A no-kill Shelter dedicated to loving and nurturing the animals in our care until they find new homes - no matter how long it takes.

OSAS 
by: Renee Robins

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owensoundanimalshelter@inmail24.com

Success Story:
- They made it... read Renee's blog;
- Read Todd's Interview;
- Little dog pulled
from icy water;

We depend on donations from private funding to support our Spay and Neuter Fund.

Keep up-to-date  with our schedule.

I was hoping for perfection with four pets in and three out in three days with no cage time - Maya, Buffy and a cat named Melvin. 

Again, my list greatly reduced the wait time for those three. Melvin and Maya were never caged, and Buffy was only caged for a total of ten minutes. In a perfect world my friends would all be in and out. 

I also wish I would have people on that list waiting for some seniors, well mannered dog who just need a second chance, like Tipper and Chrissy. 

or a busy but loving pup like Rocky. 

Any takers? 

One new friend, however, was Ellie who was a long-timer at Aurora Animal Control. Her days were done and so we offered to see what we could do. 

As Owen went so super fast, and Tipper is doing so well and has potential, here's hoping the same goes for Ellie. It could not be the same in and out for her because we have no history and she needs a longer testing period. We need to be good friends before I can place her appropriately. 

Anyone looking for a small lab mix? 

Voids
Eight years ago, a Cocker Spaniel named Katie came through my doors who was older then and had some issues. We adopted her out to a loving and wonderful home. Her owner kept in touch for many years with visits and phone calls, and a few pictures. I believe there were some out calls to deal with her few issues too. 

Katie passed about a year ago, and with her passing, her prior owner contacted us again. She has been on a list waiting for another, and today when Buffy came through the door I made the call to her. 

How nice it was to see her face light up with memories of Katie. My mind took me back to that day when Katie went home too. I was honoured to fulfill that void once again, and send another needy dog to his 'forever home'.

If you are looking for that special someone, don't forget to get on my list.

Speaking of voids. a visit today came from a dear friend we knew as Joe, now Finn. Finn who is growing and growing and getting along so very well, now neutered. He is however a big big eater, as he still has skin to fill. 

Great to see you big guy!

Floyd
It is with mixed feelings I introduce my friend, Floyd once again, to my blog and this time to the adoption page as well. 

Floyd's first blog was about his journey to me with his brother, via a travel into the City Hall building wall, and then into City Hall, and then into my arms. 

Floyd at that time was a mere three weeks of age and had so far to go. Floyd and his brother began with KMR cat milk replacers, pablum, squishy food, nutrical, and now finally kitten food. It has been a long road we have traveled, and I am certain his gorgeous face will find him a home soon. 

I am saddened, however, that his brother, Pink, who was mentioned in the first blog Pink, did not survive. It is because of this passing that I can only be half way thrilled, but will be focusing on Floyd's going home instead.

There is, of course more to this story, and I will tell you at a later date about 'Bricker' - which will make it all complete...

Swimming Pool
It is hot hot hot and it seems that a great deal of time today was spent on temperature control. 

My fantastic new doors for the dogs, were all closed up today, as the heat was no pups friend, so they all stayed in. The doors only let in the heat and humidity. The dogs were taken on shortened walks and trips to the dog pool served to make the dogs much happier. The cats were pleased to relax on the cold metal rather than use their blankets. Water bowls were refilled over and over, as everyone tried to keep hydrated. 

I couldn't help but think about those animals who are not in homes, or safe in a shelter, where it would be hard to cool off and get a fresh cold drink. I hope that somehow they find comfort and a chance to cool off. 

A fantastic call today came from my dear friend Cuddles, who apparently is having no trouble at all staying cool! This lucky girl gets to swim for an hour each night before bed. in a full size pool and she loves it! Cuddles who you knew had some aggression problems in the past seems to be finally living up to her name and cuddles with their feet at the foot of the bed. I am so pleased - even a bit jealous at the same time, wish I had that pool.

