With phase three of the reopening in Ontario, I think we are all a bit happier. The reopenings that have allowed me to get a haircut, sit on a patio, and safely shop for the things I need have been very welcome.
I received an email from the Chair of the OHS Board of Directors today. As a side note, she mentioned that she had been following the saga of the WE Charity with great interest. I wasn’t surprised, as I had been watching as well. I expect for the same reason: not the politics or possible political scandal, but because of revelations about the internal governance of the charity itself.
In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes described the life of humans without government as “Nasty, brutish, and short.” It is also an apt description of the lives of feral cats.
Last week, I wrote about all the changes we have made at the OHS to protect our staff and our ability to care for animals that are in distress because of or simply during the pandemic. These changes are not the only ones that we have had to make because of the health crisis.
With the province’s announcement that Ottawa will be entering phase three of reopening, most of us are thinking about our lives returning to something that at least resembles normal. The prospect comes with equal doses of exhilaration and concern; exhilaration at doing things we have been unable to do for so long and, concern about contagion and the possibility of a new round of lockdowns if it doesn’t go well.
As the summer temperature soars, wildlife becomes more active. Humans go outdoors more and the wildlife/people conflict begins to heat up too. The most obvious sign is the carnage on our roadways that we begin to witness. The sign here at the OHS is the influx of wild animals.
There has been a great deal of coverage in the media regarding a string of attacks by one coyote in the Riverside South area. Scary-sounding headlines such as ‘’aggressive coyote problem has gone on too long’’ and ‘’coyote strikes again’’ rob us of having meaningful discussions around making communities safe while coexisting with wildlife.
When I was young, I didn’t believe politicians actually led. I didn’t believe that legislation was a particular source of change. I thought that change happened mainly in societies and later changes that were already happening were codified into law. Later, I came to understand what politicians said mattered and that laws could affect change that was not occurring in broader society.
A few weeks ago, I started receiving a lot of media calls. Almost all of them were about the pandemic puppy “problem.” I think I disappointed some of them, because I don’t think there is a pandemic puppy problem. If you haven’t followed the story, it boils down to this: thousands of people who are bored and lonely during the lockdown are rushing out to buy or adopt puppies, and when the health crisis is over, all these puppies and dogs are going to be dumped in animal shelters.
Ottawa has begun to open up because of the extraordinary measures that we have taken as a community to protect not only ourselves, but also other people. A lot of the people I know are excited about getting a haircut, going to the beach, or sitting on a patio. Small things, that, as Joni Mitchell put it, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”
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