Dear Cat Owners...

...please stop letting your cat outdoors to roam around, even if:

a) they have a habit of coming back after a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks

b) they were outdoor or feral cats before

c) you believe that it's natural for cats to run around outside, and keeping them inside only is

detrimental to their natural instinct.

At the shelter today, four people came in looking for their lost cats. One person even came in saying they had lost both their cats at once! All their stories were the same: "We usually let (insert pet name here) out and she/he comes back after a few hours, but it's been a few days and she/he hasn't come home yet." One girl said her Siamese cross usually goes out and comes back within THREE WEEKS (you aren't worried that you haven't seen your cat in almost a month??!!) but it's been longer than that and now she's looking for him; after we gave her the usual info on how to go about searching for her pet, she simply said, "Well, it's been gone for a while now...I'll probably just get another cat." WTF???!

Only one family today who lost their cat was lucky enough to be reunited with it; it had just come in a few days ago and was still on stray hold. So cat owners, if you don't want your pet to get catnapped, run over by a car, maimed by some wild animal, eaten by a coyote, or you don't want your cat to come home with some terminal disease such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (something that's similar to HIV, but for cats) because it got into a scrap with some feral cat then please...keep your cats indoors!

If you feel that you MUST let your cat outdoors for some fresh air, then at least get a leash and harness and supervise them!

Purrecious, a cat with FIV

(From Katies Place, http://petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid12950133)

Adventures in Dogwalking: Teeko and J.J.

I arrived at the shelter today with the hope of walking Frankie, that sweet Border Collie I had last week, but he was already on his walk with someone else. I heard Teeko (also a dog I walked last week) barking piteously in his kennel, and since he is housetrained I figured he needed to go...badly. So I took him out for his walk again.

This time, Teeko really warmed up to me. If you refer to my previous week's post, he was pretty aloof with me and didn't take any treats, but today was completely different! Maybe he didn't like the hard treats they had last week and that's why he didn't eat any, but I gave him some soft treats today and he gobbled them up! He was also pretty affectionate with me: I would offer my hand towards him slightly and he would nudge it with his nose, and after I gave him some pets his tail started wagging, which I took to be a good sign. I think he just needed to trust that I wasn't going to hurt him. He knows some commands, and with his new fondness for soft treats we practiced 'sit,' and 'down.' I tried to start teaching him to come when called, but since he doesn't know his name is "Teeko" (he was found a stray and the staff named him), he hasn't quite picked up on it yet.

Teeko is, sadly, fearful at times and I blame whoever his previous owners were for this. He doesn't do well with strangers, which was evident when we came across some men who were surveying the forest; he started barking and getting a little growly, but I shushed him and kept walking like normal. The next time we walked by he completely ignored them, so I guess it all comes down to who's holding the leash! Today he reacted a little aggresively to the other dogs around, except for sweet Frankie, who he seems to like but is not sure how to go about being friends. But when all things were quiet and we were in the pens, he just rolled over onto his back and let me rub his chest and tummy, and when I stopped he got up, looked at me, and did it all over again. :)

He also likes to pee mark his territory a lot, but he's not neutered yet so I guess it's inevitable.

The second dog I had out was a wheat colored Pittbull mix named J.J. Even though I am against the stigma and breed specific banning of Pittbulls, I have to admit that I am wary of them. J.J., however, was the sweetest Pittie I've ever met, which goes to show that it's not the breed, but the owners that are responsible for bad behavior. J.J. came in as a stray that showed signs of having recently given birth, but her litter was not with her when they found her. The coordinator noted that sometimes she gets anxious and looks to be searching for her babies, which is one of the saddest things I've heard of.

At first, she was really excited to be out of her kennel and was pulling on her leash and trying to jump up on me. After a few corrections, she walked perfectly by my side, except when there was another dog around that she wanted to meet or a bird that she wanted to chase...then she got a little tuggy with her leash. She was also a little uncertain of things sometimes (like the surveyors) and would stop in her tracks if there was something unfamiliar up ahead. I just kept walking, and she followed me without resistance, and that was the end of that.