Central Place
The day started out filled with stress and trauma for a poor Shih Tzu who was trapped under a car tire. I was concerned for that poor fella. I hope his owners have joined him at the vet I delivered him too. That good boy will be in my prayers.

A big thank you goes to Mrs. Walter for inviting me to meet such nice folks at Central Place. They clearly enjoyed the company of my three tiny kittens, Rabbit named Pancake and Momma our new resident guinea pig. 

The stress of my day was relieved and replaced with laughter and smiles thanks to my new friends. 

I was fascinated to hear the stories of those that had grown up on farms, and it was a pleasure to bring some of that back to them. I did find it quite humorous that so many had never held or touched a guinea pig. Boy such sheltered lives they have lived (sheltered - lol).  I did return with all my pets, although I did think for a while one kitten might be swept away in that kind woman's sweater. I would have let her keep her too !  It was nice to have made so many new friends.

Dog Bite Presentation Tomorrow
In anticipation of the fun night planned, this blog is about my Dog Bite Prevention Presentation. 

It is entirely on my mind, perhaps one of the biggest weights I carry as an Animal Control Officer (ACO) is that of keeping everyone safe. 

I recognize that potentially every dog adoption could end in disaster, with persons becoming scarred for life and dogs facing death. It is with this potential that we strive to test and evaluate all dogs, and place them in proper homes. However, I am aware that once they walk out my door I am no longer in control. 

As many of you know, I am here to help with solutions when you have a problem with your dog. This does not keep people entirely safe and there is the chance that not everyone will ask for help or know how to avoid trouble is very real danger. 

Tomorrow I will offer my first, all age, all persons bite prevention presentation. This will cover everything from how to read dogs, how to socialize your own dog, how to keep your dog from biting, how to avoid being bitten by another dog or what to do when you encounter an aggressive dog. These problems will also be addressed: what if you are not alone and are attacked while you have your dog with you, and what to do if god forbid you are attacked. 

The presentation will be formal, but full of fun, with demos and snacks, free treats, safety alarms and two draws. I hope for a great turnout, and more so that those that attend learn something to keep them and their beloved friend safe. It is forever homes we strive for and harmony for everyone.

Book Signing
I love that you read my blogs and I can rally your support, ask for help, prayers and that you gladly offer it. I am thrilled that I can inspire and touch you, as well as invoke compassion and empathy.

I strive to make a difference in the lives of people by showing the struggles and survival of my helpless friends. It is with this in mind that the creation of the "Parables From The Dog Pound" began.

I have put together a collection of stories which many of you know: Kisco, Will, Llyle and Mr. Wiggles and many more. I have written their whole story and have left nothing out. If you enjoy reading my blogs, find you are touched, saddened, or even strengthened - you're going to love this! I hope that in honour of my four legged friends, their stories will inspire you as they have me.

I am preparing a book launch shortly where I will be signing the book. I will keep you posted as the detail develop.

Helpers
Many hands makes the job go faster. not sure I remember how that saying goes. but it is so terribly true. 

Once again the children of Strathcona School, Mrs. Gardiner's class, have impressed me with their abilities to work hard, efficiently and get the job done.

Today, we taped, painted, scrubbed, and painted some more. The kitchen, laundry, and first aid room sparkle with new paint. 

The cat room floors have never looked so good. Way to go guys. Tomorrow we tackle that dog room, and then celebrate with a BBQ and something else I have up my sleeve.

How wonderful to see our Community sharing in our joy, and working with us to help us be at our best. 

They have saved us many hours of work, and have given us great laughs and good times during our painting episode. Thanks guys ... you're the best.

Here Kitty Kitty
"Hi, I have this cat here, I need to drop it off." I say, "this is your cat?" "Yes, he is a nice cat and has his shots, someone will take him I gather?" I said, "are you aware there is a fee to leave your cat here?" "Sure, whatever!" I respond with ..."what is the reason you are giving him up?" "Well, you see, he is an indoor cat, and well, last night he got out, and he got all mixed up with some animal, and has hurt his hind end ... he can’t come in the house now". I quickly ask "this cat is injured?" "Yes", she said. I ask, "have you neutered him?" They counter with "actually he has an appointment tomorrow, which I guess we are canceling."

