volume 3, issue 2 2007.pdf · acton veterinary clinic 10 river st. acton, ontario tel: 519 853 1450...

Publisher and Editor:Claudia Vecchio

Proof Readers:Sheila BrownLenore Hawley

Graphic Designers:Isabella AndersonSM Designs

Writers:Michelle BelliveauSandra BolanSheila BrownMonica DaviesCynthia HarcourtBrenda HoffmanTeresa PérettCorinne ThawClaudia Vecchio

Cover Photo:Horvath Photography

Print production:Four L Graphics

Sales and Marketing:Corinne Thaw

ANIMAL NEWS is a quarterly publication of ORA.

ORA - Organization for the Rescue of Animals©

300 Coxwell Ave., P.O. Box 22608, Toronto, ON M4L 3W7 Tel: 416 726 8895 Fax: 905 473 9604

Website: www.ora-animalrescue.org Charitable registration #85580 9448 RR0001 ©Copyright protected.

No part of ANIMAL NEWS can be reproduced without written consent from the publisher.

ANIMAL NEWSSUMMER 2007

Volume 3, Issue 2

ANIMAL NEWS SUMMER 2007 2

Acton

Acton Veterinary Clinic10 River St.Acton, OntarioTel: 519 853 1450

Pet Valu372 Queen St. E., #A3Acton, OntarioTel: 519 853 9200

Ajax

Global Pet Foods314 Harwood Avenue SouthAjax, OntarioTel: 905 428 7387

Aurora

Global Pet Foods15440 Bayview Ave.Aurora, OntarioTel: 905 727 3448

Pet Valu15340 Bayview Ave. #B2Aurora, OntarioTel: 905 751 0851

Barrie

Global Pet Foods420 Essa Rd.Barrie, OntarioTel: 705 792 4152

Pet Valu531 Bayfield St.Barrie, OntarioTel: 705 737 3182

The Dog House92 Commerce Park Dr., Unit 9Barrie, OntarioTel: 705 721 9800

Hamilton

Ryan’s Pet Foods989 Fennell Ave. E.Hamilton, OntarioTel: 905 575 9422

Mississauga

Bark & Fitz129 Lakeshore Rd. E., Unit BMississauga, OntarioTel: 905 271 3892

Dixie Animal Hospital1760 Dundas St. E.Mississauga, OntarioTel: 905 270 5444

Pet Valu6085 Creditview Rd.Mississauga, OntarioTel: 905 821 4290

Pet Valu

Clarkson Crossing980 Southdown Road., Unit E5Mississauga, OntarioTel: 905 855 8262

Pet Valu Meadowvale6040 Glen Erin Dr.Mississauga, OntarioTel.: 905 821 8333

Ryan’s Pet Food224 Lakeshore Rd. W.Mississauga, OntarioTel: 905 278 4112

Newmarket

Global Pet Foods130 Davis Drive, Unit 18Newmarket, OntarioTel: 905 898 7910

Happy Tails Grooming540 Davis Dr., Unit #4Newmarket, OntarioTel: 905 953 0880

Kloster’s Butcher Shop18025 Yonge St., # 4Newmarket, OntarioTel: 905 895 0437

Nature’s Emporium

Wholistic Market16655 Yonge St.Newmarket, OntarioTel: 905 898 1844

Oakville

Bark & Fitz334 Lakeshore Rd. E., Unit 3Oakville, OntarioTel: 905 842 2756

Oshawa

Global Pet Foods575 Thornton Rd. N, Unit #12Oshawa, OntarioTel: 905 723 5428

Pet Valu633 King St. E.Oshawa, OntarioTel: 905 433-1558

Pet Valu300 Taunton Rd. East.Oshawa, OntarioTel: 905 433 5564

Ottawa

Global Pet Foods1675 Tenth Line Rd., Unit 2BOttawa, OntarioTel.: 613 837 0350

Global Pet Foods3191 Strandherd Dr.Ottawa, ONTel.: 613 825 5615

Global Pet FoodsCrossing Bridge Square1250 Main St., Unit C-04Stittsville, ONTel.: 613 836 3023

Pickering

Global Pet FoodsAmberlea Shopping Centre1822 Whites Road, Unit 5Pickering, OntarioTel: 905 831 4554

Queensville

Cynthia Harcourt, DVM21894 Woodbine Ave.Queensville, OntarioTel: 905 478 1995

Richmond Hill

Global Pet Foods1070F Major Mackenzie Dr.E., Unit 109Richmond Hill, OntarioTel: 905 508 8895

Stouffville

Ballantrae Vet Clinic11 Felcher Boulevard, Unit 1BStouffville, OntarioTel: 905 642 3349

K9 In Kahoots6389 Main St.Stouffville, OntarioTel: 905 642 8289

Pet Valu24 Westlawn CrescentStouffville, OntarioTel: 905 642 6010

Thornhill

Global Pet Foods70 Doncaster AvenueThornhill, OntarioTel: 905 771 9227

Pet Valu10 Royal Orchard Blvd., Unit 5Thornhill, OntarioTel: 905 889 1890

Toronto

Bark & Fitz2116 Queen St. E., Unit HToronto, OntarioTel: 416 699 1313

Bark & Fitz2570 Yonge St.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 483 4431

Bark N Scratch2404 Danforth Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 424 2411

Barking Room744 King St. WestToronto, Ontario416 840 9461

Barkingham Palace1338 Danforth Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 461 3009

El Pipil267 Danforth Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 465 9625

Gemini K9 Obedience4385 Sheppard Ave. E,, #11Scarborough, OntarioTel: 416 297 1077

Global Pet Foods75 Hanna Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 534 7368

Global Pet Foods2100 Bloor St. WestToronto, OntarioTel: 416 604 9272

Global Pet Foods2019 Yonge St.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 487 6267

Global Pet FoodsProgress Park Plaza1595 Ellesmere RoadScarborough, Ont.Tel: 416 289 6255

Global Pet Foods280 Sheppard Ave. E., Unit 105Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 222 3935

Global Pet Foods166 Bennett RoadWest Hill, OntarioTel: 416 286 5673

Kennel Café295 Roncesvalles Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 531 3177

Pet Valu1646 Bloor St. WestToronto, OntarioTel: 416 537 9240

Pet Valu869 Danforth Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 778 9325

Pet Valu1337 Lawrence Ave. W.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 245 9691