J.J. also loved to fetch: seeing her run after the ball and trot back with it in her mouth was the cutest thing. She didn't have any problems giving the ball up to me, and after I threw it for her a few times she got tired and stopped mid-fetch. Her obedience was really good and she knew a lot of commands, but she did have a stubborn streak where once in a while, she would ignore what I said and just stand there, waiting for her treat. Well, I have a stubborn streak too, and when I say 'sit,' I expect a 'sit!' J.J was also really affectionate, and she liked having pets; after we played for a while, I sat down on a bench, and she actually crawled under my legs and sprawled out there on her belly, resting with me in the sunshine. Very sweet.

Adventures in Dogwalking: Teeko and Frankie

There are so many dogs at the Surrey SPCA right now, and usually not enough walkers. This morning, I had the pleasure of taking out two dogs for their walk.

The first dog I had was a little German Shepherd/Shar Pei mix named Teeko. He was really small for his breed background; his body came up just past the height of my knee. The coordinator informed me that he was a little fearful, and certain hand movements freaked him out. The poor guy was still a young pup at only a year old, so someone must've been very harsh when disciplining him. Walking with Teeko was pretty easy: he pulled a little at times, but walked right beside me at other times. He definitely took some time to warm up to me, but let me pet him, and when we were walking he would glance back at me and push his nose into my hand a give me a little lick. He didn't take any treats, though; not sure if he just didn't like them or he didn't trust me enough to take them from me yet.

I let him off leash in one of the pens, and he just meandered around, smelling things and marking his territory here and there. He showed some interest in one of the tug toys, even taking it into his mouth and playing with me for a second, but dropped it when one of the other dogs walked by. Teeko seemed to like other dogs; when Frankie (who I walked next) walked by they had a brief but positive meeting, and while Frankie continued walking Teeko got very excited and tried to follow him. When Frankie walked beyond the fence, Teeko started whining and tried to dig his way out. That's when I took him out again and he seemed happy just to be exploring everything around him.

I only had Teeko out for a short time, then the coordinator switched me over to Frankie, who is a nine year old Border Collie mix. As soon as she handed the leash to me, Frankie came right up and rested his head on my stomach, and looked up at me with his soft, brown eyes.

Yes, I melted.

And I continued to melt into a big, gooey puddle the longer I spent with Frankie: he was the sweetest, most adoring dog I've ever met! Even though he was an older dog, he still had a bit of energy in him to keep us walking around the trails more than once. He was very food motivated, and had good obedience (even though it took me some time to figure out which hand signal he knew for 'sit'), but the very best thing I loved about him was that he loved cuddles! I would lower my hand to my side and he would instantly nuzzle his head against it, and then press right up against me for more. He was a dog that knew what a hug meant, and when I hugged him he just burrowed himself into my arms. We took a little break at one point and just rested in the shade; after practicing some commands with Frankie I had him lay down and just petted him and gave him little massages. After a while, he rolled over onto his side and literally into my lap. With the breezy sunshine around us, it was very relaxing.

One possible downside to all this attention, as mentioned by the coordinator, is that Frankie might not do so well with other pets or children, because he definitely loves the attention and might not be so keen on sharing it with other people or animals. While we don't know 100% that's how he would react, all I can say is when he's with people he is very, very sweet and gentle.

Sidenote: with all the animals at the SPCA at the moment, there are sadly quite a few animals in their senior years. One such animal is such a lovable dog named Snoop, who is fifteen years old. Snoop was found a stray, but had proper ID that they were able to track down his owner. His owner, who said she had had Snoop since he was a puppy, said she was going to come pick him up, but she never did. When they called her again to follow up, they found that she had changed her number!! Wtf?

Look At My Puppy Face..

from http://petfinder.com/petnote/photoView.cgi?petid=14417514

Don't I look adorable?

Don't you want to cuddle with me and play with me? I'm only a puppy, so cuddling and playing is what I do best!

But...

"Abused and Broken"

No puppy should suffer at the hands of another like Baby Bella has.

Sadly, then hands that abused and broke this little body belong to a child, a child who focused anger and rage on an innocent soul.

Bella was rushed into the arms of Big Heart Rescue and underwent surgery yesterday for massive internal injuries. Her bladder was found to be protruding into her abdominal wall and she also has a broken pelvis.