Here I am now using my grumpy voice and as nice as I can I said "here is my problem, this is your cat, you have allowed him to get into some trouble, you are asking me to pay for his vet bills, neuter him and keep him here until he finds a home. I don't think I should be offering to fix this for you. The care for your cat will be coming out of my pocket?" They say "oh well, I am not taking him back!" 

Here is me, almost in tears with anger, frustration and sadness for this poor cat. Of course, I accept him, all for the $38.00 (which the Shelter will only get 18 dollars - $20.00 goes back to the City of Owen Sound) to mend this cat's hind end, treat his wounds, debug him, feed him, love him, neuter him and pray he gets a home quickly. 

You know I couldn't just leave the cat to go untreated... there was no where to send her. Thanks a lot lady.

Shadow
My apologies little Shadow for calling you 'poo poo pants' on air. I meant it lightly and it was quite humorous to me, really, as I was entirely covered in poo poo while at the Mix ... yours! So, all that thanks to your stressed out state after that drive from the Shelter to the Mix. Thank goodness my feelings of frustration went unheard and the incident just a mistake - and you found yourself a nice home. 

Shadow would have found a home sooner except that she was so very shy and nervous of all her littermates. Although all four were very nervous, Shadow piddled when touched, ran from all people, and ducked into the furthest corner of the cage. I was guessing it would all just pass when we left that scary dog room, boy was I wrong and there was lots of other things that passed, but not stress. So, halfway to the station I pulled over, seeing her panicked in the back of the truck and I offered her the comfort of my knee for the ride to the Mix ... and along came 'poo poo pants'. 

I forgive you girl and I am glad to see my condition, for the rest of the day, was worth it.

The Box
From 9 am until well past 1:00 pm we feed, walk, medicate, play with and mostly clean the entire Shelter, in the hopes that we are ready for our debut when the door opens. Two of us prepare for about four hours. 

While running from room to room I tend to keep an eye on the door. However, I missed them. It was with horror I discovered the box on my doorstep and was horrified when I discovered the box was open. Assuming now that whatever poor soul had been locked inside had escaped and now would have to contend with Mother Nature and the wildlife, like fox, who live beyond our boundaries. I carried it inside, sat it on the floor and went back out to search the perimeter. 

Knowing I had surveillance, I prayed it would help me catch those that had abandoned whatever it could be and decided the priority would be to locate it. I searched for a half an hour. When I returned, Todd stood there, holding the tiniest little kitten, who I did not recognize, who obviously was wrapped in that blanket in the bottom - it and its' six siblings. 

My horror was now disgust as I noticed their tiny eyes were only now beginning to open. This aged them to less than 2 weeks. Knowing that they would not survive without a mother, I was sick thinking about my only option. I peered into those tiny blue eyes and decided to think on it and I placed them in a proper cage. It must have been their conscience that made them call, the owners of those kittens. A dispute between a guy and a girl had ended with the guy dropping the kittens off outside our door. I explained, rather abruptly, that these kittens needed a mother one way or another, or they would die. They chose to come for them. 

My thoughts are still with them, I hope they are sincere, and that it was all a big mistake that they truly regret. 

If you are reading this ... please care for them and return them to me when it is time - just call, I am here to help them.

Seasonal
I am not sure who did it or if there is anyone to blame, but I suspect it was the abandoned outdoor old fella whom I met today. But, it really could have been anyone. 

There was no furred friends around me when I first noticed it. At first there was only one - one lonely flea crawling on my hand, then there was another on my arm, and then one on my elbow. I managed to squish two out of three and I am not sure where the third went. Perhaps it is better not to know, but I itched and scratched all afternoon thinking about who could be walking on me. I managed to spray flea spray and mosquito spray on the lower half of me in an effort to scare any others away. 