Pet Valu927 The Queensway, Units1-3Etobicoke, OntarioTel: 416 251 3454

Pet Valu3227 Eglinton Ave. E.Scarborough, OntarioTel: 416 266 1244

Pet ValuShoppers World3003 Danforth Ave.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 693 0196

Pharaoh’s Pet Supply

3515 Lakeshore Blvd. W.Etobicoke, OntarioTel: 416-251-6761

Purrfect Pet Supplies3313 Lakeshore Blvd. W.Etobicoke, OntarioTel: 416 259 0579

South Etobicoke

Animal Hospital741 The QueenswayToronto, OntarioTel: 416 201 9123

The Wearhouse Ltd.790 Dundas St. W.Toronto, OntarioTel: 416 603 3734

Unionville

The Uptown Dog139 Main St., Unit #105Unionville, OntarioTel: 905 305 1222

Vaughan

Global Pet Foods2810 Major Mackenzie Dr.Vaughan, OntarioTel: 905 832 3304

Whitby

Pet Valu601 Dundas St. W.Whitby, OntarioTel: 905 666 8277

Thanks to the advertisers for supporting Animal News and

to the following outlets that are selling the magazine.

3 ANIMAL NEWS SUMMER 2007

ContentsReader’s views 4

Are you ready for the commitment? 6

Pet photography 101 12

Healing with colours 16

The dog days of summer 20

Fun in the summer sun with your feline friend 26

The unglamorous life of race horses 30

The homeopathic column 32

Caring for animals from a religious perspective 35

Prayer of a stray cat 38

Yes, I want to help the animals 39

PAGE 20 PAGE 32PAGE 30PAGE 12


SUCCUMBING TOFELINE FASCINATION

Your article on“Succumbing to felinefascination” really hithome. Last summer, Iopened my back door toMidnight, a patheticlooking, skinny black cat.My husband wasn’t toopleased with me orMidnight. For him cats

had no value and were best left alone. Needless tosay Midnight and my husband have become the bestof friends. They spend their time together watchingtelevision on the couch or reading in bed. I think hebelieves that Midnight is not really a cat but a personwho just inhabits a cat’s body. I just had to write toyou and let you know how wonderful you people arefor what you are doing to help the animals.

Magdalene BonninOttawa

MEAL TIMECRUELTY TIME

I have been a vegetarian for most of my life and I can-not understand how people can still eat meat. Arethey blind and deaf? To consume meat is veryunhealthy and is the origin of many serious diseases.Also, as mentioned in the article Factory Farming: thelivestock, anyone who eats meat is no less responsi-ble for the death of the animal than the person whoslaughters him. Meal time should be a nourishing,enjoyable time, not cruelty time.

Ann BellwoodToronto

BEEFSTEAK, JUST A CHUNK OF ANIMALCORPSE

I have not been eating meat now for several months.After reading your articles on factory farming I findthe idea of eating meat completely repulsive. Formany years I have been telling myself that meatgrows in the garden to avoid thinking. The fact thatthe beefsteak on my plate is just a chunk of flesh cutoff from the corpse of an animal is bad enough toswallow. Adding to it the lifetime suffering of the ani-mals, the cruel way they are killed, the unhealthyconditions they are kept in and all the drugs they aregiven and that end up on our plates, it is a revoltingaffair. I am repulsed even by passing by the meat sec-tion at the supermarket. Though your articles were somatter of fact, and very professionally and unemo-tionally reported, they certainly raised a lot of emo-tions in me.

Rachel SpielmannToronto

SAVING MONEY ON PET MEDICATIONS ATPETPHARM

Thank you for letting us know about PetPharm, thedrug store for animal health medications. My dear lit-tle Maltese, Suzie, has been on medication for thepast year. When I enquired about the cost of hermedication at PetPharm I discovered that I could save50% off the price I was paying. This is a great help,since my budget is already very tight. That was cer-tainly an extremely valuable piece of information.Had it not been for the article in Animal News, Iwould have never found out. I am sending ORA acheque for the first two months difference in the costof Suzie’s medication to show my appreciation.

Janine SuarezMississauga

Reader’s ViewsWe want to hear from you: please send us your comments and feedback, as well as unedited articles and animal pictures (4x6 jpegs). Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

Send any material to Reader’s Views: ORA, P.O. Box 22608, 300 Coxwell Ave., Toronto, Ontario M4L 3W7 ore-mail to: [email protected].


The last few months have been marked by the mas-sive pet food contamination issue. The list of petfoods recalled kept getting longer. Food consideredsafe one day was suddenly added to the dreaded list,increasing the fear and anxiety amongst pet owners.Every time we fed our pets, we agonized over the ideathat perhaps we were offering them a lethal meal.

The number of animals who lost their lives to kid-ney failure as a direct consequence of the ingestion ofcontaminated food will never be known but it is esti-mated to be in the thousands. At the beginning ofApril an online database reported 3,600 deaths, whileBanfield Clinics, the largest veterinarian clinic chainin the U.S., registered a 30% increase in kidney fail-ure. Many pet deaths have likely gone unreportedbecause the caregivers felt they had no documentedproof.

The pet sicknesses and deaths appear to have beencaused by a chemical combination of melamine andcyanuric acid that would create extremely insolublecrystals blocking the animals’ kidney functions. Thecontamination was deliberate. Melamine was addedin China to enhance the protein appearance of thewheat gluten, rice wheat and soy wheat exported toNorth America, Europe and South Africa. The taintedvegetable proteins ended up in the pet food, causingthe recall of more than 5,300 pet food products, inthe feed of chickens and pigs destined for humanconsumption and in human food.

The international uproar and the huge financiallosses caused by the pet food recall and by the loss ofsales have lead to investigations that have uncovereda horrible display of corruption and greed with totaldisregard for animal life and human life alike. InPanama 38 human deaths were caused by a coughsyrup laced with diethylene glycol imported fromChina and passed off as glycerin. We have beenmade aware of incidents of deadly toothpaste alsocontaminated with diethylene glycol, of blockedshipments from China of toxic fish, juices with unsafecolourings and toy trains decorated with lead paint.

The Chinese authorities initially responded bydenying any wrong doing, then faced with theprospect of losing billions of dollars in exports and aconsequent social and political destabilization, haveopened a series of investigations and started prosecut-ing. Zheng Xiaoyu, a former State Food and DrugAdministration director, convicted of taking$832,000 in bribes in exchange for approving fakemedicines, among them an antibiotic that caused thedeaths of at least 10 people, has been executed.

