St. Thomas Dog Blog

We built it, and they came.  When you can keep an eye on your dog and there’s enough open space that dogs and people don’t have to all crowd together, Lions Club Dog Park is one of the busiest parks in St. Thomas.  But in summer, a lovely time to take your dog for a leash-free run, our dog park can become unusable by all except the hardiest and sleekest-coated big dogs.

It’s only mid-May and the weeds at our Lions Club Dog Park are nearly as high as an elephant’s eye.  Already, they’re higher than most dogs are.  Lots of people upset – they can’t see their dogs, small dogs won’t venture off the path, the one grassy space is overcrowded with people and dogs, no one can find their dog’s poop to clean it up.  Ragweed and burdock already as high as the fence, limbs not cleaned up from a tree that was cut down two years ago.

Why aren’t park users cleaning it up, you say.  Why doesn’t somebody just chop down the weeds and take the wood away for firewood?  Because as a City park, it’s City employees who must, by City and union rules, do the work.  Volunteers cannot. We’re allowed to pick up dog poop, but not to make it so that you can see the poop without needing a machete to cut down the undergrowth.

City employees at this time of year, understandably, are busy making Pinafore and Waterworks Parks the showcases of beauty that they are.  But I doubt that ball field preparation and maintenance are being neglected for the sake of other parks.

I haven’t been to the dog park for about three weeks.  Then, it was fine.  The weeds were high enough that Charlie pretended he was going through deep jungle, but he’s only little.  The bigger dog was fine and there were no burs out at the time.  I’m glad because this is what he looks like when he meets a burdock bush.  This picture was taken after he walked too close to one alongside the sidewalk around a nursing home.  Imagine him in a whole field of burdocks and weeds.  No, until they’re gone he won’t be going to the dog park.

There have also been increased calls for a separate small dog area.  Two small dogs have been injured lately by large dogs in the park.  Due to the park being small and on the side of a hill, it’s not easy to subdivide.  But if we don’t get a second park soon, we’ll have to figure out a way to do it.  One thing is for sure – all available flat space would have to be kept clear of tall weeds and undergrowth.  All dogs should be able to play safely in what is, first and foremost, a dog park.

The monthly meeting of STDOA will be held Saturday, May 26^th, at 2 pm at the park (same time Sunday in case of rain).  Weed control, clean-up and a small dog area will be discussed there.  Please come.

The 1^st Saturday in May, this is the mug I pour my first cup of coffee into.  Last Saturday, the 138^th running of the Kentucky Derby, I’ll Have Another came from the middle of the pack and passed the frontrunner. At 15-1 odds and in the 19^th position, he wasn’t considered a serious contender.

His jockey, Mario Gutierrez , raced at Hastings Raceway in Vancouver, or as the announcer put it, “the small-time circuit up in Canada.”  It was Gutierrez’ first Derby ride.  I’ll Have Another’s owner, J. Paul Reddam, is originally from Windsor, Ont.  As a university student, he got interested in racing by hanging around Windsor Raceway.  Two racing lives honoured in the winner’s circle of the most prestigious race in North America, both nurtured on Canadian tracks.

Tracks that, at least in Ontario, face closure.  Premier McGuinty’s government decided that the long-standing profit-sharing agreement between tracks and the OLG would not be renewed.  Until now, OLG and the track shared the profits, with OLG getting the lion’s share.  Still, the 10% that the tracks get is crucial to their economic survival.  Slot machines and rooms that house them cost far less to maintain than do barns, tracks and horses.

All racetracks, including Churchill Downs, rely on slot machines and other forms of gambling for income.  When we toured Churchill Downs, our guide said the only day of the year on which the track actually makes money from racing is Derby Day.

But the pride, prestige and history of Churchill Downs is in the racetrack and barns.  It is a tourism draw, with tours, gift shops and a museum.  Restaurants, motels and stores in Louisville also benefit from the dollars that come with these tourists who come to Horse Mecca and buy a commemorative mug.  Do non-gamblers make a special trip to tour a casino, other than in Las Vegas?

A racetrack is a huge operation, employing many in track and horse maintenance.  Also the breeders and trainers who spend years refining bloodlines and preparing juveniles for the track.  The stars are the horses and they are expensive to maintain.