This is just a reminder to me, and right now as I seem to be itching to tell you about it. Everyone, especially pets who go outdoors - even walking your dog on a leash - you are at risk of coming in contact with fleas. Your dog will share them with your 'indoor only' cat and the family in the house.

If you are not already using protection, now is the time, believe me. I have seen it first hand - pardon the pun :)

Another CSI
My anxieties about the loss of FireStar were beginning to fade as another crumpled mess came to me early this morning. I do mean early, was that the 3 am call or the 6 am call? An early start anyway! 

The page came from a frantic women who had found a cat in her garden, which had been hit by a car that morning. She had seen it there earlier in the day and assumed it had passed. Her call came in frantic as she discovered many hours later that this poor boy was alive. To our surprise, he was most definitely alive, and dealing with a very serious injury to his hind end. Assuming a fractured pelvis we made an immediate vet visit. We then became frantic ourselves to find some form of ID, as surely this neutered and declawed cat would have someone looking for him. Unfortunately, he wore no ID, no chip, no tattoo and it was impossible for us to contact anyone as no cat was reported missing.

Luckily, this boy seemed to be out of immediate danger and our vet provided pain relief and advice. The advice, of course, being to keep him comfortable in the hope that someone will be searching for him. From there we would see how things improved and decide what to do. We cleaned him up, offered him meds and began the battle of removing maggots from his bowels. A bit of information I did learn today is that it takes 36 hours for maggots to come from flies, which puts this cat's time of injury at more than one day. THANK GOODNESS he will recover in his own loving home, because just as our day was ending a place for him was found. 

He will return to the vet tomorrow under his owner's care, who by the way, lost him nearly two days ago, proving the maggot theory correct.

Today, it is with regret that I must tell you of the passing of this dear soul FireStar. 

I would like to tell his finders that I am sorry we failed, but his infection proved to be too great for him in such a weakened state. Please find comfort in knowing that he died loved. He will always be a strong warrior to me for he fought long and hard; as long as he could. 

I know there is a warm bed for him up there, and all the food he can eat - no pain and forever loved - we will miss him.

Storm
There is a storm a-brewin' ... those are my country words. It happens when you hang out all morning with a dog like Red who with his hound dog voice, floppy ears and his hill billy ways wins you over. Have I converted? Imagine me here, with the long piece of grass hanging out of my mouth if you would like to.

However, there is a storm coming and from what I hear it is a big one. Please, if you have animals outside, be sure they have shelter, a place out of the wind and rain, where they can find comfort. If you have inside pets, please know that these storms are so exciting, your pet may be out of sorts, I know I expect my girl to be under the covers tonight.

Please ensure your windows and doors are shut tight, without easy screens to jump through. Please fasten the locks, and when your pet must journey out to relieve itself, please do not let them travel out there alone. Even a tied dog, when petrified, will run and take it all with them (I have picked them up dragging parts of a dog houses, tires, tree branches, tree stumps, buckets and all sorts of interesting things). 

In the event someone slips away, please call 519-372-1123 right away, leave a message any time of night, and we will gladly contact you to go retrieve them.

Magic
Today, I thought I was magic, actually I was hoping I was on a great roll. 

As with every Thursday, the decision to choose who shines tomorrow on the Mix and on Rogers Daytime is always on my mind. I first thought Kally was to be the one, but then a women had seen her on line, thought she was perfect and took her to her new home. Then I thought Pheobe would be the one to go and you know she was adopted too. I had the email waiting to tell the Mix that Sam would be tomorrow (the biggest lap dog who would have been such great fun), but then he was adopted to the London area to be a Roti companion to another who is 14! I was determined to take a dog, as Clover was the last star - something slightly different to keep interest in the different animals? So, next I choose Suzie and someone else did too! At this point I was beginning to be magic and I wondered if this trick worked for cats and poof, one of the kittens adopted. I was Convinced at this point that there was something wonderful going on, so I tried it on Red and well it almost worked (they may return tomorrow). 