Update: July 29th

Bella has now had her second set of x-rays and so far her bladder is holding in place which is a very positive sign. There is less blood in her urine and she is attempting to squat when she has to do her "business." Squatting is a challenge when you have a broken pelvis but this little warrior is proving to everyone that she has the will and determination to make it.

Further x-rays will be done on Monday to see how her damaged pelvis is doing and if the bladder is remaining attached. At this time Bella remains on crate rest for most of the day but does get some gentle play time with her big beautiful fur sister who is teaching her excellent social skills.

Additional updates to come as we progress, day by day. Please send your healing thoughts out to Baby Bella as she struggles to survive.

(from Big Heart Rescue, http://petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14417514).

Click on the link above to read the rest of Bella's story (don't worry, there's happier news there).

Adventures in Dogwalking: Extra Thunder Tidbits

Yes! They finally posted a photo of Thunder on the SPCA webpage: just look at his cute little face!

Apparently he's not a German Shepherd/Husky cross, he's a Border Collie/Husky mix; those two dog breeds on their own have enough energy to run a eight hour marathon! No wonder he's so wired up!

And lastly, as a testament to what happens when you don't train your pets or dedicate your time to them, Thunder's background info says: "Thunder comes from a home where he was allowed to run the show and do so on a grand scale in an orchard setting," hence all the nipping and the jumping up in your face.

Great job, previous owners.

*Update: Thunder was transferred to the Burnaby SPCA, where it looks like he has found a forever home.*

Adventures in Dogwalking: Thunder

Fresh from his appearance on Global Tv, Thunder was raring to go for his walk today. After surviving his many, many excitable episodes on Monday, I was determined to start teaching him to calm down and focus his energy on other activities.
As before, when the coordinator brought him out for me, he was already trying to jump up all over everyone. Immediately, we defended ourselves while repeating what is becoming a mantra when walking with Thunder: "Off!" "Noo!" "Oww!" My foundation for his "training" (I use this term loosely because, hell, let's face it I'm amateur at best) was to offset his sparky energy with my own calm energy, plus focus on obedience basics with clicker training (another way to focus his energy while teaching and tiring him out; remember, a tired dog is a happy dog!).
One of the SPCA officers gave me a little tip for dealing with Thunder: if he gets overly rambunctious, pull his leash up a little to get him to sit. Although I preferred not to use this method, especially as it seemed like Thunder already knew how to sit on his own, when he got into his little frenzies his attention was really hard to divert, so this method worked well to divert his energy in those situations. (Note: this is not yanking or jerking the leash up really hard, just gently pulling the leash straight up so the dog has to lower its rear to regain it's balance).
Early in our walk, Thunder started jumping on my for no reason again, but each time he started I would stop walking and push him down firmly while saying "No!" only once or twice, then put him into a 'sit.' After he sat there looking calmly at me, I would give him a gentle neck massage, or start walking again, hopefully to get him to associate being calm with being rewarded (or at the very least, being in a 'sit' with getting rewarded). I'm happy to say that it seemed to work, because for the next two hours his excitable episodes were more sporadic than Mondays' walk. That's not to say he didn't jump up on me still (including the time I was crouched down next to him while he was drinking from his water dish, and while I was conversing with another volunteer he took the opportunity to jump on my head), but the episodes seemed shorter and not as frequent as last time.
I was also very pleased when I took him into one of the pens to play: on Monday, I was concerned about him running in really fast circles around the perimeter of the pen. Today, he circled around two or three times, but after I enticed his attention with a frisbee, he calmed down so much! Of course, he didn't know how to fetch so he would just run after the frisbee, and when it stopped rolling, he lost interest, but once in a while he would just sit down and look at me as if saying, "What now?" He also wanted to meet all the dogs that passed by: no aggression, some fence running (boo), but at the very least he only wanted to play with everyone, and it showed most of the time in his body language. He was also very nice in meeting some of the dogs face to face, and there was a lot of nose licking that happened.
And finally, FINALLY, he started accepting treats! Treats are a major stepping stone to starting clicker training (although they aren't the only reward that will work, and really, they shouldn't be the only reward for clicker training to work). I brushed up on 'sit' with him, and started teaching him 'down.' When he lays down, he kind of curls himself into a little circle; need I tell you it was very cute? Plus he is very cuddly: a few times he would come over and nuzzle himself into my arms. But then he'd get all excited and happy and then try to jump all over me again.
My next goal for him is to try to teach him some games; all the more fun things to do to burn off some of that energy! And of course, keep trying to re-enforce the whole "jumping on people and nipping them is bad" thing!