Meanwhile in Ontario, racehorses are being sent for slaughter.  If the tracks don’t have the slot machines, they likely will close. There will be nowhere to race horses so breeders are getting out of the business.  That means getting rid of living horses.  It is said that newborn foals are being killed before they stand up – that way insurance will cover their “loss”.  Many of those thoroughbred foals and their mothers and fathers have the blood of the great Canadian Northern Dancer in their veins.

Thoroughbred and harness racing are part of our national history.  If profit sharing with slot machines keeps tracks alive, that also keeps alive our horses and our presence in the sport of kings.  McGuinty’s tinkering with what worked just fine for long before he became premier is now costing the lives of horses and livelihoods of horse people.

Last week a disaster on Talbot Street West was averted by quick thinking and action.  A dryer at the Animal Aide cat shelter caught on fire and a volunteer went through the smoke to put it out.  City Fire Services arrived almost immediately, as did Beaver Creek Animal Hospital staff to check out the cats.  All the cats are fine as is the courageous volunteer.

By Friday, when I went to the shelter, everything was clean and back to normal.  Volunteers scrubbed walls, floors and ceilings and took load after load of laundry home with them.   Cat beds, blankets and towels – everything needed cleaning.  All the litter in the freshly cleaned boxes had to be thrown out in case of smoke contamination.

Drywall had to be replaced back in the laundry area and Rona Building Centre kindly donated it.  Walmart donated kitty litter.  A local electrician checked out the wiring for any damage.  A private donor gave another washer and dryer to Animal Aide.  Dowler-Karn donated funds to help with repairs and restocking.

I asked staff if they still needed anything.  Yes!  The big ticket item on the wishlist is an industrial dryer and washer.  The washer and dryer rarely stops during the day at the shelter.  All the cat bedding is washed daily.  The usage is hard on appliances meant for home use.  That’s how the fire started – a poor old dryer trying its best to keep going but just too overworked.

Other items needed:  a fire extinguisher (preferably 5 lb. industrial), clumping litter, paper towels and Kitchen Catchers small garbage bags.  Also needed is money to pay for the costs of repairs to the electrical system or an electrician to volunteer his or her time to do them.

Animal Aide collects pop cans and other clean aluminum to sell as scrap.  You can also drop off cat and dog food donations next door at Tabby’s Treasures for STDOA’s Caring Pet Cupboard food bank assistance. If you need cat or dog food, you can also get it from there.

While you’re at Animal Aide, a kitty might catch your eye.  They’ll certainly try!  And what’s needed most of all are homes for the cats.  This one is Macy Grey.  She’s featured as Cat of the Month on Animal Aide’s website.

I don’t know much about WWII, and even less about the American campaign in the South Pacific.  I learned a lot, and felt it, reading about a Yorkshire Terrier.  William Wynne’s book about his dog Smoky takes you to the war with him.  He explains it so clearly, the geography of battle, the military sorties and the day-to-day existence of the soldiers.

Military history was not his purpose in writing Yorkie Doodle Dandy.  The book is the story of a dog he acquired in New Guinea while he was stationed there as an aerial photographer.  One part of the story of how Smoky came to be with Bill really struck me.  Another soldier found her alongside a road, trying to get out of a foxhole.  He didn’t like dogs, but he couldn’t leave this little scrap of a being to fend for herself.  So he brought her back to camp even though he wasn’t even remotely tempted to keep her.  That, in an environment where death, killing and suffering are part of everyday life, is the act of a truly good man.

When Smoky came to Bill soon after, he did basic obedience training with her for her own safety.  Then, out of boredom and seeing how quickly she learned and enjoyed it, he began teaching her tricks.  She became a star performer, providing entertainment for his mates and putting on shows for troops and in hospitals for wounded soldiers.  While not an official war dog, she performed military duty, becoming a mascot of his squadron and given the honourary rank of corporal.  She logged many hours of flight time, in reconnaissance and combat missions.  Her most important military action was pulling telephone wire 60 feet through an underground drainage pipe.  It took her minutes to do what would have taken men days.

He brought her back to the States where she became a celebrity both as a war dog and as a performer with him.  With Bill’s wife Margie, they spent time in Hollywood in the movie dog training business.  He tells us about kennels and trainers known to all of us who love watching dogs in movies.  They returned to Ohio when Bill was offered an aerial photography job in NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics), later NASA.  But performing was in Bill and Smoky’s blood.  They entertained children and adults in circuses, in hospital wards, in variety stage shows and later on their own live television show called Castles in the Air.