I have chosen Red for tomorrow, may this bring him all the luck it brought the others.

Pink Floyd
Meet Pink and Floyd. These two babies were found this morning at City Hall. 

They had climbed into and behind some loose bricks which kept them quite well hidden inside the wall. This earned them their fantastic names (ironically, Mr. Pink was the one to find them). I will be on the lookout for their mom, as they are young and may be just old enough to leave mom. So far, they are eating well and have each other to lean on, so my fears are as tiny as they are. They were my morning call and an indicator of how the rest of my day would go. 

Early afternoon, we were joined by two more young kittens Harrison and Parker (guess where they were from J). And it continued on like that. By the end of the day we were up 10 kittens ... that will teach me to complain about 6 dogs coming in. 

Luckily, today was the day that other cats/kittens became available, so I will be shuffling for the next few days. I have made the calls and I hope to get some of them moving out, so the others can move in.

Doors
The doors are in and we have opened the flood gates!

There has been dog stress here, not the stress of the dogs, but my stress about them. You see, thanks to the thunderstorms and spring-time hormones, the Shelter has gathered more stray dogs this week than it has in a very very long time; last count was 10-12.

With limited cages, again no doors and I failed to mention cemented drains which normally are the poop flushers, we have been doing our best to keep the surrenders down and the strays reclaimed as quickly as possible. 

Officially, the doors were sealed Monday and thankfully there were people who waited. Phone calls were made and today the dogs came pouring in! I believe at last count we were up 6, with 1 being adopted right away. It sure seemed like way more as they just kept coming in. We finished gathering information and testing one and poof in came another. 

If you have been watching the site and waiting for a dog ... well, keep a close eye on the dog page for the next few days, there may be something for you.

Questionable
Chalk one up for the good guys! Finally!

On February 23rd, the Shelter had a stray cat dropped off by a women who signed a stray animal surrender and swore that this was not her cat. A false name signed on the papers and I checked her ID. I was already certain the story did not jive, however, I was relieved when the cat was scanned and produced ID.

This cat, who we all came to know to be "Bigs", was as it turned out falsely turned in as a stray by the women she was registered to. We offered a second chance to this owner - simply pay the surrender fee and license her other owned cats, but she ignored our calls. Todd then served her with fines, for failing to license, as it was all we could do. Again, we offered her a second chance and he would drop the charges. She failed to show. 

My crazy stress filled week last week, was also filled with the preparation of statements, and a crown brief (which I could add was my first) and preparing for trial, which was today. I expected her to be a no show, and honestly was surprised when I saw her there. She did, however, plead guilty and my crown brief was used. Thank goodness it was good as we won all charges, and they stuck, which finally means someone did not get away with ripping off the Shelter. 

When all those options were given to make things right, I am dumbfounded as to why they didn't want to? I guess some people just think they are untouchable. Hope that is the last we see of that.

Busy Week
It has been a busy week, hectic, chaotic and filled with great excitement. I have been on the go pretty well non-stop. 

There have been many behind the scene things happening like three dog surrenders today. Two I had been expecting, and one little surprise which was one quickly adopted. One dog back from the vet, and one cat adoption. 

Clover made her debut at the Mix today sporting her fantastic purple nails. It was all about getting Clover a home, but also adding some attention to her pedicure. It proved successful in adverting her non scratch nails, as we had 6 owners come in with their cats today. We are now sold out, but more ordered and in the mail, please call before coming and make your appointment. 

A great visit today with Mrs. Muzzell's class from St. Basil's School, who provided me with the humour I needed to get over this very long week. I am always thrilled with the comments the children come up with. Our guinea pig, apparently made them all wonder when they can get their hair cut like hers; she has a crazy hair do. The tiny kittens, scared them with their scratchy nails, and pancake the working bunny was a hit with her lack of a tail. 

Children sure simplify life. I am always glad to take time out of my busy schedule to have them come in.
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