be part of the solution and, as a result, all of our branches throughout Nova Scotia take in unwanted animals whenever resources allow.

Unfortunately, this problem is much bigger than our charity can handle on its own without public support and funding.

In our continued effort to be part of the solution, the NS SPCA will be announcing a public town hall meeting in the near future to ask concerned members of communities within Nova Scotia to work with us towards a solution to the cat overpopulation challenge in our province.

The NS SPCA has material and program plans, but without the support of our communities and government, the NS SPCA’s efforts in this regard continue to suffer.

The NS SPCA invites all concerned residents and city/municipal staff who wish to be part of the solution to please attend this town hall and support our charity in making Nova Scotia the no-kill province that we all wish it to be.

Details of the town hall session will be posted to our website at www.spcans.ca once confirmed.

Mary Hill is secretary, board of directors, Nova Scotia SPCA.

I came across a lady who has a cat blog, and she's got a great post about the story this week about the Windsor woman being fined $5 for killing the kittens - and she actually has some proposals for what the SPCA can do to make things better for cats in the province and thoughts on what Susan Keizer might be feeling. It's pretty interesting - you can read it at "My Feline Friends"

"How not to buy a puppy" was fabulous on CBC Marketplace

I hope everyone got to watch the CBC's Marketplace show tonight when they did a piece called "How not to buy a puppy" - it was really good. They focused on a couple specific pet stores that sold puppies - one in Toronto, and one in Vancouver - and it turns out that both those stores got their puppies from puppy mills in the United States - and both stores sold puppies that were defective and had bad genes and long term health problems - and lied in their advertising and intent.

The show also talked to "PIJAC" - the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council - which is the lobbying group that tries to give a respectable face to the pet store industry and also tries to inculcate itself to the Canadian Kennel Club and any other organization that they think might take them - they're an organization that is as sleazy as the Hunte Corporation themself - and the show tonight really showed that. It was great. I've been preaching for years how awful PIJAC is - hopefully now people will start to take notice - maybe now the Canadian Kennel Club will start to think twice about their close association with them at least.

The show tonight was able to trace 2 dogs that were bought at pet stores here in Canada to specific puppy mills in the States - and showed pictures of cages and chicken wire sheds that they came from - and PIJAC and the pet stores - had no answers to give.

You can watch the whole piece online at http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/how_not_to_buy_a_puppy/main.html

Some more about litter and poop

I had an email last night from Chris who has been going to Lewis Lake Park and with the melting snow all the dog shit that's been accumulating all winter is suddenly becoming apparent all at once and he was talking about how disgusting it is.

I've written quite a bit about dog shit and parks here on the blog ("what's the difference between litter and poop" and "what to do about the poop") because I've got pretty strong feelings about bureaucrats trying to take away dog owners access to public space because of some irresponsible dog owners not picking up after their dogs - and right now with the winter's snow melting all at once - which happens every year, 6 months worth of dogs' shit is all becoming apparent in every corner of the HRM and beyond.

I liken dog shit to Tim Horton's cups - people throw them away everywhere - and you see them everywhere, but you'd never consider shutting down any Tim Horton's coffee shops because of people throwing away their cups irresponsibly instead of putting them into garbage receptacles. Simply because you can assign a niche demographic to place blame on - does not mean that you can shut down access to public space to the whole of that demographic for the irresponsibility of a small minority.

That is completely wrong - and non-sensical as shutting down every Tim Hortons because of their cups being thrown away on street corners. It's exactly the same thing.

I say this because there was an article in today's Metro newspaper about litter - and that the city has issued a "friendly reminder" about it. If you look around the city right now - it's pretty disgusting - there's garbage everywhere because of the melting snow - so it's not just about dog shit in the parks - there's litter and garbage everywhere. And dirt, and just general grunge. I feel sorry right now for anyone who's visiting our city for the first time - they aren't getting a true vision of what Halifax looks like - or maybe they are, maybe this is what our city has become, I don't know - but it's pretty gross. Nothing but plastic bags, Tim Horton's cups, dog shit, dirt, gravel, paper towel, styrofoam containers, and dog shit.

Here's the article -

Province issues a 'friendly reminder' about littering

Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax


A pile of garbage sits on the Halifax Common yesterday.

Please litter.