Yorkshire Terriers were not common in the US at that time and, with her, Bill became involved in dog shows and the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America.  Smoky lived to a good old age, happy and pampered and forever the star, also forever the war hero.  There are monuments to her for her war work and her irrepressible spirit of fun.

The greatest tribute to her, I think, is this wonderful memoir about her life with a man who deeply loved her.  It also is a tribute to the soldiers who loved and protected their official and unofficial war dogs.  He tells the stories of several of them and the extraordinary measures they took to make sure their dogs were part of ‘bringing the boys home.’  He didn’t intend the book as such, but it’s also a testament to him – a good man and a great veteran.  Thank you, Mr. Wynne, for sharing your war and your dog with us.

Among the bodies found after Titanic sunk was that of a woman, clinging to the body of a Great Dane.  Ann Elizabeth Isham had a seat in a lifeboat but was told her dog was too big to come with her.  So she jumped back on board the ship.  They drowned together.

This is one of the stories told in a current exhibit about the people and dogs of Titanic at the Widener University Art Gallery in Chester PA.  There were at least twelve dogs on board.  Three survived.  Small dogs, they were carried in bags or wrapped in blankets and, held on laps, they didn’t take extra space.  Astonishingly, a Pomeranian was refused entry on the rescue ship Carpathia.  That, after he and his mistress had survived the night on a lifeboat.  Mrs. Martin Rothschild raised such a fuss that the little dog was allowed to board.

Dogs were 1^st class passengers while cats were crew, on mousing detail.  There is a story that one cat saved a man as well as herself and her kittens.  On board from Belfast, in Southampton she disembarked, carrying her kittens off one by one.  A man, debating whether to seek continued work on the ship, saw her and decided to go home instead.

The tale of the Titanic is filled with happenstance, loyalty and sacrifice.  Ida Straus was in a lifeboat when she realized her octogenarian husband wasn’t allowed on.  “Where he goes, I go” she said and stepped back on the ship.  They died together.

Quebec Shamrock hockey player Quigg Baxter was on board with his mother and sister and, without their knowledge, so was his girlfriend Berthe Mayné, a Belgian cabaret singer.  He introduced Berthe to his mother and sister as he put her in the lifeboat with them.  He drowned.  Berthe later returned to Belgium and told stories of her doomed Canadian beau but nobody in her family believed her.  After her death, they found a small box filled with photos of Quigg and his love letters to her.

A Canadian businessman, Capt. Arthur Peuchen, survived but later wished he hadn’t.  A yachtsman, he got on a lifeboat with women and children to safely row it away.  Back in Toronto, he was scorned for having survived.  He retreated to a logging camp and horse farm in Alberta, haunted by survivor guilt.  He died in 1929, a double survivor I think; of Titanic, then of societal opprobrium.

The Titanic specials last week taught me a lot about the ship and our folklore about her.  The hubris believed to be shown by the claim that she was unsinkable:  the Captain and ship designers never said that, only the media did.  The image of frivolity we see in the band playing as the ship listed and sunk: those musicians willingly gave their lives, knowing the value of music to keep others calm and provide solace for those facing death.  Engineers accepted death to stay below trying to save the ship, then just to delay the sinking to save as many other lives as possible.  The Captain hadn’t run her at full speed.  He knew the danger of icebergs.  On his final voyage before retirement, he went down with his ship.

Unfortunate timing of events coupled with miscommunication led to the disaster.  The errors were not having enough lifeboats and not enough practice at loading those they had.  But, faced with disaster, people did the best they could.  I hope Titanic is protected effectively now and left as the burial ground she is.  Let her remain a testament to the power of the sea and the sacrifice of so many.

At the end of the Undercover Boss episode with Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade golf equipment, I almost cried when he gave $3,000 to a 21-year-old employee so that she could buy a dog.  She was a lovely girl, smart and dedicated to her job, so I don’t begrudge her the money.  But this is what caused him to do it.  While they were working together, she’d shown him a photo of herself, her husband and her dog, a Bull Terrier by the looks of him.  Ah, I thought, isn’t that sweet.

Then it all changed for me.  She said they had paid $2,000 for him, the money she and her fiancé had for their wedding.  Now they want to get a “female and…” .  She didn’t finish the sentence, but I did.  And breed them and sell the puppies.  She said “big”  or another word indicating an adult female.  I took that to mean she wanted one already of breeding age so they could get right to business.