In North America, many pet food companies havealso been seriously impacted financially and if thepublic pressure continues, they will take better pre-cautions in the future. it is important that anybodywho lost their pet, due to this food contamination,join a class action suit. The legal fees, legal liabilitiesand increased insurance premiums will scare the petfood companies into being more vigilant in the future.Up to now most pet food companies have pocketedhuge profits without any parallel responsibility. Onegiant pet food manufacturer, Menu Foods, produces100 different brands of pouched and canned food,ranging from low to high quality pet foods. It appearsfrom the recalls involving so many different brandsthat the majority of these companies just contract outthe food production without being involved in quali-ty control. Faced with this reality, many pet ownershave resorted to preparing homemade food for theirpets and they are contributing to a booming newindustry of homemade pet food and pet recipe books.

It is possible that all this will finally bring aboutsome regulation of the pet food industry and it is cer-tainly leading to stricter controls of imported productsby customs agencies.

In the meantime Menu Foods has been hit withsome 90 class action lawsuits, and the courts in somejurisdictions have allowed claims for punitive dam-ages and pain and suffering, which implies that petsare no more seen as objects, as they are consideredby the U.S. and Canadian laws. Allowing such claimselevates pets to a higher status. In fact there are prece-dents: in 2004 an Orange County jury awarded theowners of a rescued dog $30,000 as emotional com-pensation in addition to the $9,000 in vet bills. Howthe courts will deliberate in these pending cases mayopen the door to recognizing pets as valuable humancompanions, elevating their status from that of mereobjects. Perhaps what we have sought for so longfrom the legislators may come from the Courts. Thiswould represent a victory for the animals arising fromthe tragedy of all the thousands of pets prematurelykilled by greed and negligence. The legislative pow-ers will then be induced to ratify the progressive posi-tions of the Court. It would not be the first time thatthis has happened. We have something positive tolook forward to, in memory of the deceased pets.

ditor’s Note:X


Pets are not toysWho cannot be enchanted by a kitten’s antics or

by the sweet eyes of a puppy? The first reactionmight be to take them home, but while acting onthat impulse may cause just a few headaches toyou, it may end up costing the animals a lot more:they may pay with their life.

The large majority of the eleven million catsand dogs who are killed every year in shelters inNorth America were once cute kittens and pup-pies adopted by the “wrong people”.

The consumeristic system we live in brainwash-es us to constantly replace old goods and gadgetswith new ones. This attitude of considering every-thing disposable is unfortunately too often extend-ed to living creatures. But pets are not toys. Pleasebear in mind, when you adopt a pet that you are

taking responsibility for a living being, a defence-less animal who is totally dependent on you. Ifyou are not entirely sure that you can care andtake responsibility for him for the 15 or 20 yearsthat puppy or kitten may live, please do not evenconsider adopting that animal.

“It is tough to adopt out pets,” says an adoptionvolunteer, “20 years commitment? Nowadaysover 50% of marriages do not even last that long!”However as psychologically traumatic as adivorce may be, it involves two adults who cansomewhat carry on their lives. Abandoning a petis equal to signing his death sentence almost hun-dred per cent of the time. The shelters are full ofadult cats who are passed over by prospectiveadopters in favour of kittens. As soon as theyarrive at the shelter the clock starts clicking untila few days later when they are taken out of their

The decision to adopt a pet should not be taken lightly: it implies a

commitment for life and beyond. Here are some points to carefully

consider before taking home a new pet.

Are you ready for the commitment?

By Teresa Pérett


cage only to be killed. That puts an end to theagonizing grief of the poor abandoned animal,alone in a shelter cage, longing to be back in thathome with that family who rejected and discard-ed him. Is that what that joyful kitten and playful,sweet puppy deserve to get in a few months oryears from now?

There is no place for pets in a showcasehome

Some people venerate their home: everythinghas to be impeccable and just perfect. It is a selfesteem issue; they value themselves based on thecondition of their home. In such homes there is noplace for pets. If you place a lot of value on furni-ture or on any other inanimate object, pleaseabstain from adopting a pet. The biggest disserv-ice an adoption volunteer could do for animals isto tell the prospective adopters that cats can betrained. I think that using the spray bottle to terri-fy a cat into staying away from the kitchen count-er or not going close to a sofa, is cruel. Cats, free-dom lovers “par excellence”, not only resent what

they perceive as punishment, but as soon as youturn your back, they will be back on the kitchencounter or scratching that precious sofa. Unlessyou are installing automatic sprinklers that mistkitty when he approaches the forbidden areas,just please give up. Some people tell us that catsact the way they do to spite them. This is attribut-ing human characteristics to cats. Cats do whatthey do because that is what they feel like doing;there are no retaliatory reasons behind theiractions. I once came home to find an antiquebook on the floor that somehow a cat had gothold of and had defaced with his teeth and hisclaws. The book had not only considerable eco-nomical worth, but more importantly it carriedgreat sentimental value. Needless to say, I feltvery saddened. I picked up what was left of thebook while the culprit looked at me with the mostinnocent eyes not understanding why I wasremoving his new found toy. If you adopt a pet, beaware that he will definitely damage somethingand perhaps something for which you may great-ly care.


Providing cats with their own furniture, cattrees, large scratching posts, baskets and toysstrategically placed throughout the house willreduce the possibility of damages. Keeping thenails trimmed also helps, but do not even thinkabout declawing. Declawing is an extremelypainful mutilation: the first digit of all ten fronttoes is chopped off. Look at your hands, wouldyou like to have that done to you? The procedureis so painful that painkillers are tested on cats justdeclawed. Declawing is illegal in most parts ofEurope and in other countries throughout theworld; unfortunately it is still legal and very com-monly practiced in North America. To adopt a catto mutilate him is horrible and despicable. Catshave been given claws and it is their right to keepthem.

If you have something in your house that youwant to protect from cats, just close that room tothem. It is absolutely fine to close a room or two(depending on the size of your home) from thecats, but it is not acceptable to close cats in aroom, unless in temporary situations like whenintroducing a cat to a new household. If you can-not tolerate cats on the kitchen counter, justinstall some doors at the entrance to your kitchenand close them to prevent access by the cats.However, be aware that if you eat meat, yourcounter, no matter how well you clean it, is prob-ably crawling with bacteria, including salmonella;I would not worry too much about the cat walk-ing on it.

