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  • It’s a Wonderful Life

    Among my all-time favourite movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it every year to get me into the Christmas spirit, usually while I am wrapping presents.

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  • Charlie, Ottawa’s Loneliest Cat

    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.

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  • The Violence Link

    “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.”

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  • The Holy Grail of Animal Welfare

    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

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  • The Grey Cup: If You Must Watch

    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. 

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  • Lest We Forget

    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.

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  • Pets are a Part of a Healthy Community Part 2

    Last May I wrote about pets in the community and the OHS’s own Dog 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.

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  • Ontario’s Animal Protection Legislation

    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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  • The Good News

    There has been a lot of bad news in the last year or two, and the world of animal welfare has not been immune. But this month a few pieces of good news have crossed my desk.

    At the beginning of October, Trip Advisor announced it will no longer sell tickets to or make money from attractions that breed or import captive whales and dolphins. 

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  • Nasty, Brutish and Short

    Yesterday was National Feral Cat Day. I hope you will take a moment to think about these neglected felines. These cats live a hard life—one that is nasty, brutish and short.

    A feral cat, defined by Alley Cat Allies is, “…a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors.”

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