Mr. King might as well have given her $3,000 to start an at-home golf ball-making businesses because she probably knows more about making golf balls than she does about raising puppies.  And what she’s talking about is business.  Evidently, neither Mr. King nor any of the show’s production staff were thinking about backyard breeding because the updates at the end said about her that she was looking for a larger apartment to accommodate the new “puppy”.  She and her husband had been living in a trailer.

I might be wrong about her wish for a female dog so they would have a breeding pair.  If so, I wish she had finished her sentence.  Because I could almost hear the dimwits I know saying ‘see, it’s ok, other people do it.”  Yes, unfortunately, they do.  People foolish enough to pay exorbitant amounts of money for pups from Kijiji or Craigslist or backyard breeding friends then decide they can do the same thing and breed puppies to recoup the money they spent for the dog.

Unless her dog has spent time in the show ring winning ribbons and unless his daddy or mother is a champion, there is no good reason to be breeding pups from him.  She was definitely proud of him, so I think she would have told us if he was a show dog.

Mr. King evidently has a soft heart and a degree of naivety about the problem of backyard breeders.  He would have done the dog a better service by paying for his neutering and giving this girl and her husband a belated honeymoon in the Dominican Republic or whatever it was they had originally planned for the $2,000 they spent on buying their dog.

If I’m right, with her getting a female dog, the unnecessary cycle of selling overpriced pups continues.  The people who pay her a lot of money for her dogs’ pups will want to make their money back too and, well, everybody’s doing it, aren’t they.  So it must be ok.  Not!

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 a lecture and workshop at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Apr. 14^th.  I don’t get star-struck that often, but this sounds like one very impressive man.

In 1993-94, he turned the San Francisco SPCA from a kill processing plant to a shelter where animals got homes.  Killing healthy animals “declined 100 percent” and for sick or injured animals “it declined by about 50 percent” (Redemption).  He did the same at the Tompkins County SPCA in upstate New York.

Are these places with less of an ‘animal problem’?  Not likely.  If you can do that in San Francisco, heart of ‘disposable land’, or upstate NY amid wilderness that people would see as perfect for dumping Fluffy, you can do it anywhere!  Here is how he looks at shelter management, from a 2007 article by Christie Keith.

“If … motherless kittens are killed because the shelter doesn’t have a comprehensive foster care program, that’s not pet overpopulation. That’s the lack of a foster care program.

“If adoptions are low because people are getting those dogs and cats from other places because the shelter isn’t doing outside adoptions (adoptions done off the shelter premises), that’s a failure to do outside adoptions, not pet overpopulation.

“…If animals are killed because working with rescue groups is discouraged, again, that’s not pet overpopulation. If dogs are going cage-crazy because volunteers and staff aren’t allowed to socialize them, and then those dogs are killed because they’re quote-unquote “cage crazy,” because the shelter doesn’t have a behavior rehabilitation program in place, once again, that’s not pet overpopulation; that’s the lack of programs and services that save lives.”

Commonsense, when you approach it from the shelter side of the equation.  ”If a community is still killing the majority of shelter animals, it is because the local SPCA, humane society, or animal control shelter has fundamentally failed in its mission… And this failure is nothing more than a failure of leadership. The buck stops with the shelter’s director.”

He describes his second day at the Tompkins Co. SPCA. “’my staff informed me that our dog kennels were full and since a litter of six puppies had come in, I needed to decide who was going to be killed in order to make space. I asked for ‘Plan B’; there was none. I asked for suggestions; there were none.’

“He spoke directly to his staff, saying, ‘Volunteers who work with animals do so out of sheer love. They don’t bring home a paycheck. So if a volunteer says, ‘I can’t do it,’ I can accept that from her. But staff members are paid to save lives. If a paid member of staff throws up her hands and says, ‘There’s nothing that can be done,’ I may as well eliminate her position and use the money that goes for her salary in a more constructive manner. So what are we going to do with the puppies that doesn’t involve killing?’”  Wow.

Mr. Winograd’s publications are Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America
*Irreconcilable Differences
*All American Vegan: Veganism for the Rest of Us
*Friendly Fire (summer 2012) and Reforming Animal Control/Building a No Kill Community Resource CD.

