Hurray for Kitties!

As hard as it was for me to let them go, the four orphaned kittens I was fostering during the municipal strike have now all gone back to the shelter. Even though I have fostered before, it was particularly difficult this time to say goodbye.

Shelters and rescue groups all across Ontario are having a hard time finding homes for cats - there are simply too many abandoned cats and still more being born everyday. I sent back my fosters not knowing how long they would remain in the shelter, but I was comforted to know that we would be called should the shelter become crowded or should the kitties become depressed / ill.

I have thought about the kitties everyday for the past few weeks and received great news yesterday. The two most rambunctious kittens have been adopted! Hurray! The other two girls were being spayed yesterday, and after they recoup, they will be up for adoption. I'll cross my fingers that they are just as lucky to find their forever homes. As much as I want to, my allergies simply would not permit me to integrate two more cats into my home ( I have a hard enough time with my two rescues as it is! ).

Shelly reports that a few of her fosters have also found homes. Yay!

The office cats, Bobby and Alice, have been together now for over a month. They still do not like each other but seem to be tolerant enough so that no major battles happen. Even though Bobby is bigger, he was declawed by his previous people, so Alice could put him in his place if she chose to. But she's a lover, not a fighter, one of the most gentle cats we've ever had in the office.

On top of dealing with cats in need of homes, we've been working on some pretty big issues, including cormorants, human / wildlife conflict, and barn fires. But that's for another day. I'm just so happy that, after a long wait, cats are finding their forever homes. I'd like to wrap up on a happy note = )

Tail wags, everyone!

ttys,
lia and the AAC office crew

Special Needs Cat in Need of Special Home

Picasso is a well cared for socialized grey and white deaf cat with a back leg deformity. He was found in a stray cat colony in the winter and rescued by AAC Board Member, Marie Crawford, and a colleague. The twisted back leg led us to believe he was badly injured, but an x-ray proved that the defect was either there since birth or due to a bad injury that healed without medical assistance. He was checked for disease, neutered, given all shots and deworming aid. The vets' decided that amputation of the back leg would not help his mobility since he seems to use it to get around just fine. We decided to not place him back in the colony since it would seem he had a hard enough life as it was. The fact that he was also deaf made his little story that much more incredible. He survived for two years in the wild like this!

He was terribly fearful of people and it took a year for Marie to gain his trust. Now he is a changed cat and is a lovable companion. The only problem is that he is terribly lonely. Marie owns her own business and is gone for the most part of the day - every day. He cries constantly when he can't see her and she can hear his screams (boy - deaf cats sure have a pair of lungs!!) for a block down the street when she leaves the house. Marie would like to find him a home where he can enjoy the company of another cat and/or the presence of a person who is home a lot.

"A large part of me does not want to lose this lovely little guy, but I know he could have a much richer life elsewhere - since he is a special needs cat he needs a special home!! Would perhaps do well with lots of other cats. If anyone could recommend a home for him I would be grateful," Marie. mariecrawford@sympatico.ca

Our New Office Foster

With the municipal strike over, our fosters are slowing being returned to the shelter. The bunnies we were fostering at the office went back = ( Other bunnies found homes (yay!), some kitties are going back and others are staying in the Project Jessie programme until we find them a permanent, loving family. All in all, it has been a great group effort, which has saved over 50 lives.


Alice (Ali for short) is our new office foster kitty. And she's SO cute! Apparently her owners died and the family didn't want her, so she ended up at a city shelter. She wasn't doing well so shelter staff called us for help. She is SO sweet and SO friendly, in just a couple hours she was playing and following us around the office! Ali's an older girl (about 12) but doesn't look a day over 8. She will remain here at the office until she finds her forever home.

It's been a busy summer so far, but a good summer. And having Ali here is a nice way to end the week.

Enjoy the sun, everyone!

Municipal Strike affected City Shelters

There was a lot of talk during Toronto's municipal strike about garbage but not a whole lot about the city shelters. The last time the city was on strike, shelter staff was reduced, and as a result, many animals that needed special care either died or were euthanized.