That’s the message the provincial Department of Environment is sending to Nova Scotians in a new campaign.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? That’s what they think, too, and that’s the impact they want to have on anyone who will listen.

“Everyone knows this is wrong, so why is litter up?” environment department communications adviser Janet Lynn McNeil said.

“Litter has gone up 21 per cent from four years ago. Those numbers were really disappointing and shocking because people have been more environmentally friendly recently.”

That may even be part of the problem, she surmised.

“In terms of environmental issues, litter has fallen off the radar. We want to make sure people pay attention ... We are asking all Nova Scotians to pledge not to litter.”

That pledge can be taken at the website www.bestthingyoullneverdo.ca.

McNeil refers to the month-long campaign, which started Monday, as something “bold and innovative” for the Department of Environment.

“It’s really up to all of us to do something about it ... Sometimes we just need a friendly reminder. That is why we did the survey. It’s a call to action.”

The campaign will feature the radio spots across the province as well as large posters on bus shelters in areas with public transit.

What does the NS SPCA do?

There are several letters to the editor in the Chronicle Herald today about the $5 fine of Susan Keizer and her inhumane killing of 2 two day old kittens in Windsor Nova Scotia. They range from a person saying "Justice is not served by her confession, her conviction or her punishment. Death by drowning is cruel and it is against the law" to an Arlene Bent from Mount Uniacke saying the following -

"Sean Kelly, chairman of the investigating committee for the SPCA, points out it cost the SPCA more than $5 in gas to drive to Windsor for the court proceedings. That statement speaks volumes about the importance of the helpless animals to the SPCA.

There wouldn’t have been a problem if the SPCA had done its job in the first place.

Oh, but I stand corrected. Mr. Kelly states that the SPCA is not an animal control group, unless it has a contract with the municipality. Now there’s a case of buck passing!

He states: "We do not take in stray cats." Let me ask him something: Just exactly what does the SPCA do to help people with the stray cat problem? In my experience, I have felt that we are on our own in these situations. Correct me if I’m wrong!"

I'm sure Ms. Bent doesn't read my blog - but for all the people who would tend to agree with her, I have some thoughts -

"There wouldn’t have been a problem if the SPCA had done its job in the first place"

I guess she means that the SPCA should have come and taken the pregnant stray cat away from the lady, and by association - the SPCA should come and pick up any stray or feral animals any and everywhere in the province.

Can you imagine how many kittens and cats the SPCA shelters would have if they did that? Where would they get the money to do that? They're stretched to the limit now - and if they did that there wouldn't be any need to have any private rescues - the SPCA would be taking any and all animals needing rescue in the province. There also wouldn't be a need for any animal control department run by any municipality either - because the SPCA would be picking up those animals too. This is the logical conclusion of the thought process bhind "there wouldn't have been a problem if the SPCA had done its job in the first place."

"Oh, but I stand corrected. Mr. Kelly states that the SPCA is not an animal control group, unless it has a contract with the municipality. Now there’s a case of buck passing!"

I think Ms. Bent actually does not understand that the SPCA is NOT an animal control agency - they are "a not-for-profit charitable society organized under the provincial Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals and to the promotion of respect and humane care for animals."

They DO have contracts in some municipalities in Nova Scotia to maintain animal control facilities for those towns - but that is separate from their mandate as SPCA's - those contracts are simply money making opportunities so that they can continue to operate their SPCA shelters. A lot of people in the humane community think those contracts are a bad idea for times like this when people get confused and think that this is all the SPCA does - do animal control functions - and things get really muddied. People like Nathan Winograd think that SPCA's should get out of the animal control business all together - and this is a big reason why.

And then lastly she says - "He states: "We do not take in stray cats." Let me ask him something: Just exactly what does the SPCA do to help people with the stray cat problem? In my experience, I have felt that we are on our own in these situations. Correct me if I’m wrong!""