Consider what the future may bring

When deciding if to take the responsibility toadopt a pet, consider not only the present situa-tion, but also what can likely happen in the future.What if you meet a partner who does not likecats? What will happen if you or your childrendevelop an allergy to cats? The first thing mostphysicians recommend as soon as you have ahealth issue whether it is a something minor likea persistent cold or something serious like canceris “get rid of your cats”. It is difficult to understandthis rampant aversion to animals in the medicalprofession especially since several studies haveclearly indicated the benefit of caring for animals.Children raised in multi-cat households build a

stronger immune system and the presence of ananimal helps lower the blood pressure and pro-long the life of older caregivers. The issue is whatwould you do if advised by your physician to getrid of your cat? People who truly care for theirpets and consider them as members of their fami-lies, have one simple and categorical answer“absolutely not”. After all children may be muchmore hazardous to your health than a cat, butwould you get rid of them?

You may also want to consider your lifeexpectancy. Although we can die at any age, it isunreasonable for an 80 year old to adopt a kittenor a puppy. We actually get calls from octogenar-ians enquiring about adopting kittens, puppies orbig dogs. To refuse adoptions is not being guilty ofageism; it is just using common sense. At that ageit is more appropriate to adopt an old, calm catand provisions should be made in case he shouldoutlive you. In fact at any age you should makearrangements in case you predecease your pets.Do not rely on family members; your expectationsmay not be met. Almost every month we receivecalls from relatives of deceased pet-owners whoare looking to find a place to take the pet. Mostoften they are very close relatives, such as thechildren of the deceased. They inherit the housewith the cat, put the house up for sale and aban-don the cat. In one situation, the son inheriting thehouse literally threw the three cats of his deceasedfather out in the backyard, cats who had beenindoors all their life. We were able to rescue twoof them, while the third one unfortunately waskilled by a car before we could intervene.

Make precise arrangements in your will foryour pets, leaving money to someone you cantrust or to a reputable animal organization on thecondition that they would care for your pets forthe animal’s lifetime.

If you cannot afford a vet, do not get a pet

The financial aspect of adopting should be alsogiven serious thought.

Often people show concern about the adoptionfee. This alone reveals that they are not candi-dates for adopting. The adoption fee is a negligi-ble amount in comparison with all the expensesyou may have to incur during the life of your pet.


Pets should never be adopted out for free and thishas been amply explained in one of our previousarticles. For free pets the risk of ending up in thewrong hands is enormous and besides most peo-ple will not feel like spending money for the vetcare of an animal they got free. The attitude is tojust replace it with a new one when somethinggoes wrong: they are free after all.

As any committed caregiver can tell, pets arenever free even when they start that way. Feedingthe right food is expensive. The right food is notthe pet food you can buy at the supermarket, butit may be a raw natural diet, a cooked humanfood diet or a high quality pet food bought in spe-cialized pet stores, is in any case far from inex-pensive. The adoption of a pet will automaticallyadd hundreds of dollars to your monthly budget.There are the vet check ups to take into account;the vaccination and sterilization (a must!) if theadopting agency has not taken care of it and thenthere are all the more or less serious ailments towhich animals are subject. Some pets may bemore delicate than other and they may require alot more veterinarian visits, but even the healthi-est pet will at some point in hislife put a dent in yourfinances. Cats especially aresusceptible to sicknesses thatpromptly treated can be cured,but if neglected lead to a fastdeath. “My cat had a bladderblockage and I was waiting forpay day to take her to the vet,but she died before then.”laments a caller who wants toadopt a new cat. It goes with-out saying that we will neveradopt out a pet to this kind ofperson. However, this is aclassical example of whatmust not be done. A sick ani-mal must be taken to a vet immediately, no ifs orbuts. Do not play doctor yourself thinking youknow what to do. You could cause the death ofthe animal. If your pet is lethargic, does not eat orhe is eating considerably less than usual, if hisbehaviour has changed, he must be promptlytaken to a vet. For a cat the rule of thumb is “one

missed meal, keep a close eye on him, two mealsmissed, run to the vet”. If you do not have or wantto spend money on an animal, do not get one. Anemergency may easily set you back one or twothousand dollars. You could consider getting petinsurance: in any case when you adopt a pet,make sure that you can at a moments noticeaccess a few thousand dollars, should the needarise.

A member of your family

Ultimately if you are not prepared to treat theadopted animal as a member of your family, asthe most needy and defenseless member of yourfamily, give up any idea oF ever getting an ani-mal. There is nothing wrong about not wanting tomake the commitment of caring for a pet. What isterribly wrong is adopting an animal and then giv-ing him up a few months or a few years later. It isheartbreaking to hear all the excuses people comeup with to justify abandoning an animal.Sometimes they are cats or dogs who are ten orthirteen years old. How could someone not feelcompassion and love for an animal they have had

for so long? How couldthey even conceive ofdisposing of him like ofan old, unwantedobject?They are nolonger the cute kitten orpuppy and their insensi-tive owner has gottentired of them. Aging isnot pretty, for people orfor pets. But that cutekitten, now perhaps anoverweight slow mov-ing cat, deserves morecare and more love andif he has become that

way it is likely because he was not given enoughcare and love all his life.

The top excuses for abandoning cats are aller-gies and improper urination. With so many aller-gy remedies on the market to choose from, allo-pathic and naturopathic, the allergy excuse doesnot hold. Improper urination is an unpleasantissue. Some Alpha cats mark their territory and it

These two snoozing brothers, even though they live

in a home with several other cats, always sleep

together. Feline siblings often keep a lifetime bond.


may just happen to be your furniture or your cloth-ing. It is an unpleasant problem for humans. For thecat it is part of their natural behaviour. Again theyare not doing that to spite you. Often marking isdetermined by a sense of insecurity and by anxiety.In all cases it is important to work closely with avet, first of all to run a series of diagnostic tests todetermine if improper urination is due to healthissues. It is also important to provide a calm andrelaxed environment to ensure that your cat doesnot feel threatened. I remember a very sad call froma woman who was hysterically shouting into thephone “If my cat does not stop urinating around, Iwill have him euthanized”. In the background thecat was meowing inconsolably. I suggested that shecalm down, because with her behaviour she wasonly worsening the problem and then I asked her ifshe wet her pants, should someone plan to haveher killed?

To avoid any “re-offending” all areas soiled bythe cat should be properly cleaned to remove anyscent, otherwise the cat will return to mark thoseareas. There are a lot of products on the market toremove a cat’s urine odours, but I find the best tobe just white vinegar.

