Today me and Buttercup headed down to Chester - one of the most beautiful towns in Nova Scotia - to go to an open house being held by Tracy Jessiman and her husband
This is Buttercup (of course) - I was taking a moment to check out and see if there was any buoy booty afoot - there wasn't (: - but I did find four pieces of glass, so it wasn't all bad
Tracy and her husband recently relocated to Chester - and bought a super fantabulously beautiful house - but aren't they all that way in Chester? - and they wanted to meet some more local residents - and also raise some money for their favourite local charity - Animal Rescue Coalitions - it gave Netta and Tracy a chance to prostelytze to the people gathered about adoption and spay and neuter, and how great rescue animals are - and everyone who came seemed to be very happy to talk about their own animals, and were eager to find out ways that they could personally help - it was pretty neat.
I'd say they were pretty successful on all fronts, there were quite a few people around the house - and Netta (the President of ARC) thought that they'd raised about $1,400! So that was awesome of Tracy and her husband Earl! Yay! If every rescue had sponsors like the Jessiman's - there would be a lot of very lucky rescues out there. It was a good day for me too - because I got to take home leftovers from Julien's bakery - so I was happy too!
Tracy has some really cute chairs that were salesmens samples back in the olden days - so she let me put Buttercup in them to take some pictures -
And Buttercup let me take some pictures of her too - which was a good thing - because sometimes she won't!
She looks like she's a monster dog sitting in a tiny chair and she's 300 pounds!
I think she looks very cute
This is her looking at me like I'm from another planet because I am vainly trying to get her to look at me!Thanks Tracy for helping raise money for Animal Rescue Coalitions! Tracy also writes letters to the Editor that changes lots of people's minds about animal topics - she and Netta wrote an editorial piece for the Chronicle Herald a couple week's ago that I'll paste below - and she's also the person who painted the picture of Daisy that I posted about a couple months ago - so she is very multi-talented!
Here's the op-ed piece that was in the Chronicle Herald -
Animal-abuse laws need sharper teeth
By ANNETTE ARMITAGE and TRACY JESSIMAN
After reading the Oct. 3 article “Animal welfare laws lacking in Canada," we at Animal Rescue Coalitions are in complete agreement. Agricultural animals are not protected by current Canadian laws, as are household pets.
Animal abuse is unacceptable.
Our current laws are not a deterrent to individuals who abuse animals because of two things: a lack of enforcement and a lack of punishment. We feel the Criminal Code needs to be altered to reflect a zero tolerance for animal abusers and it needs to be enforced. There should be both a lifetime ban from owning animals and a national registry for convicted animal abusers. The percentage of animal abuse cases that lead to a conviction in Canada is 0.01 per cent.
A man in Alberta ties the family dog in ropes, puts her in a bag, ti es the bag to the bumper of his car and drives around until the dog is dead. This case took over two years to make it through the judicial system. His sentence was 30 days in jail, to be served on weekends, and one year of probation. This man should have been banned for life from owning another animal.
A man in New Brunswick admits he shot and killed 175 dogs at his large breeding facility. He has never been charged.
He admitted the killings to the media the same day he was in court contesting one of his “puppy brokers." This man and his puppy broker were in a disagreement as to who was at fault for selling sick and dying puppies.
Only one media outlet broadcast the story about the 175 shootings and no charges were filed for animal abuse.
A man in New Brunswick receives a $550 fine after killing five Pomeranian breeding dogs by hitting them over the head with a hammer. At the time, he was under investigation for animal cruelty and negligence. He was found not guilty of cruelty in killing his five dogs, but guilty of injuring one dog that survived.
The judge determined that the surviving dog did suffer pain, so he was charged with injuring one dog in contravention of the Criminal Code of Canada.
A man living in Alberta, in a fit of rage against his wife, kills their dog with a shovel. His sentence is only 60 days’ imprisonment, to be served intermittently. He claimed the puppy was going to cost him his job. This man had a previous criminal record for mischief, arson and setting a false alarm. The judge concluded his remorse was not genuine.
A dog in Nova Scotia that was chained outside 24 / 7 is found frozen to death in winter and no charges are filed against the owner. Neighbours had reported the negligence to authorities numerous times. Following an investigation, authorities found the owner was providing the necessities of life for the dog (food, water and shelter) so no charges were laid, even after the dog was found dead and frozen in the snow. His water bowl was also frozen solid.
A woman in Nova Scotia is given a $5 fine for drowning two kittens in a bucket of water. The normal punishment for cruelty charges is 30 days in jail, a $500 to $2,000 fine and long-term prohibition from owning animals. She was on welfare and the system thought she would not pay, so they negotiated a $5 fine.
Two women in Nova Scotia have over 100 dogs and cats seized from their property. Investigators also found many dead animals, and the live ones were very abused and neglected. The women had over 100 charges laid against them. Under the current act, they could have been given jail time, a lifetime ban on owning animals and a substantial fine. However, they did not receive jail time, two dogs were returned to the women and they received a minor fine.
Under current Canadian law, animals fa ll under the category of property, just like your home, computer, furniture or car. Most people involved in animal rescue do not have a problem with animals being considered property.
The issue is that animal abusers hide behind the title of property.
Removing animals from the category of property is one solution to animal abuse; however, that will never happen. Behind every animal advocate, there is a lobbyist working to keep animals classified as property. Lobbyists working on behalf of large breeding facilities like puppy mills, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies, fur farms, animaltesting facilities, hunters and anglers have access to millions of dollars and they lobby the government aggressively full time.
Animals are not disposable.
They deserve our governments’ support and protection. If you want to see legislation altered to protect our animals, we encourage you to contact your provincial agricultural a nd justice ministers, your MLA and your MP. Ask them where they stand on animal abuse. Ask them if they are willing to enact change.
We are available to help in any way we can.
Annette Armitage is president, Animal Rescue Coalitions ( http://www.animalrescuecoalitions.com/3401.html), and Tracy Jessiman is an animal advocate
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