So what DOES the SPCA do to help people with stray cats? As an interested dog owner, a volunteer with the SPCA, and an observer of the humane movement in Nova Scotia - I've got a few ideas that I think the Nova Scotia SPCA is doing to help people with the stray cat problem -

- every cat that they adopt out is neutered or spayed before it leaves their facility,
- several of their shelters/branches have low cost neuter/spay programs for low income families,
- the provincial Board of the NS SPCA is working legislatively to make animal cruelty laws stronger so that people who abuse animals like stray cats and their kittens held responsible for the cruelty that they've inflicted - even though they were "only" stray cats,
- in municipalities where they hold contracts for animal control - they deal with stray cats if that municipality deals with cats as part of their bylaw,
- they offer educational materials to anyone and everyone about humane education on kittens and cats and pets,
- they seek justice for any and all acts of cruelty towards any animal that they find in distress under the animal cruelty act - and that includes stray cats and kittens, and charge the people who have committed those acts of cruelty under the animal cruelty and prevention act - which the NS SPCA are the only organization in Nova Scotia mandated to lay charges under

So that's how I think the NS SPCA are helping stray cats and kittens and dogs and rabbits and rats and birds and snakes - all of which I've seen at the SPCA shelter.

Condoning animal cruelty

I have to admit that I am a bit shocked by the comments and emails that are coming in about the case of the 2 kittens who were drowned by Susan Keizer in Windsor Nova Scotia when they were 2 days old simply because their mother was a stray cat who had the bad luck of spending some time on Ms. Keizer's property.

Everyone brings their own life experiences to every story - and everyone has their own story's to tell about stray or feral cats in their neighbourhoods and back yards - and there's no doubt that there's a problem everywhere with them - but that doesn't give anyone the right to kill even one of them inhumanely.

What if the person who killed the dog last week by hanging them with the extension cord were to come forward and say that they did it because it was a stray dog that had been coming on their property and causing problems - they'd called the SPCA and the Pound and no one was giving them any headway - so they did the only thing they could think of - hanging the dog. They couldn't afford to take it to a vet because they were on welfare, they couldn't afford to keep the dog - so what else could they do?

Would that change the way you felt about the story? Yes? No? Does it make a difference because it's a dog instead of a cat? Why? Who are you to say that the dog suffered more by strangulation than a kitten by drowning? Have you ever been a dog who's been strangled or a cat who's been drowned? How do you know the difference in levels of suffering?

So maybe now you will start to think about how you were thinking that it really wasn't this poor woman's fault that she was forced into this situation. No one forces anyone to do anything. That is a ridiculous assumption for anyone to make.

Just because there is a shortage of facilities in our province currently to deal with stray and feral cats does not mean that we should be allowed to abuse those animals and kill them anyway we feel like simply because they've had the bad luck to travel onto the property of a person who doesn't have a problem with smashing them on the head with a hammer, hanging them, or drowning them.

And just because the "shelters" that might be in the communities these people live in kills animals - doesn't give carte blanche to the people in the community to kill animals any way they see fit. If that were the case then you'd have any animal hater going on killing sprees every week and using that as an excuse.

I think some people have forgotten what this case is about - a person inhumanely killed 2 live sentient beings - and the Nova Scotia justice system said that there was no problem with that and did nothing about it when she pled guilty but give her a $5 fine. This is wrong. It doesn't matter about the extraneous stuff - 2 sentient beings were tortured. By the hands of Susan Keizer - and crown attorney William Ferguson said it was okay. And that is not right.

When will we start to see that animal abuse under any circumstances cannot be condoned. This is okay, but that is not. I don't understand.

Obama's Puppy has a Halifax Connection!

I talked about the Clicker Leash a few months ago when it was introduced to the world - and now it's moved so far that the Obama's are going to be using one when they get their puppy in April. That is fabulous. That is what hard work and a good idea can get you today. And it's happening right here in Halifax, Nova Scotia -

Presidential Puppy Could Click with Canadian Invention

10:41 EST Tuesday, March 03, 2009

HALIFAX, March 3 /CNW Telbec/ - When the Obamas welcome their new pooch later this year, they will have a powerful training tool at their fingertips thanks to Canadian entrepreneurs. The Clicker Leash Co., a Halifax company specializing in pet-friendly training tools was hand-picked by a Los Angeles-based PR firm to be part of the First Puppy Gift Box.

"We are honoured to be one of the 15 companies to participate in this opportunity," says company president Adina MacRae. The company's flagship product, the Clicker Leash, was selected from over two hundred other dogcentric items to be gifted to the Obamas in anticipation of the first puppy's arrival. "We just launched last fall and now we are heading to the White House," says Mac Rae.