This year, we were ready. The first day of the strike, Project Jessie Coordinator, Shelly Hawley-Yan, and long-time volunteer, Andrea, rescued dozens of "special needs" animals. In total, Shelly, Andrea, our main office and our wonderful volunteer foster homes have been caring for over 50 animals: rabbits, guinea pigs, orphaned kittens, kittens with moms, you name, we have it!

Some are going to start going back to the shelters, like the bunnies who will have a better chance at finding their forever homes. Some of the mama cats and their babies will be staying with us. All in all, it was a wonderful group effort - shelter staff were great, volunteers stepped up and offered their homes for these animals, and Shelly and Andrea provided amazing support, checking in to make sure everyone is okay and making themselves available around the clock to answer questions.

The little kitty in the pic above is Rosie, a little purring machine, who has been with me and her other foster brother and sisters for about six weeks.

Like I've said before, we're always looking for foster homes and forever homes for these sweet little snuggle bugs. If you, or someone you know, is thinking about opening their hearts and homes to a four-legged friend, please call / e-mail us today.

Main Office: 416-462-9541

Shelly: 519-940-4712

shelly@animalalliance.ca

contact@animalalliance.ca

www.projectjessie.ca

"Burned Alive" - Help save Farm Animals!

Hi everyone,

We just recently started working on the issue of Barn Fires. According to the National Farm Building Code, only farm buildings with high human occupancy (greater than one person per 40 square meters) are required to be fitted with sprinklers and smoke alarms.

A Winnipeg Free Press article on January 02, 2009 reported that last year seven barn fires in Manitoba killed more than 30 000 pigs - about eight times more than the previous year. In 2007 more than 3 500 pigs died in six fires.

Large scale intensive farm practices mean that more animals are housed in small spaces, therefore fire prevention and animal evacuation are paramount to ensuring the health and well-being of animals.

Currently, Manitoba is considering making changes to provincial regulations on farm buildings. Please, for the sake of the animals, take a moment to read the documents below and mail in a sign-on letter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh3QoEYHFmo

Letter to the Standing Committee on Fire Protection.pdf

Loss of Lives by Fire.pdf

Appendix II - Data from Ontario.pdf

Sign-on Letter.pdf

http://www.firecomm.gov.mb.ca/docs/fbc_discussion_paper_final_may2009.pdf

Contact Info for the Manitoba Fire Commissioner:

Office of the Fire Commissioner
508-401 York Avenue
Winnipeg MB R3C 0P8
Telephone: (204) 945-3322
Fax: (204) 948-2089
Toll Free: 1-800-282-8069
Email: firecomm@gov.mb.ca

Piglets Pounded Against Concrete

Dear all,

Footage was released today from a fantastic animal advocacy organization in The Netherlands called Varkens in Nood (Pigs in Distress) showing a still-live but suffering piglet thrown into a garbage bin at a farrowing operation. See www.varkensinnood.nl .

Unfortunately, The Netherlands is not the only country where this horrific practice happens. Each year in Canada, millions of piglets are PACed (Pounded Against Concrete) and thrown into garbage bins. Please see our latest video shot in Manitoba and Quebec which shows the practice here in Canada. So many still-live piglets are disposed of in this way that one rendering company in Ontario has had to send letters to pig producers reminding them to please ensure all piglets are dead before being thrown away. This is an enormous welfare issue that we should all be concerned with.

Please forward and cross-post widely!

Thank you.

Twyla and the CETFA Team
www.cetfa.com
cell: 204-296-1375

Thank you all!!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick "THANK YOU!" for all you make possible. We've made some progress on a few campaigns, and we could not have accomplished this without your support for the animals. We've delayed the cormorant slaughter in Presqu'ile Provincial Park and saved thousands through our presence in Point Pelee National Park. We saved the Sifton Bog deer in the city of London from a fall hunt. We worked together in conjunction with other groups to have seal products banned in the European Union and to have a horse slaughterhouse in Saskatchewan closed down after being caught on video violating regulations, negative exposure from the media, and after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was pressured to investigate. And we continue to rescue orphaned dogs and cats through Project Jessie.

During these difficult times, we really cannot thank you enough for being a voice for the animals.

With gratitude,

Lia Laskaris

Donor Relations / Treasurer