Most cats, if properly treated, lose their habit of

marking. The episodes willeventually become less fre-quent as the cat ages.However a few will persist.In these cases, you may justhave to live with the issue.Just consider the cat amember of your familywith a bad habit!

If all this does not scareyou, if you know you havewhat it takes to be a caringand committed pet caregiv-er and if you are thinking ofadopting a feline friend,please consider adoptingtwo cats or two kittens.Some animals are verybonded to their mother, asibling or a friend, perhapsanother cat they have spenttime with at a foster home.It is sad to split families orfriendships. Adopting two

cats is not more work than adopting one. They willentertain each other, keep each other companywhen you are not at home and you will not worryabout them, since they are not alone.

If you are adopting puppies or kittens, if possible,do not remove them from their mom until they arethree months old. You will loose a month of kitten-hood or puppyhood, but you will get animals whoare stronger and better adjusted for the rest of theirlives. Although many adoption agencies adopt outpuppies and kittens as young as six weeks old, weare happy to see more and more agencies embrac-ing the principle of the three month old adoptionsand some feline associations are now recommend-ing later adoptions.

We have been talking here of some of the dutiesand responsibilities of a pet caregiver, let’s close bymentioning what a pet will bring you. You will geta friend who will never tire of you or your stories,will be there for you any time you need him, willnever think of abandoning you, and will love youunconditionally, regardless of your looks or yourage, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and inhealth.

“I love my mom.” This three-year-old girl (on the right) is very attached to her mom and

the two often spend time together, cuddling. If you can adopt two cats, adopt two

members of the same family.

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My studio setup is very basic –

a single off camera flash with an umbrella, which is

usually located right behind me – about five to eight feet away from the subject and about three feet off the

ground, depending on the height of the animal. I try to strategically place the backdrop so that the subject is

directly under the room’s light fixture to help provide more lighting and limit shadows. Windows are always

behind me.

Pet Photography 101Taking that perfect picture By Sandra Bolan

This cat did not want to sit

still or look at the camera. So

what you cannot see is his

owner holding him in place

by the back end.

I used the leaves to add

a bit of punch to the photo,

otherwise, there would

have not been enough

colour.


hotographing your cat or dog can be afrustrating endeavour. However, if youhave the patience, these photos can cap-ture some wonderful moments of yourfurry family member.

You don’t need fancy equipment or a professionalstudio to photograph your pet. However, a helper,some treats, toys and a lot of patience are all required.

Location

Choose a location that is familiar to your pet andthat has limited distractions. If you do a photo shootoutside, even inside for that matter, let your pet burnoff some energy and explore the area before you askhim to sit for the photos. But keep your camera handyand on your dog – some of the best photos are theones of your pet being himself.

Other things to keep in mind when photographingyour pet outside include:

• ensuring the sun is behind you or to the side ofthe subject;

• do not allow shadows to fall over your subject ;and

• choose a background that is not too busy (i.e. is

comprised of many different kinds of flowersthat are also different colours).

An overcast sky provides the best lighting for petportraits as it enables the texture of the fur and its nat-ural highlights to come through. The worst time of dayis a bright sunny afternoon as the sun’s harsh rays cre-ate too many deep shadows.

If you do take photos in less than optimal condi-tions, ensure your camera’s flash function is on. Thefill flash will help fill in the deep shadows caused bythe afternoon sunlight, as well as fill in some of thepoorly lit areas on a cloud-covered day.

A pet portrait does not have to consist of your pet sitting pretty in front of a backdrop. A great portrait can also be of your dog jumping off the dock or sleep-ing under a tree – whatever best showcases your pet’spersonality.

Indoor Photos

When photographing your pets indoors, utilize thenatural light, otherwise, your photos may have acolour cast to them. Traditional household lightingcauses a warm, yellow cast to your photos, while flu-orescent lighting causes a green cast.

This was taken at a client’s home, on her couch. My camera has a sepia tone function, which is what I used. The texture

and pattern of the blanket provides a nice contrast to the light coloured fur of the dog. This was an easy photo as this is

how the dog likes to sleep. Again, I got down to her level, zoomed in on her face and took the photo.

P


Brothers

This was our 2006 Christmas card. It wasn’t what I had in mind at all. The boys have a really cute way of snug-gling together when parked in front of the fireplace. I tried to replicate that snuggling in the studio to no avail. Thisis how they decided they wanted to be photographed. It actually took little prompting from me – I layered themand gave them a basic down command and this is what they did. However, I was only able to get about five shotsoff before they decided they had enough.


Choose a plain back-ground and one that isnot the same colour asyour pet. You may haveto remove pillows andartwork from the walls.You may also need tomove furniture around.If certain objects can’tbe moved, try taking thephoto from a differentspot. Moving to the leftor right a foot or two cancompletely change thephoto’s composition –possibly for the better. Itis also easier to moveitems versus the pet.

The pet’s collarshould also be removed,especially when takingstudio-type portraits, as the collar drawsattention to itself as wellas breaks up the line ofthe pet.

Camera Angle

Whether you are pho-tographing your petinside or outside, get down on his level, or bring himup to yours. Most of us make the mistake of photo-graphing our pets from above, which is generally notvery flattering.

When you are ready to take the photo, you have todo three things at the same time: move away from thepet, get down on his level, and zoom in. Utilizing yourzoom lens enables you to really focus in on a particu-lar part of your pet – eyes, nose or just the head; forexample. Tight shots are full of expression, colour andtexture, which make for great photos.

Multiple Pets

When you want to photograph more than one pet,you may want to recruit some help from a friend.

When posing the pets, place them close together.They can be side-by-side or one in front of the other.If you choose the latter pose, put the smallest pet in thefront and the largest in the back. You can also layer thepets by having one sit, while the other one stands,

preferably behind the one sitting.

Green Eyes

Green eyes are our pet’s version of red-eye, whichis caused by the flash directly hitting the eye. Red eyeis fixable via photo editing software; however, greeneye is not. To avoid the green-eyed monster, turn offyour camera’s flash or use an off-camera flash system.

Photographing pets is not an easy task. It takes a lotof patience and a willingness to accept that you willnot always get the perfect picture. However, by lettingyour pet be himself, whether it is outside, in your homeor in a studio, you may take that “perfect picture”.

Sandra Bolan is a Dog Writers Association ofAmerica nominated freelance writer and a profes-sional photographer, specializing in pet portraits. Hercritically acclaimed first book Dogs and Dads is cur-rently available at www.fetchitup.ca.