"We are excited this exposure could help raise awareness about effective, pet-friendly training methods," adds Vice President Shannon Spruin. MacRae and Spruin developed the Clicker Leash to make humane methods more accessible to dog owners by simplifying clicker training, a technique that has exploded in popularity among top North American pet trainers.

First used with large animals in zoos and aquariums because of its efficiency and non-violent nature, clicker training has gained popularity among dog trainers since introduced in the early 1990s. "We hope everyone in the Obama family will want to take part in training and bonding with their new puppy," says MacRae. "We have tried to simplify the science behind clicker training so children as young as Sasha can help train the family dog in a safe way."

The Clicker Leash will be among gourmet, home-made meals, organic treats, canine aromatherapy candles and crystal necklaces for the lucky presidential puppy. WOW! Creations, the LA-based PR firm that organized the First Puppy Gift Box specializes in creating celebrity and VIP swag bags filled with high-end consumer products. Their swag bags have appeared at the Oscars, MTV Video Music Awards, Cannes Film Festival and the Emmy Awards.

For further information: Adina MacRae, adina@clickerleash.com, www.clickerleash.com, (902) 405-8940

A couple very cute dogs needing homes

There's a couple dogs - one in Antigonish and one in Bridgewater that I wanted to mention who need homes - they are very cute, and one is almost a mirror image of my dog Jack - so I had to post him here because when my friend Janet who runs the website NS Homeless Pets posted him to her site - she also thought he looked just like Jack - and who wouldn't want an almost perfect nearly blind shih-tzu with an underbite from heaven?

So first up is Marty - he came from Port Hawksbury - but luckily for him he's now in Antigonish with the ladies of the SPCA there, he's been neutered, needled, and he's ready to go to a home.
He's deceptively small - currently only around 20 pounds, and just under 2 years old. He's very cuddly and good with other dogs - if you'd like the perfect little beige dog - you should email the Antigonish SPCA at antspca@eastlink.ca


And then there's the Jack look-a-like - Caper. Here is what the SHAID shelter has said about him - This sweet little guy is Caper. Caper has had a very rough life and because of this is now blind in one eye. This certainly does not prevent him from being a wonderful and very loving little pet.
He is a sweet little boy who you can do anything with. He was bathed and groomed without any problems. Caper needs a bit of reminding with his house training but seems to be catching on very quickly. He like cats and other dogs. He really just needs someone to love him for the rest of his life. Caper will need a bit of extra care. He will need drops in his good eye for the rest of his life and to have his little face washed every morning......just to make sure those little eyes stay clean. But certainly that is not to much to ask.
Caper is only around 7 years old and has many years of love left to give to some lucky person.......Please won't you find a place for little caper and show him that people do care about sweet little dogs. .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:ANIMAL ADVOCACY GROUP MOVED TO ACTION AFTER $5 FINE FOR KILLING CATS

Subject: PRESS RELEASE: ADVOCATES FOR RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP - ARPO

PRESS RELEASE:

ADVOCATES FOR RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP - ARPO

March 4, 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia


www.arpolistens.ca

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:ANIMAL ADVOCACY GROUP MOVED TO ACTION AFTER $5 FINE FOR KILLING CATS

ARPO - Advocates for Responsible Pet Ownership are calling for support from the general Public, organized Groups, Politicians and interested parties to join together to advocate for immediate appropriate and supported change in the Public Prosecutions and Attorney General's Office of Nova Scotia with the March 2, 2009 guilty plea of a Windsor, Nova Scotia woman who received a $5 fine for drowning the offspring of a stray cat.

The reason given for the very light fine and no other punitive punishment proposed by the Crown Attorney - William Ferguson, was because the woman was on welfare, and also had been unable to get help from the SPCA in taking the kittens’ stray mother, and the prosecutor had also been trying to get the organization to deal with a stray on his property.

In a press release issued by the provincial branch of the NS SPCA,Sean Kelly said that "What this case has done is it has made it okay to kill any stray animal by drowning it, clearly there is a need here to educate our prosecutors on what our mandate is versus the mandate of the municipality, and to educate them on what responsibilities lie with the municipality's Animal Control division."

