Can’t keep your pet?
I took this from Facebook and shortened it some. Be warned: it is a chilling story. If you haven’t got time or money for a pet, don’t get one. But…
Acts of kindness
From my St. Thomas Dog Blog, Feb. 3, 2012. Reposted in honour of Rebecca Schofield's acts of kindness renown. Ms. Schofield, of Riverview NB, passed away Feb. 17, 2018. She…
So this is Christmas
From the St. Thomas Dog Blog, December 2011, this is my summary of STDOA events and animals of the year. Christmas - and what have you done. Looking back at…
Redemption: Shelter Plan B
My impression after reading about Nathan Winograd is that it’s animal shelters that need redemption. He is Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center in the US and is giving…
Diseases of Friend and Foe
(From Aug. 5, 2011 on my St. Thomas Dog Blog) When Waterworks Wally got his shots last week, his vet tested him for diseases I’d rarely heard of in cats.…
The Miracle of Birth
A while ago, I met a man, his son and their two dogs. I was making a fuss over the dogs, and the boy said “she’s going to have babies”.…
Bear
"A sad Goodbye to Bear, the dog who you may remember that was abandoned at Dalewood, that became a ABCR rescue dog. Bear was adopted by a young man who…
Home for the Holidays
Don’t give a dog as a Christmas present. At least not as a spur of the moment gift. But if you are planning to get a dog anyway, why not?…
Movin’ dogs: An underground railway
Who can resist this little face! Small, friendly terrier mix desperately needs a home. House-trained, healthy 1 year old male. That might have been the ad for Charlie placed by…
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter (1998) is a wonderful book. Elizabeth Hess, a New York City arts journalist and author of Nim…
Barn Cats
Frank Moore, a farmer north of Belmont who my parents knew, always had lots of barn cats. He said one year, years before, there had been an explosion of cats…
‘Trifles’ of Creature Comfort
A 1916 play Trifles was written by American journalist Susan Glaspell. It is a murder mystery based on a real event in Iowa at the turn of the century. A…
Giving shelter
Years ago, I went to the London Humane Society with a friend. While she looked for a cat, I stayed at the front desk. I was horrified – justifiably or…
New Charity Cat Project
The Charity Cat project, under the umbrella of the STDOA, began due to cats who turned dog people into cat people. It started last summer with, literally, a cardboard box…
Dear Cat Dumper
To the person who dumped a grey tiger and white male neutered cat at Waterworks Parks on or before July 4, 2011: He’s doing well, considering. He misses you and…