This was taken in a very small backyard. It just goes to show you how much stuff you can

crop out when you get low and zoom in on your subject. The puppy was happily eating the

football and I simply called his name to get him to look at me and took the photo.


e are now entering an exciting and rap-idly growing world of holistic pet care.This recent interest in natural pet care isan extension of the changes takingplace in human medicine. More andmore people are stopping and taking

control of their own health. As responsible petguardians, why should we not do the same for ourpets? Their health is every bit as important as ours, andwith the unconditional love we receive from them, wewant to keep them happy and healthy for as long aspossible. They de-serve nothing less from us.

The fundamental driving force behind holistichealth care is MotherNature. No matter whichholistic treatment youchoose, they all stimulatethe patients to heal them-selves. One of these veryexciting treatments is lightand colour therapy.

Let’s begin with light.Exposure to natural light iscrucial to the health of yourpet’s hormone and immunesystems. We need to giveindoor pets this essentialnutrient. When outdooractivity isn’t possible, youshould combine cool whitefluorescent tubes or regularincandescent bulbs with ablack-light ultraviolet fix-ture installed near the ceil-ing of the room where yourpet stays during the day.

Now enters colour.Research by several Englishphysicians and in manyEuropean countries foundthat exposure to light of dif-ferent colours caused

measurable changes in their patients’ health. Colour isenergy, and different colours cause the body torespond in different ways. Red stimulates the sensorynervous system, liver and blood and energizes the fivesenses. Red is great to use as a detoxification color.Orange stimulates the lungs, respiratory system, stom-ach, skeletal system, bones, mammary glands and thy-roid and is great for relieving cramps and musclespasms or as a decongestant. Lemon dissolves bloodclots and improves the body’s ability to assimilatenutrients. Green brings the body into balance, activat-ing the pituitary gland and stimulating the rebuildingof muscle and tissue. Blue cools, relieves itching and

irritation, is a mild seda-tive, reduces fever andinflammation and stimu-lates the pineal gland.These are only a handfulof examples of colourtherapy…the list goes onand on…violet, indigo,purple, magenta, scarlet,yellow…all having differ-ent properties to help inthe healing process.

There are several waysto apply light and colourtherapy. One method is toproject colour directly onthe entire patient or onthe area upon which youare focusing the treat-ment. Any method can beused as long as the colourshines directly on thepatient. You can also usemore than one colour at atime. This can be donewith a slide projectorusing colour filter materi-al. Another option is to

construct a projector box

w

Michelle with her two Tibetan Terriers, Bogey and Jesse.

by Michelle Belliveau


with a lamp, cardboard and large pieces of filter mate-rial or using a lamp, flashlight or any other light sourceshining through the appropriate colour filter. To prop-erly give this treatment, the room should be darkenedas much as possible and the therapy should be donetwice a day, for approximately an hour each session.A holistic veterinarian would use colour in combina-tion with more sophisticated methods such as radion-ics, magnetism, applied kinesiology and InterroElectrodiagnostic computer technology.

A popular method of applying light and colour ther-apy is by making colour-treated water. With thismethod, you fill a glass container with pure distilled

water. You use colored cellophane of the requiredshade to wrap the container and then leave it in thesun for several hours. This water does not changecolour but it obtains the energy level of the colour towhich it was exposed. The water can be used for yourpets as drinking water or by putting it in a spray bottleand used to finely mist your pets. The later is especial-ly beneficial for birds.

As an alternative to combining colour and light, youcan use colour on its own to help influence a changein behaviour in your pet. Specific colours can be usedto paint the room your pet spends most of his time in,and particular attention can be given to the colour of

Chromotherapy, also called colour therapy, is an antique form of alternative medicine, practiced

in India for thousands of years. It is part of the traditional Chinese medicine as well and it was

known in the ancient Egypt, where patients were confined to solariums type rooms with coloured

glass so that the sun filtrating through could reverberate the selected colour on the patient.

According to the Ayurveda, an antique form of Indian Medicine, the body has spinning energy

centers that look like spinning wheels and are called, Chakras (from the Sanskrit meaning

“wheel, circle”), and sometimes also referred to as the “wheel of life”.

The seven main chakras are aligned along the vertebral column from the base of the spine to

the top of the head. Each chakra is associated with a certain colour, (the seven colour of the rain-

bow) and with specific functions and organs of the body. Imbalance in the colours can create

physical and emotional illness that can be healed by introducing the appropriate colours.

Violet Crown

Indigo Brow

Blue Throat

Green Heart

Yellow Solar Plexus

Orange Sacral

Red Base

Major ChakrasHuman Body

Cats and Dogs

Colour Chakra

Origins of Chromotherapy


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his pillow or to a particular shade for the inside of hiscrate. Colours can change how your pet feels andimpact specific emotions. Each colour has a specificlight wave and energy that it emits. Yellow, for exam-ple, facilitates memory and learning and is a greatcolour to use if you are having any problem with train-ing your pet; whether it be house training or obedi-ence, yellow is a suitable choice. If you have multiplepets, peach or coral is a good choice as it helps pro-mote cooperation and consideration. Lavender is agood choice for a young pet, in particular, if you arecrate training, as it encourages restful sleep. Blue ispeaceful and calming and helps a nervous pet restoreemotional balance. Red is a color that should be usedwith great caution. It is not a good colour to use forpets that are prone to aggression. Colours that areblends of other colors will carry properties from both.The intensity of the colour determines whether theproperties are diluted or carry the original energies. Insome cases the new colours have additional properties

of their own. Neon colours and fluorescent coloursalso have special connotations, as do metallic colours.

The effects of light and colour therapy can be height-ened if used with other holistic therapies. In order tomaximize the results of light and colour therapy, yourpet should also be on a natural diet and receive dailyexercise. Bear in mind that it is important to use theexact colour, therefore you need to use filters matchingthe holistic colour guidelines which can be obtainedfrom any holistic practitioner. A consultation is helpfulin developing an overall profile of the pet to develop atherapy approach that is unique and personal.