This is not the first time in recent memory that the Public Prosecutions Office has struck such a weak and unacceptable deal with individuals who have committedd heinous acts against animals. Just 2 months ago in Cape Breton Alice and Zonda MacIsaac brokered a pleabargain with the Public Prosecutions office that let them keep their own personal animals, and also had animals returned to them that were seized a year previous when Zonda MacIsaac's shelter was raided and Alice MacIsaac's home was searched and dozens of dogs seized due to a hoarding situation.

Non-punitive convictions such as these cannot be allowed to continue in Nova Scotia. To have laws that are weak, and then have a Public Prosecutions Office and Crown Attorney's not feeling like they can go to trial to is an abuse of every Nova Scotian who loves animals. This government department are staffed by representatives who are paid by tax payers of the province and are therefore reportable to us - the pet loving public.

Advocates for Responsible Pet Owners in Nova Scotia is calling for a public response from the Public Prosecutions office as to why they didn't feel it necessary to enforce the same laws on animal abusers.

$5 fine for woman who drowned Kittens

Susan Keizer and Crown Prosecutor William Ferguson have become famous for reasons they never wanted to be.

Ms. Keizer has become famous because she drowned the kittens of a stray cat that had been on her property, and because she felt she had no other recourse - she inhumanely killed them rather than trying to find some other way to deal with the problem.

William Fergusons, Crown Prosecutor for the Province of Nova Scotia - has become famous because he thinks it's okay to kill an animal by drowning them, he also thinks it's okay to have a two tiered justice system for people on welfare and for people who work for their living, he thinks that it's okay in animal abuse cases to make his own judgments and conclusions so that plea bargains can be made and he doesn't actually have to do his job and provide justice for the people of Nova Scotia, and he certainly doesn't have to find any justice for the animals who suffered.

William Ferguson, Crown Attorny - also had a problem with stray cats on his property - so he really "feels" for the problem that Susan Keizer went through, and the run around that she must have gotten before she killed the 2 kittens. But a person like him has the ability to take those stray cats that show up on his property to the vet to have them humanely killed. A person like Susan Keizer - who's on welfare, you see - doesn't have the resources to do that - so what else can a person like her do except do something like throw them down on the ground, or hit them over the head with a hammer, or drown them? I mean - WHAT IS A PERSON TO DO? They've got no other choice in Hants County.

That is exactly what William Ferguson's - Crown Attorney in this case - viewpoint was.

And this is the person who is representing US - is saying.

Ms. Keizer did not need a defence attorney I think.

So she pled guilty and all she got was a $5 fine - because she's on welfare, don't you know.

In Hants County - in Windsor, Nova Scotia - there are -

the Hants County SPCA - who have no physical shelter, just foster homes
Animal Control Department - staffed by one person - Gary Lunn
they have several rescues - which could have helped had Ms. Keizer contacted them -
CAPS - Companion Animal Protection Society of Annapolis County
SHAR - Berwick Safe Haven Animal Rescue
HART - Homeless Animals Rescue Team

If any of these rescues would have been contacted by Ms. Keizer - I don't think she would have had to have killed those cats - cats are what these rescues do.

The Annapolis Valley seems to be teeming with private rescues BECAUSE the municipality is SO horrible with their animal control department. I personally think that the Annapolis Valley has the greatest concentration of private rescues in the province - it's amazing the amount of people doing rescue in that area - especially with cats. They are doing some great work up there, and in Kings County, too.

But apparently Ms. Keizer - and also William Ferguson - got the runaround - so they felt they had no other options. Animal Control said they "don't do cats - call the SPCA". And the SPCA said they "don't do strays - call Animal Control"**. So what is a person to do - who lives in a culture where just 10 years ago it was still acceptable to drown cats as a way of population control, and who doesn't have any companion animals themself - so probably doesn't have much empathy for species other than humans to begin with. How many time have all of us animal lovers heard - "I mean - it's just a cat!"

Well this is the ultimate fruition of that.

** NOTE - this is the version that Susan Keizer and William Ferguson will have you believe - but what what the problem is - is that the debacle of stray cats lies with the Municipality. If you have a problem with a stray cat - that is your municipality's problem - and that is who you should contact. SOME municipality's have contracts with their local branch of the NS SPCA to maintain their animal control functions, but that is not across the board in Nova Scotia. In Halifax - our animal control facilities are maintained by the City - but our sheltering facilities are maintained by the SPCA. In Sydney Nova Scotia - their animal control AND shelter are contracted to the SPCA. In Windsor - the municipality takes care of their animal control functions - and THAT is who Susan Keizer should have made contact with about the cats. If the Officer said it wasn't his problem - then he wasn't doing his job and his supervisor should have been contacted.