Showcasing Ginger and Thunder from the Surrey SPCA

Watch this video: it's so cute! Thunder is the dog I walked on Monday, he's the one on the right with the SPCA officer. He's still super adorable but now you can see what I had to put up with!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globaltvbc.com%2Fvideo%2Findex.html%3FreleasePID%3DAnC3WB33OyCpZmR9u0bePPlUHIaqicr8&h=a1602d43c58704a16a49ba5d3230da4f

Dear Skye

Dear Skye,


You had only been at the shelter a few days and I hadn't gotten the chance to walk you yet. I remember seeing you lying in your kennel, a big black furry boy who looked up inquisitively at all the people walking by. Someone had left you all by yourself, tied to the shelter door in the darkness of the night; maybe it was your owner, who couldn't or wouldn't take care of you anymore; maybe it was someone who found you, and dropped you off where they thought it would be best for you.

This morning they found you, you had passed away during the night. Even though you weren't with us for very long, I am saddened that you had to die alone and abandoned in your kennel.

Rest in peace, dear Shepherd.

Adventures in Dogwalking: Myra and Thunder

Ahhh, I was so happy to finally have Myra to walk again! Of course, I had to make sure I was the first one to get there this morning which meant getting up extra early, but I love this dog so much, she's worth it!
As soon as she got the hint that she was going for a walk, Myra got really, really excited and started jumping around in her kennel. I put her in a 'sit' a few times, but she was so excited she just jumped right up afterwards. The coordinator and I finally managed to snap her leash on, and off we went. She seemed to have gained extra strength or something from the last time we walked, because I don't remember her pulling so hard before. But then again, the last time we walked together was when we were having our heatwave, and todays weather was very far from hot and sunny. I tried working with her heeling, but I don't think I really made that much progress...I would say she limited her strength at times while walking with me, but still pulled the leash tight.
I put her in one of the pens to play with her, and boy was she ever happy about that! As soon as I took her leash off, she zoomed around the pen happily, then picked up one of the big balls in her mouth and ran with it some more. I soon learned that she looooved playing fetch, although she needs some work with the 'bringing it back to me' part. Surprisingly, while we were in there, a little pit bull walked by and Myra reacted a little agressively towards her; with almost all the other dogs she's been pretty friendly, she can be pushy with some dogs but never any growling or barking. I think the other dog was also a young female similar in age, so maybe it's some sort of territory or position thing.
I worked on recall with her, which she responded to really well; soon I was able to call her back to me even with the distraction of other dogs around. Yes! We also worked on 'stay' and 'down,' although she always wants to get up to get her treat instead of laying down for it. We'll have to work on that some more.
Later, I took a new dog who had been an owner surrender: a BEE-U-TIFUL German Shepherd/Husky mix. He was sooooooo cute: he looked like a smaller, classic German Shepherd with his markings, except for the traditional curved Husky tail and a streak of pure white across the back of his neck. At first, he was a little shy, but then as all the smells and sounds decended upon him, he got really, really excited. As always, I wonder how people can just give up their dogs like that, but with Thunder, although he was super adorable, I kind of got an idea of why he was surrendered: his excitability was really out of control!
Of course, that's no excuse, but as we were walking I wanted to test his obedience so I asked him to 'sit.' He sat, then promptly when on to jump all over me! I literally had to fend him off because he was jumping up in front of me, jumping up beside me, jumping up behind me, and although I said "Off!" and "No!" sternly and loudly while trying to push him down, he didn't really get it until I was practically chanting it, while trying to ignore him with my body language. To add to the problem, he was very mouthy; obviously his owners before did not enforce this as a big no-no, and not only did he jump up and try to mouth me on my arms while I tried pushing him down, he would try to nip me on the back of my legs too. I know he was only trying to play with me because he would crouch down in the classic "play with me!" position before jumping all over me, but it was still not very pleasant.
To help him burn off some energy, I let him off leash in one of the pens. Once he was free, he started running around the pen at top speed, in gigantic circles. Maybe I'm overreacting a little, but it looked a little neurotic. Sometimes high energy dogs that don't get enough exercise and stimulation find other ways to vent their energy, and then they become fixated on that one thing and repeat it over and over again, kind of like a canine OCD. Well, Thunder kind of fit the bill as a high energy, understimulated dog, so I hope that's not the case. He did slow down to sniff out a few things that interested him though, but didn't know how to play fetch or anything (or maybe he just didn't want to).
We walked around a few more times, where Thunder's excitability would pop up at the most random times: when we were running together, he would keep looking back at me (good) but then would stop and jump all over me (bad). I would ask him to sit and he would comply (good) but when I reached down to pet him he'd get all excited and the frenzy would start again (bad). When I sat down on the bench to rest he'd come over and nuzzle his head into my lap (good) but then he'd jump up all over me again (very bad)!
When I left, I was literally covered in fur and mud from Thunder's frenzies. He is a nice dog, but very puppy-like, and just needs someone to show him the way to good manners!