Michelle Belliveau is a Certified Holistic AnimalCare Consultant, owner and operator of The Source for Pets. She can be reached by e-mail [email protected] or by phone at 905-515-0182.


ummer represents freedom – freedom fromschool, freedom from work (even if it’s only aweek for some) and freedom for our dogs torun wildly free. Summertime is about enjoy-ing what we can of the great outdoors and

including our dogs in most outdoor activities excepton those very muggy, sweltering hot days when it isbetter to leave the dogs at home. If your home is notair conditioned, leave plenty of water, keep the cur-tains drawn and if possible, keep your pets in thecoolest area of your home. On those sultry days walkyour dogs earlier in the morning and later in theevening. Let them go out for their toilet needs duringthe day too but keep it short and look for shady areaswherever possible.

Walking the Dog

If you have a dog walker taking your dog out duringthe day (many come at midday) be sure to ask themnot to do anything really strenuous with yourdog. Most dog walkers are very responsible anddo take the utmost care for your canine com-panion, but there are always exceptions. OnceI saw a dog walker standing under a tree whilethrowing a ball with the “chuck it” toy for agroup of dogs. It was a blazing hot day and thewalker had some unsavory words for me whenI suggested that perhaps the dogs should be just“chilling” along with her under the tree. If onhot days, your dog comes back more exhaustedthan is usual from his walk you may want tohave a word with your walker and provideclear instructions.

Dog Friendly Backyards

In the summer we tend to be more carefreeand some people leave their dogs in the back-yard to enjoy air and sun. I always tell people

never to leave their dogs unsupervised in the yard fora number of reasons:

• Dogs can escape if a worker or visitor happensto leave the gate or a door open.

• Dogs can also escape by digging their way tofreedom under the fence; some are climberswho bound over the fence.

A Jack Russell Terrier I was babysitting got under thefence into the cemetery behind our house even thoughI was outside supervising! After that, he was on leashfor the duration of his visit and, yes, the fence wassecured. Also remember that your dog’s collar must bewell fitted without being too tight or too loose. Alwaysdo the head test, making sure that the collar can’t easily slip over the dog’s head. As well, make sure thatthe leash has a secure clip and that the leash is intact.Please never leave a dog unattended with a choke collar; I have heard of many tragic and near tragic incidents of suffocation. Remember, they’re calledchoke collars for a reason.

The Dog The Dog Days ofDays of

by Brenda Hoffman

Fun in the water

S


Along with digging their way under the fence, dogsenjoy digging to relieve boredom and as a naturalmethod of keeping cool. You won’t be keeping yourcool when you see the excavation job that your dogcan do!

Dogs learn to become great hunters when they areleft to their own devices. Birds, squirrels, the fence-sitting cats (who really should be indoors) – they allbecome prey animals to dogs and our dogs learn tobecome even more adept at chasing and potentiallycatching and killing or maiming them. If your dogs gocrazy for squirrels, etc. you may be inadvertentlyteaching them this behaviour by allowing them toroam freely in your yard.

Dogs are social animals and don’t always enjoybeing left outdoors without your company. Screendoors and windows really take a beating when yourdogs just want to be with their human companions.

If you do happen to leave your dog outside in anoutdoor kennel, please be sure to provide a shelteredarea away from the sun, a dog house inside the shel-tered area and of course plenty of water and a placefor the dogs to go to the “bathroom”.

Hiking and camping with your dog

If you enjoy hiking or camping with your dogs,there are some safety concerns you have to watch for,

like encounters with wildlife, risk of drowning, heat-stroke and mosquitoes and ticks and, associated withthese last two, there is a concern about preventivemeasures to keep your dogs safe from heartworm andLyme disease. I personally subscribe to a holisticapproach, and I do encourage you to seek out a holis-tic veterinarian or at least become an educated con-sumer. I believe in keeping the dogs’ immune systemstrong with good nutrition and in using natural repel-lents (I use certified organic essential oil based repel-lents). Be diligent in educating yourself on holistic petcare and prevention and speak to vets, both naturo-pathic and allopathic, on heartworm prevention, thendraw your own conclusions.

In the summer, I enjoy going on nature trails withmy dogs and dogs I am caring for; however, the dogs’walks are kept shorter, we stay in the shaded areas asmuch as we can, and I look for clean water sources.

I keep a sharp eye on the weather for changing conditions such as thunderstorms. Some dogs are veryfrightened by thunder and will bolt in fear. Keep thosedogs on leash even if they are wonderful and reliableoff leash. I almost lost a dog to the sounds of thunder-storms and had to tramp through thick brush toretrieve an incredibly terrified dog! Thankfully, shedidn’t keep running; she just shivered and shook in thewoodiest part of the forest that was off the beaten path. Needless to say, I had to take the other dogs with


me. After that experience, I always stay close to myvehicle if the weather looks threatening, and I keepthis particular dog on leash: at the first sound of thun-der I hightail it to the car with the dogs to keep all ofus safe and sound.

Play Safe

When I take dogs for a swim, it is in pet safe swim-ming areas. If in doubt, use a life jacket for your dog.Dogs like Boxers, Pugs, and Boston Terriers do notswim; they jump around in the water. My husband hadto rescue our Boston terrier many years ago becausewe threw a stick out too far and the water was toodeep for him. He panicked and started flailing around,so a rescue operation was in order. A life jacket shoulddefinitely be worn if your dog is going out in any kindof watercraft, and, of course, you should wear one too!

Throwing things for your dogs, especially sticks, canbe a very dangerous activity. Dogs can be impaled onsticks or get pieces stuck in their throats or in theirgums. My clients’ dogs have had all these incidentshappen to them, but they didn’t happen while the dogswere under my supervision.

Obedience Training

I only let my dogs off the leash on any hiking trail orany off-leash park if I know that my dogs are ALWAYS

reliable at coming back! If your dog happensto love chasing anything in sight, you mayhave to consider keeping your dog on leashfor everyone’s safety. Some dogs are diehardsin certain seasons like spring, when they finddead things to eat. If they don’t drop it whenyou tell them to, then they should stay onleash. I pet-sat a headstrong Lab whom I had to keep on leash during the wholespring season.

I always teach dogs to “LEAVE”, “DROP”and “COME” as well as “STOP”. “Come” isthe most important word that I teach dogs torespond to. Dogs don’t just get to run freebecause they are dogs. They have to earn thatfreedom, just as young children have to learnhow to gain more freedom. After all, wedon’t hand car keys to teenagers withoutteaching them how to drive. We also teachthem when they are at a certain age of readi-ness. The same principle applies to our dogs.Adolescent dogs love to test our patienceand do their own things. It is imperative topull in the reins until they show that they are

ready to enjoy their freedom. Here are some ideas onhow to teach dogs to enjoy their natural world sensi-bly.