Dumping your cat on someone else's property - abandoning it - is a criminal offence - THAT is an SPCA responsibility - because that falls under the Animal Cruelty act - and the NS SPCA is mandated to uphold the Animal Cruelty and Prevention Act in Nova Scotia. So if Ms. Keizer knew who dumped the stray cat on her property - the SPCA could have gone after that person - but they have no mandate to rescue the cat that they dumped. Unless of course if she took the cat to their Halifax or Sydney shelter which takes surrendered animals when they have space.

But the NS SPCA's branches and shelters only takes in abused, neglected, and cruelty connected animals - they aren't mandated to take in stray animals (unless they have a contract for animal control with a municipality) - they are not a rescue. That is where the public gets confused. Animal Rescue Coalition, Bide-a-wile, Pick of the Litter Society - they are rescues.

And it's the verdict heard around the world - because every news service and every newspaper around the continent has carried the story - the press release put out by the NS SPCA yesterday. It's amazing - and everyone around North America are as horrified as those in the humane community in Nova Scotia.

Here's some links to articles around North America -

Five-dollar fine for drowning kittens in bucket a travesty, say SPCA — Sault Star

$5 find for woman who drowned Kittens - Times of the Internet

$5 fine for woman who drowned kittens - Marketwatch

N.S. SPCA upset after woman fined $5 for drowning stray kittens - Canadian Press

Woman fined $5 for drowning Kittens - Post Chronicle

$5 fine for drowning kittens - Calgary Sun

This is a good article -
$5 Fine For Woman Who Drowned Kittens - Prosecutor didn't expect to win in a trial

Another Good article -
SPCA not satisfied with sentence - Manitoba National News


This is a great article at the Toronto Sun - there is also a comments section that has some great comments -
$5 fine for drowning kittens - SPCA calls sentence 'travesty of justice'

WINDSOR, N.S. — The Nova Scotia SPCA says a $5 fine handed to a woman for drowning two newborn kittens in a bucket of water is “a travesty of justice.”

The woman from Windsor, N.S., in her 50s, pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals after drowning the pair of two-day-old stray kittens last year.

Sean Kelly, chairman of the investigation committee for the SPCA, said a staff member told him the prosecutor seemed nonchalant about the case in Windsor provincial court because the woman had been unable to get help from the SPCA in taking the kittens’ stray mother — and the prosecutor had also been trying to get the organization to deal with a stray on his property.

“The SPCA is not an animal control group, unless we have a contract with a municipality,” Kelly said. “We do not take in stray cats.” He said it cost the SPCA more than $5 in gas just to drive to the Windsor courthouse for Monday’s proceedings.

He said prosecutor Bill Fergusson agreed with a defence request for the fine.

Kelly said the normal range for cruelty charges is $500 to $1,000 and long-term prohibition from owning animals.

“If they’re unable to pay, we look for lengthy prohibition (from owning animals) and probation,” he said.

He said he’s worried the case could set a precedent for future sentences, and the SPCA is lodging a formal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service.

But Fergusson said he had two options: take the fine and get a conviction, or go to trial and likely lose.

He said in talking with the defence lawyer, it seemed likely that the arguments she would make at trial would lead to an acquittal, so he accepted the woman’s guilty plea in exchange for a minimal fine.

She was charged under Section 11 (2) of the Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, which states that “no owner of an animal or person in charge of an animal shall cause or permit the animal to be or to continue to be in distress.”

“I was more concerned with the conviction than a large fine,” Fergusson said, adding that the woman is on welfare and wouldn’t have been able to pay anyway.

He asked for a small fine and the defence lawyer came up with the $5 figure.

Fergusson said a prohibition order would be unnecessary because the woman doesn’t want to own animals and was only feeding the kitten’s mother as a stray.

He said the woman was unable to look after the kittens and had said that they were not doing well before she drowned them in a bucket of water.

He said probation is not a penalty available under the animal cruelty act.