Wilma had surgery to remove her damaged teeth and also a hernia in her abdomen.  She’s recovering nicely.  She has domesticated herself and it seems she would love to live indoors.  But in her present home, there are dogs that really wouldn’t do well with her presence inside.  So a foster or, ideally, a permanent home for her would be wonderful.  Contact ABCR or me if you have a place in your home or barn for a lovely cat.

Turns out she was already spayed, so she had been lost or abandoned.  I don’t know which, but there are a lot of Wilmas in our city.  They need help.  There are also a lot of truly feral cats who likely will never allow themselves to be tamed.  They too need help.

It’s not just helping the cats.  It’s helping us.  Cat lovers are usually very distressed about stray or feral cats around their house.  Cat haters certainly don’t like cats hanging around.  And unneutered cats produce kittens, usually twice a year.  So that one cat that’s taken up residence in your back yard is going to produce more, and those kittens will also reproduce.  You start out with one stray moggie and before you know it, you’ve got cat city.

Trapping wild cats and having them fixed is a time-consuming and costly business.  I know, I’ve done it.  So is trapping and killing.  And if you do remove those cats, either by finding them homes or dispatching them permanently, in all likelihood more are simply going to come and occupy the territory.  That will happen whether you feed them or not.  Homeless cats need somewhere to settle and your backyard might seem as good as anywhere to them.  So better to keep those you know, and are neutered, than constantly have a new ones moving in and establishing their claim.

St. Thomas needs a TNR programme – trap, neuter, return – for wild cats.  Other cities have such programmes or services in place and we have just as many feral cats as anywhere else.  Wilma’s person counted the cats in the gully near their house a month ago:  103 that she saw.  That’s before this spring’s litters of kittens are born.

St. Thomas also needs a programme to subsidize spay and neuter costs for dogs and cats of people who cannot afford the full price.  Again, many other cities have such subsidy programmes or low-cost clinics offered so many times a year.

It seems cheaper to just have the kittens or puppies than to have your pet neutered.  It’s not; it just spreads the costs over a longer period of time – once or twice a year for as long as the animal lives.  It’s cheaper for all of us just in costs to the city of caring for, or killing, unwanted pets.

People have contributed to Wilma’s medical costs, but her rescuers are still footing over half the bill themselves.  If you can help, please contact ABCR or me.  And let’s start helping all the Wilmas by setting up a spay/neuter subsidy fund.  We’ve seen over the past year, with the Caring Pet Cupboard, that our community will help people feed their pets.   Now let’s move on to the big task:  preventing unwanted puppies and kittens.

I don’t often agree with Peter Worthington, but I did with what he wrote last week about Pit Bulls and Ontario’s Breed Specific Legislation.  He calls BSL a “Ku Klux Klan law”, “akin to deciding guilt based on appearance, not behaviour.”  Like him, I applaud Cons. Randy Hillier, NDP Cheri DiNova and Lib. Kim Craitor for bringing forward a private members’ bill to rescind it.  No law should apply to a specific breed and dogs who look “substantially similar”.

A lot of dogs have been in fashion as “feared” dogs.  German Shepherds had their time.  Someone I know had his beautiful Shepherd poisoned, probably by a neighbour who disliked “that German police” dog.  Then came Doberman Pinschers as the “feared” breed.  There is reason to be fearful of them and most dogs– if you’re not on the side of the fence you belong on, as I heard the owner of an auto wrecker business once say.

But I don’t remember Shepherds or Dobes being the fashion accessory for young men that Rottweilers and Pit Bulls became in the past 15 or so years.  Now, it seems to me, they’re being supplanted by Mastiffs and Cane Corsos.

These are all very powerful breeds used for herding and protecting.  They are intelligent and strong-willed.  You have to be their match in order for the relationship to work out well, and just wanting to be isn’t enough.  I would never have a Rottie or Pit Bull.  Dog trainers have told me that I don’t make myself the dog’s boss.  “You’re more a litter mate than alpha dog,” one said.

These powerful breeds of fashion can scare me.  But it’s not the dogs, it’s the owners.  I don’t mean huge, tattooed drug dealers or nasty pimps.  I mean teenagers who cannot have had much experience handling any dog except the family pet because they are just not old enough.  The caution the Westminster dog show announcer gives about some breeds: “Not for first-time dog owners”?  Shep, who let you pull his ears when you were two, doesn’t qualify you as an experienced dog owner.

