The Ottawa Humane Society has been without power since the storm on Saturday, May 21. Trees were downed on the property, the building sustained some damage and is currently running on a backup generator. The organization is implementing its emergency plan.
You may have heard that Quebec recently introduced some progressive changes to its Animal Welfare and Safety Act. If the legislation passes, some of the biggest and most long-standing animal welfare concerns will finally be addressed in that province.
Prong collars? Gone. Tail docking, ear cropping and declawing of cats? Gone. Gas chambers for euthanasia? Gone.
There’s a persistent rumour going around the country that the many thousands of people who acquired pets during the pandemic — mostly dogs — are surrendering their pets to shelters in droves because those people are now going back to work. We receive regular calls from the media wanting us to talk about the story, but the story isn’t true; not in Ottawa, and not in any part of the country that I am aware of.
High temperatures forecasted for Ottawa this weekend pose a great danger to pets left alone in cars, warns the Ottawa Humane Society.
“Dogs die in hot cars,” said Bruce Roney, OHS President & CEO. “Temperatures in vehicles rise extremely quickly — even with windows open. Pets can overheat, leading to brain damage and even death.”
Ever heard of National Little Pampered Dog Day? How about International Pooper Scooper Week? There are a lot of awareness days, weeks and months in animal welfare. They range from the mildly amusing to the very serious, like National Pet Fire Safety Day and Immunization Awareness Month. At the Ottawa Humane Society, we often leverage these events to get our animal welfare messages out to our community.
Growing up, my only pet was a goldfish named Stanley.
It wasn’t until I married that I had my first dog, Brandy, an amazing golden Lab mix.
Brandy passed when she was 14 and I was devastated. I cried every day. At first, I swore I’d never get another dog, that my loss of Brandy was something to never be repeated...
There has been a very welcome sight outside our shelter the past week: our mobile spay/neuter vehicle. In preparation for rolling our Mobile Spay/Neuter Services out into the community, we have been engaging in a series of dry runs — sterilizing OHS animals for adoption, rather than owned pets. We want to make sure that everything runs smoothly and safely for both animals and staff.
This week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. As a humane education coordinator at the OHS, whether teaching kids or adults, one of my most important lessons is how to prevent dog bites.
The big secret? Communication.
Dogs constantly communicate with us. They nuzzle for a scratch, whine for food, or even steal some socks to start a game of chase.
Last week, Scooby, an injured, nine-week-old great Dane puppy, was brought to the Ottawa Humane Society.
Scooby was yelping in pain when he arrived at the OHS. OHS staff examined the pup and found his jaw was red and swollen, but that wasn’t his only problem. X-rays revealed that he also had several broken ribs. The slightest movement or even simply breathing caused him a tremendous amount of pain.
The Ottawa Humane Society strives to ensure that everything we do is informed by six cultural values: safety, respect, service, communication, excellence, and diversity. We promote them, hire for them, and measure performance against them.
Making decisions is more challenging in a crisis, and we — and the whole world — have been in crisis for two years. Our values, especially safety and service, have helped us through.
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