The judge told the woman that pleading guilty would show others that it is not acceptable to drown kittens, Fergusson said.

He said while he does have an issue with the stray cat problem in Windsor and the fact the SPCA doesn’t have mechanisms in place to deal with that, securing the conviction — not a vendetta against the organization — was the primary reason he did not argue the amount of the fine.

The conviction means the woman will have a prior case on her record should she ever be facing a similar charge again, which can lead to an increased penalty.

from the Chronicle Herald yesterday -

Woman fined $5 for drowning kittens

The provincial SPCA says a $5 fine handed to a Windsor woman for drowning two newborn kittens in a bucket of water is "a travesty of justice."

The woman, in her 50s, pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals after drowning the pair of two-day-old stray kittens in Windsor last year.

Sean Kelly, chairman of the investigation committee for the SPCA, said a staff member told him that the prosecutor seemed nonchalant about the case in Windsor provincial court because the woman had been unable to get help from the SPCA in taking the kittens’ stray mother, and the prosecutor had also been trying to get the organization to deal with a stray on his property.

"The SPCA is not an animal control group, unless we have a contract with a municipality," Mr. Kelly said. "We do not take in stray cats."

He said it cost the SPCA more than $5 in gas just to drive to the Windsor courthouse for Monday’s proceedings.

He said prosecutor Bill Fergusson agreed with a defence request for the fine.

Mr. Kelly said the normal range for cruelty charges is $500 to $1,000 and long-term prohibition from owning animals.

"If they’re unable to pay, we look for lengthy prohibition (from owning animals) and probation," he said.

He said he’s worried the case could set a precedent for future sentences, and the SPCA is lodging a formal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service.

But Mr. Fergusson said he had two options: take the fine and get a conviction, or go to trial and likely lose.

He said in talking with the defence lawyer, it seemed likely that the arguments she would make at trial would lead to an acquittal, so he accepted the woman’s guilty plea in exchange for a minimal fine.

She was charged under Section 11 (2) of the Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, which states that "no owner of an animal or person in charge of an animal shall cause or permit the animal to be or to continue to be in distress."

"I was more concerned with the conviction than a large fine," Mr. Fergusson said, adding that the woman is on welfare and wouldn’t have been able to pay anyway.

He asked for a small fine and the defence lawyer came up with the $5 figure.

Mr. Fergusson said a prohibition order would be unnecessary because the woman doesn’t want to own animals and was only feeding the kitten’s mother as a stray. He said the woman was unable to look after the kittens and had said that they were not doing well before she drowned them in a bucket of water.

He said probation is not a penalty available under the animal cruelty act.

The judge told the woman that pleading guilty would show others that it is not acceptable to drown kittens, Mr. Fergusson said.

He said while he does have an issue with the stray cat problem in Windsor and the fact the SPCA doesn’t have mechanisms in place to deal with that, securing the conviction, not a vendetta against the organization, was the primary reason he did not argue the amount of the fine.

The conviction means the woman will have a prior case on her record should she ever be facing a similar charge again, which can lead to an increased penalty.

English Bull Terrier saying "Momma"

I'm putting this video here just for my friend Janet - but I know there's tons more who will love this as well - enjoy!

Some good news some bad news som miscellany

First off for the advertisement - these photos are of a dog named Rocky. I've met Rocky several times over the years - at the Halifax Commons, on the sidewalk, out on walks, etc. He is a lovely dog and I feel sick that his owners are doing this to him. I got the following email tonight -
Sorry for the mass email but I have a bit of an urgent situation on my hands with one of my dog walking clients. Rocky needs a new home without children. He is generally a fabulous dog whom I love very much. If there was any room at the inn, he would be here. If you know of anyone who may be interested in adopting Rocky, please pass this information along. There will be no adoption fee required - his family just wants what is best for him. Following is a short bio on Rocky but words and pictures really don't do this boy justice. He is a loving soul who just needs patience and understanding.Rocky is a great dog for an adult-only home. He is generally very laid back and affectionate, rides well in the car, gets along well with other dogs and lives with a cat without issue. He is about ten-years-old but in very good health (weighs about 60lbs) and has lovely energy when he is out for a walk. He is excellent off-leash with a great recall. Rocky is protective over his food and occasionally exhibits some handling issues when he is feeling insecure and will snap and make contact if he feels threatened. He has left welts and scratches but nothing severe except one incident when a young child who is not dog savvy hugged him while he was near some food and he did bite her lip which required stitches. Rocky has many redeeming qualities and unfortunately his family has a young child who does not understand Rocky's issues so he is looking for a home without children where his space will be respected when necessary. He loves being patted and getting belly rubs on a regular basis. Rocky is truly in his golden years and hopefully he will find someone who will want to share them with him.

