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.
The Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) is preparing for a possible spike in lost dogs, as individual firework displays are likely to be more prevalent because of COVID-19 physical distancing measures.
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.
The Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) has made the difficult decision to cancel its annual Wiggle Waggle Walk and Run for 2020 due to the ongoing public health crisis.
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.
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