I also get concerned for these dogs of youthful fashion:  are they being fed right, exercised enough, socialized and trained properly?  You might well be concerned about the same things for their owners.  However, if either of them wig out, the owner won’t be sentenced to death but the dog will.

A well looked after, happy Pit Bull is a joy.  A neglected or abused, frightened or aggressive one is not.   Just like any other dog.  The reality is that there have been vicious attacks by Pit Bulls that have killed and seriously maimed people and animals.  But there have been by other breeds too.  Singling out Pit Bulls as all crazed killers is, well, insane.

Lovers of the breed have tried to counteract the “fighting dog” label by pointing out the protector instincts.  The “Nanny dog” image is maybe equally damaging to the poor Pit Bull This photo has circulated the internet, and it’s lovely.  And maybe back then, the Pit Bull was your first choice of baby minder.  But there’s been a hundred years of selective breeding, good and bad, since then and that has an effect on all aspects of a creature.

Gross generalizations on either side are neither accurate nor fair to Pit Bulls.  They deserve to be treated like other dogs without bearing the burden of vilification or sainthood.  To paraphrase Tammy Wynette “after all, he’s just a dog.”  So stand by him and be proud of him for what he is, not the angel or ogre you want him to be.

The name Schmeichel is well-known to two groups of people, soccer fans and Coronation Street fans.  Peter Schmeichel is a great Danish goalkeeper who played for Manchester United.  It was in his honour that young Chesney Brown named his Great Dane puppy.

Schmeichel the dog has been on Coronation Street since 2003.  We watched him grow up.  Sometimes we wondered where he was when months would pass without sight of or reference to him.  Then he’d reappear – and steal the scene.

This week, on Corrie’s Canadian airtime, Schmeichel was euthanized.  It was the saddest death scene I’ve seen in a long time.  He had not been feeling well and liver disease, probably cancer, was the vet’s diagnosis.  It was a very sad time for Schmeichel’s fans and fans of Ches and his friend Kirk.  They have both been Schmeichel’s lifelong faithful companions.

Liver disease claimed the life of my beloved German Shepherd Jack, so I know how Chesney feels.  Here’s a link that tells you about the symptoms and treatments.  It’s not a problem associated more with Great Danes than other breeds.  There are those too.  Addison’s Disease, bloat or gastric torsion, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism and cardiomyopathy are named as particular dangers for the breed.

Gastric torsion or bloat is common in all deep-chested dogs.   Precautions to take are avoid vigorous exercise right before or after eating, feed more small meals rather than one large one, and put food and water bowls in an elevated stand to lessen chances of gulping air down with the food (click here to see my easy way to raise bowls).  If your dog has severe stomach discomfort, get him or her to a vet immediately.  Gastric torsion (flipping and twisting of organs) can kill very quickly.

Cardiomyopathy is associated with either heart beat irregularity or heart congestion.  It claimed the lives of two Doberman friends of mine (here).  It can kill quickly or slowly, but either way, it’s not curable.

Hip dysplasia is where the bone doesn’t fit properly in its socket and is a common problem especially in large breeds (but can affect small dogs too).  Care taken when they are pups can help.  A food that helps their body and bones grow at the same rate so their bones give adequate support for their weight.  Keeping your dog from getting overweight at all ages avoids extra strain being put on bones.

Like other giant breeds, Great Danes don’t have a long life span: 7 to 10 years, so Schmeichel’s on-screen lifetime was accurate.  Still, like Ches, I hoped he’d live another ten.  Ches went through every emotion and response when faced with the finality of his dog’s illness, but he reluctantly made the right decision.  Weigh the probabilities in pain and trauma for the dog against the possible outcomes, and don’t let the dog suffer needlessly so that you feel you did everything you could.

I wish the real Schmeichel all the best in retirement.  He, also named Schmeichel, is the 4^th dog to play the role, taking it over from his grandfather.  He truly will be missed.

I’ve written more about Schmeichel here.

Below is an email I received today, updating me on the “charity cat” colony that grew up when several cats were dumped at a friend’s house.  She and her husband have been looking after them, finding homes for them, and watching the numbers grow as feral cats from the neighbourhood join the group.