Thanks for your help in finding Rocky a new home! If anyone is interested they can contact me at dogsonthego@eastlink.ca



This is Don and his dog Cody - they are spread quite liberally through my "Charlie loves Halifax" website because they have been to, and discovered so many dog friendly places in the HRM - and Don and Cody also take part in the "Therapeutic Paws of Canada Program" - I talk about it on the main page of Charlie's website.

The following are a couple photos taken at the Canine Casbah last night - this is a picture of me and Buttercup that was taken because my friend Janet didn't know how to use my camera and she just clicked into the air - so none of us knew she had actually taken a photo! But as it happened - the camera had been pointed in my direction - and you get to see where Buttercup gets to sit when she goes visiting at other people's multi-dog households! haha!This is Janet with her beautiful and quickly growing puppy - Maximo - he is gorgeous, and about 3 months old now.
This is Shelly and her dog Grady.
This is Buttercup on the dining table feeling entirely deserted because I had gotten up to take a photo of some dog other than her, and she was not enjoying the sensation.

Do you remember me talking about Jacques? He'd been at the Dartmouth SPCA for like 6 months - he's finally found a home! Below are some photos of him with his new family. I hope he has lots and lots of years of a really active and loving life.








There is a new local dog politics blog! Scott Millar - a law student active in local SPCA and dog politics stuff, has started his own dog politics blog, and I can't wait to see what kind of great things he is going to write about and stories he'll direct us towards - just today he had some great photos of 2 different dogs from one city in Korea. One is a pet dog and one is a food dog, showing the dichotomy that different cultures can have regarding canines - that is such an interesting topic -


So last is the bad news - for me, anyway. I thought I was being smart tonight - even though my laptop that I'm using is new - with 4 dogs and a cat - my keyboard is kind of full of hair, because I'm always using it with dogs laying on top of me all the time, and I also tend to eat while I'm on the computer, and for some reason - I also like honey. You can imagine - those things do NOT go together - and tonight I thought I could improve my keyboard if I vacuumed the keyboard - with my fabulous Dyson vacuum cleaner.

WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - DO NOT TRY TO VACUUM YOUR LAPTOP KEYBOARD WITH A HIGH EFFICENCY VACUUM CLEANER!!!!!!!!

I sucked off the "X" key, so I am going to have to take the laptop in to Staples tomorrow to see if my warranty covers replacing the key - and I don't imagine I'll get the laptop back immediately - so I may be offline for - I have no idea how long. I am afraid to think about it. So this may be my last post for a couple days. All because of my fabulous vacuum cleaner, some honey, and some dog hair.

Who would have thought?

Some BSL being proposed in Oregon

My niece lives down in Oregon, and I got an alert about bsl being proposed in that State today - so I forwarded her the alert, and it basically will consist of -

- Owning a pit bull would be illegal, and the state would punish those who own one by euthanizing the dog, slapping the owner with thousands of dollars in fines
and perhaps even throwing them in jail.
- If your pit bull killed someone, you could be fined $125,000, spend five years in jail or both.

That second item got me to thinking. If you give birth to a human child, abuse him, bring him up to young adulthood, treat him really badly, give him very low self esteem, make him only feel safe if he joins a gang, he goes out and gets a gun, or he starts having fights with people and HE ends up killing someone - does that PARENT haave to pay $125,000 and spend 5 years in jail?

That parent has pretty set loose something on society that is guaranteed to kill some other human being at some point in his life - but no one would ever blame THAT PARENT, would they?

I am certainly one of those people who thinks that it's the dog owners and not the dog who is to blame when a dog does something dreadfully wrong - but it seems that a lot of societies problems are placed on dogs and their owners - and they think that if they can ban pit bulls, then violence and people dying in big cities is really going to be lowered - when in fact - it's not. All the same HUMANS are still going to be in those cities. Which is really too bad.