Adventures in Dogwalking: Sampson

Yet another adorable German Shepherd to walk today! This dog's (re)name was Sampson; I say re-name because he was a human seizure. His owners apparently want him back really badly but the SPCA is holding on to him for now in "protective custody."

The first few minutes of our walk together was spent with an overly hyper Sampson: a big, furry, black and tan blur jumping all over the place, chewing at the leash and trying to play tug of war with it. After a few stern "No!"s and a period of time just standing there waiting for him to calm down, he finally did and off we went. He was a puller at first, no doubt because of all that energy he has in his breed, but after a few corrections he started walking with a slack leash. I found him to be a bit aloof initially; unlike some other dogs, he didn't really invite any affection his way. But towards the end of our time together, he warmed up a little, and I even got some tail wags after I gave him some hugs! Perhaps he just needs to trust you first. With the other dogs, he totally wanted to be friends with all of them; whenever he would meet another dog face to face, after some friendly introductory sniffing he would give them all a nice little lick on the nose and continue on his way. I think he's harbouring a crush on my favorite dog Myra: whenever they passed each other they would slow down and stare, not in an aggressive or defensive way, but in a way that said "Swooooon!" Probably the fact that Myra is in heat and Sampson is not neutered makes things extra, extra lusty for these two!

The only moment I had a teensy, tiny little problem with Sampson is when we were passing the livestock pens. The Surrey SPCA has a little barn area, and they sometimes have chickens, turkeys, pigs, llamas, horses, goats, etc., held there. Today there was an adorably cute little baby goat with a yellow tag on its head. It seemed very intersted in the dogs, and would stand at the edge of the fence just watching all of them walk by. While we were passing, Sampson got very excited, and literally dragged me to the fence, where the goat was still watching. They both started sniffing each other curiously, so I thought everything was all friendly...until Sampson opened his mouth and tried to chomp down on the little goat! Understandably, the goat freaked out and cried in his little baby bleat while running away from us as quick as he could, while I tried to pull back Sampson, a feat very tiring because he was using all his strength to get at the fence. I felt so bad for the little goat afterwards, I'm pretty sure it was just expressing a natural curiousity about Sampson, while Sampson obviously thought the goat would make a pretty good meal for him! Such things are the way of nature, I guess...but we're not out in the wild right now so that was a no-no for Sampson!

May Karma Bite These Mofos in the A**

Another sickening story of a poor animal that was needlessly hurt by stupid people who should really have their asses kicked. From the Dhana Metta Rescue Society webpage:

http://petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14292231

"This is Lego just 48 hrs after being left outside in a box. I put out a plea to ask the people who left Lego behind to contact us, as we needed more info to be able to help him. They responded. They had a party, got super wasted, one of the guys at the party thought it would be funny to smash Lego into a wall to see what would happen. He died. One of the girls at the party resuscitated him. And the very next day, dropped him off in a box. WTF???"

Click on the link to read Lego's story and to see the video of his condition after being abandoned; it's so terrible and sad but it's things like this that show people what some animals have suffered through.

http://dhanametta.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/lego/