News

Several years ago, I received an email from a former OHS board member who I hadn’t heard from in years. The subject line was: “My soul is breaking.” You see, she had moved to Italy with her military husband and she was volunteering at a shelter. In Italy, there were thousands of homeless dogs with no prospect of a home, essentially warehoused for life because the government declared the country “no-kill.” She asked if the OHS might import some of the dogs to Canada.

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The Ottawa Humane Society is alerting the community to a burgeoning bunny crisis in Ottawa and the province. Shelters across Ontario — and even in other parts of North America — are seeing a growing bunny population with few homes willing to adopt the rabbits.

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Every couple of weeks or so, I receive a call from a reporter or producer. Invariably, it’s because they want to do a story about pandemic puppies: the thousands of dogs supposedly surrendered to shelters by owners returning to work who no longer want their pets. I calmly explain that this story isn’t real, not at the Ottawa Humane Society, and not at any shelter in the country that I am aware of.

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For those following this blog, it will come as no surprise Marineland disturbs me. The OHS, of course, stands against the exploitation of animals for profit. Marineland instinctively thrashes against efforts to improve the wellbeing of the captive animals at their amusement park. It is Ontario’s petulant poster child of exploiting animals for entertainment.

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PAW monthly donations and one-time gifts made to help animals in the care of the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) will be tripled until Wednesday Sept. 15.

COVID-19 has had a major impact on the community, and the OHS continues to rely on its generous supporters to provide life-saving surgeries, medications and care for Ottawa’s animals.

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Yesterday, the Shirley Kearns Memorial Adoption Centre looked like a child’s birthday party. Why? We were celebrating, not a birth — but a rebirth: the reopening of the centre to visitors.

The day was a long time coming. Several times, we began preparations for reopening, only to delay because of COVID and provincial requirements.

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When you hear “service dog” what do you think of? I imagine a guide dog helping his owner safely navigate a busy intersection, or those ubiquitous plastic dogs in supermarkets accepting change to support Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. But in reality, service dogs fill many roles — some of which may surprise you.

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This morning, I got to do something I haven’t been able to do for a year and a half: I greeted a volunteer. She was so happy and so was I. During the pandemic, to protect our staff and thereby our ability to care for animals, all but our super-essential foster volunteer program were suspended. Slowly, though, volunteers are returning and it’s wonderful!

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Before the pandemic and ubiquitous Zoom meetings, I would sometimes work late, attending committee or other meetings. As I would leave, visitors and staff would have gone home. The animals would be asleep, or at least quiet. The building was big, empty and lonely, almost like a mausoleum. The shelter was designed to be a meeting place for people as well as a safe haven for animals, and when there are few people, it feels, well, a bit sad. That is how it has sometimes felt through lockdowns and health precautions over the past year and a half.

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The Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) has made the difficult decision to cancel its annual Wiggle Waggle Walk and Run for 2021 due to the ongoing public health crisis.

To ensure essential resources are available for the animals, the OHS is turning the event into an online fundraiser where would-be walkers and runners can raise money for the animals through their own fundraising campaigns. 

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