Hi Dorothy,

Well, all the outside kitties made it through the winter. Every one of them has gained weight and they are very healthy with a nice luster to their coats. There are anywhere from 12 to 15 outside cats eating at the feeding station on the porch. There are cats I rarely see who come in the early morning hours, slipping like shadows past the dog sentries in the windows to get some food. My count for feral/stray cats in the gully is around 100.

The starving orange cat, Woody, who dashed across in front of the barking dogs to be fed has also gained condition and weight. Found out today that “Woody” is actually Wilma! She is living on the porch in a crate with the animal heating pad in it to keep her warm on those cold winter nights.

I have had to feed her canned food and the kitten milk recipe as she continued to have problems eating even baby kitten kibble. For the last 2 weeks she has been leaving even the wet food and just eating the kitten milk. I knew something was not right when she would come to the door and cry for me even after she had been fed. If I went outside, she just wanted to sit on my lap and be petted, but would turn her head away whenever I touched close to her face.

I took her to the vet today. He said she is a beautiful, sweet cat that is basically healthy except for her teeth.  Something very bad happened to her – probably somebody kicked her.  Several of her teeth are broken off and one tooth in particular is abscessed and bleeding. The other teeth have a heavy build up of tartar from only eating soft food. I guess I have some fund raising to do because I can not leave her like that.  Today I was able to get her first shots and rabies, plus worm treatment, Revolution and had enough money left over to buy some antibiotics for her.

When we were done, I put the crate up on the table and she walked right in it. This cat has been to the vet before!  When we got home and I let her out at her crate, she was very put out at being left outside.  She was determined to follow me into the house and she didn’t give a damn about those dumb dogs.

You’ll likely see me making appeals for donations for Wilma’s dental surgery on Facebook. My daughter-in-law says she will take some pictures for me. I am going to see if I can get hooked up with hotdog sales outside the Super Store.

Shoppers had a sale on their cat toys, and the ones left over they saved to GIVE to me – ‘that Cat Lady who shops here’.  Who would have ever thought that!  Even “Mr. I-don’t-like-cats” is being won over by Wilma who greets him when he is coming in and allows him to pet her.

Just a little update on the conversion from “Only dogs for me” to “Crazy Cat Lady”.

Remember, March is Black Cat Month and all the black cats in shelters, foster care and on the streets would love new homes.  Of course, so would homeless cats of all colours.

Update on the update:  As of today, Friday, there is a donation bin in Dudes and Dads Barbershop, 133 Ross St. (just south of Wellington) in St. Thomas. Thank you, Gregory.  There is no longer a bin at Goliath Pet.  Heather has moved to 368 Talbot St. (just west of Elgin) and is doing grooming only.  If you take food donations there, they will ensure they get to us and there’s a bin across the road  at Tabby’s Treasures. Thanks, Heather, for having been our very first donation point!

For those who need the dog and cat food provided by our Caring Pet Cupboard food donation programme, here’s an update on how to get it.

If you are not registered with the food banks in St. Thomas or Aylmer, go to Tabby’s Treasures (335 Talbot St., St. Thomas) to get dog or cat food.  We are looking for another distribution outlet in St. Thomas and one in Aylmer to meet the needs of as many people as possible.

The St. Thomas Caring Cupboard and Aylmer Corner Cupboard have seen demand for their services increase drastically in recent months, both for people food and pet food.  As a result, they are distributing pet food in the same way that they distribute people food.  You must be registered with them for receipt of any food.  All the pet food that we contribute and that they receive through other sources is going to meet the need among their clients.

We had a real need for donations the past couple of weeks.  If you’re on Facebook, you may have seen our pleas for donations.  We were down to nothing in cat food.  Fortunately, our request for help was heard.  Beaver Creek Animal Hospital rustled us up some bags of cat and dog food and the owner of the Dixie Dairy Bar in downtown St. Thomas called to ask what kind of cat food we’d like.  She then got us over 150 pounds!  Thank you so very much.

I have found, over the past year, that every time we’re looking at the last bag of food, wondering whether to bag it all up or not, some angel comes through for us.  Cross fingers and hope and pray, I think as I make the rounds of the donation bins.  There is usually enough there to see us through another week, and sometimes there’s a mother lode.  “So glad you came in, we got all this dropped off a couple days ago,” one of our helpers will say.

This month 534.6 lbs of kibble were donated, bringing our 13-month total up to 6,552 pounds plus our corporate donations of 4,355 pounds giving us a total of over 5 tons of kibble donated and distributed.  Wow!