I feel like celebrating, not just for saying goodbye to 2019 and welcoming 2020, but for the Ottawa Humane Society and animal welfare. A lot has happened in 2019 and there is a lot to celebrate. Just a sampling:
One December, over twenty years ago, I was taking a break from a long afternoon of Christmas shopping. I had already hauled a load or two of purchases back to my car and was feeling tired and chilled as it was an exceptionally cold evening. I was pleased that I was almost done—only a few small things left to buy.
Among my all-time favourite movies isIt’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it every year to get me into the Christmas spirit, usually while I am wrapping presents.
Christmas is coming and Charlie, a four-year-old black cat is about to spend his second yuletide in the care of the Ottawa Humane Society. In fact, he has been in our care since June 2018.
“Harmful crimes are committed every day in the one place that everyone is entitled to feel safe – home.”
When we think about domestic violence, we often think of the people who are affected – predominantly women, seniors and children. Although we know, according to the CVMA, that “approximately 35% of Canadian households have a dog and 38% have a cat.” And according to experts, “animal abuse is present in roughly 89 per cent of domestic violence cases.”
Sentient ˈsentiənt/ (usually before noun): able to see or feel things through the senses. Early 17th century from Latin sentient- ‘feeling’, from the verb sentire. — Oxford Dictionary
I guess I live in a bit of an animal welfare “bubble.” You see, it never occurred to me that in 2019, Canadians would support a rodeo — in most parts of the country anyway. And it certainly never occurred to me that a national event on the scale of the Grey Cup would include this dated form of animal exploitation. But this Saturday, that is exactly what is happening.
A few years ago I wrote the following blog, which I believe still warrants sharing this Remembrance Day.
As we prepare to honour the men and women that fought, and to remember those that gave their lives combat, we hope you will also take a moment to remember the vast numbers of animals that were killed in wartime—often suffering agonizing deaths from wounds, starvation, thirst, exhaustion, disease and exposure.
Last May I wrote aboutpets in the communityand the OHS’s ownDog Friendly Business Program to better integrate dogs into our community, and to encourage both pet owners and non-pet owners to view pets as a positive and healthy part of our city.
On Tuesday, the Solicitor General of Ontario unveiled her plan for new animal welfare legislation for the province. The announcement is the first step in establishing a long-term solution for protecting animals in Ontario in the wake of the Ontario SPCA suddenly relinquishing its enforcement duties.
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