I use a lunge line varying from 20 to 30 feet long toteach the dogs their invisible boundary. I let them walkbeside me and I continuously step on the leash to stopthem from veering away from me. I look for distrac-tions and I call the dog by his name, and then I say,“Come”, e.g. “Rover, Come”. I don’t ask a question; Ijust say it matter of factly. If the dog doesn’t listen, Iuse the leash to bring him back to where I originallycalled from. I make sure to call the dog only if I canfollow through with the request. I may use a toy as adistraction and tell the dog to leave it and then comeback. Again, I use the leash to help direct the dog.When the dog is paying attention and understandingmy words and body language (a pat on the thighs or Itap my chest, while standing a bit to the side to be lessthreatening) I shorten the leash.

By the way, if your dog does dash off with the linefollowing him; refrain from stepping on it because youwill go flying! Trying to grab the line with your handscan result in rope burn. Let the dog go – then catch upwith the culprit and get hold of him. I tell him off andmake clear that his fun is now over, and we go back tothe vehicle. I give the dog the cold shoulder until thenext time when I can set up a safe training situation. Ireally want my dog to enjoy freedom; however, weneed to be in sync with one another. I only train the

A walk in the forest in a summer day: reinvigorating for dogs and for

their human companions.


dogs this way in cooler days or early in the morning orlater in the evening. If you can’t take your dog out to asafe place that is cooler and more comfortable, takeadvantage of teaching him when he is just on the reg-ular leash, but always keep your dog on a short leashwhen you are in the city or near any roads.

Also, you can teach your dog about proper behav-iour by not giving backyard freedom and by correctingyour dog when he is on leash with you. Rememberdogs need to be stopped when they are going squirrel-ly over the squirrels staring from the comfort of yourwindows at home.

If your dog should have an unfortunate encounterwith a skunk, here is a natural deodorizing recipe:

• 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, • 1/4 cup of baking soda, and • 1 teaspoon of dish detergent (please use a safe,

eco-friendly brand). A black dog may get some interesting highlights.

Again, if you teach your dogs to stay close by and ifyou don’t make a lot of noise, and move slowly awaywithout frightening a near-sighted skunk, you might besafe. When I walk my own dogs at night, I do not letthem near any type of bush or under anything where Ican’t see what’s there.

Car Safety

Please keep your pet at home if you have to go outand do not think it is okay to leave your pet in the carfor even a few minutes. A few minutes are sufficient totransform a car into an oven and kill a pet from heatexhaustion. If the windows are kept all the way down,the dog could jump out or be stolen. The same ruleapplies for leaving your dog outside unattended whileyou “run” into the store for a “quick” something.Unless your dog can be supervised by someoneresponsible, your dog is safer at home.

I see too many dogs with their heads sticking out ofcar windows as well as sitting on driver’s laps! Debriscan get into dogs’ eyes, and the dogs are at risk offalling out of the windows. Like using a cell phonewhile driving, a dog sitting on the driver’s lap is a dis-traction that should be ticketed; not to mention the riskof injury or death by air bags.

First Aid

Keep a first aid kit handy in case of minor injurieswhile out on a hike with your dog. Speak to a holisticvet about putting in pet-friendly topical ointments. Iuse homeopathic arnica for minor injuries and strains

and homeopathic apis for bee stings, along with vetwrap, tweezers, and rubbing alcohol wipes. If yourdog has a bad reaction to an insect bite, a trip to thevet is in order. If you are out of town, it helps to knowahead of time which vets are in the neighbourhoodjust in case of an emergency.

You are your dog’s guardian. Playing ball, Frisbee,etc. is a recipe for heat exhaustion or worse, heatstroke, which could be fatal. If your dog is pantingexcessively and/or hyperventilating, if the tongue ispale or grayish, if the dog is staggering, immediatelyget to a shaded area, put tepid or cool water on thedog, offer small sips of water (not copious amounts)and get the dog into an air conditioned car but not intoan enclosed crate. Get your dog to a vet immediately!

Prevention is always the best thing. At all times keepwater handy for you and your dog and be sun smart.Short haired and shaved dogs can burn in the sun justlike us. If you make regular visits to the dog groomerthroughout the year, you and your dog will be muchhappier and your dog won’t be embarrassed by havingto be shaved. Matted dogs are simply uncomfortableand it’s just plain unfair. Short haired dogs needgrooming too!

Even though all of the above information seemsobvious, one would be surprised how many peoplecontinue to put their pets at risk.

For the summer safety of your dog, remember thesaying, “Less is more.”

Brenda Hoffman, a dog trainer and behaviourist, isthe owner and operator of Canine Nannyhttp://www.caninenanny.com.

Short haired and shaved dogs can burn in the sun, apply

a sun screen.

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f you wish to bring your cat outdoors, here are afew vital tips and information.

Now that the good weather is upon us, yourcat or kitten may be hinting that she or he wouldlike to go outside.

For their safety, cats and kittens should neverbe allowed to roam freely outdoors as they couldbecome lost, hit by a vehicle, attacked by another ani-mal or killed or stolen by humans. Unfortunately,there are people who do not like cats, and cases ofcats poisoned by neighbors, because they “went intheir gardens” are unfortunately not infrequent. Alsosome people steal animals to sell to research labs.

Cats can spend their entire lives indoors quite hap-pily. Lots of attention and affection from you, toys, a

scratching post or two, and perhaps a cat tree or apiece of furniture conveniently located near a windowto allow the cat a view of the outside world is all thatis needed to prevent boredom.

Windows can be opened in good weather to letyour furry friend enjoy some fresh air. Make sure thatthere are no holes or rips in the screens and that theyare securely fastened to the window frame to preventfalls and escapes. It is a misconception that cats won’tbe injured if they fall from one or two storey buildings. They may actually be at greater risk forinjury when falling shorter distances than by fallingfrom mid-range or higher altitudes. Shorter distancesdo not give them enough time to adjust their body pos-ture to fall correctly.

Fun in the Summer Sunwith your Feline Friend

By Sheila Brown

A fenced yard is not sufficient to safely contain a cat. Cats can climb high fences, other animals can enter the yard and

perils may also come from the sky: cats can fall prey to hawks, howls and eagles, now being reintroduced in Southern

Ontario.

ICats should never be allowed to roam outside unrestrained and unsupervised


If you are considering taking your feline friend out-side in your garden, make sure that he is wearing a har-ness and leash and that he is under constant supervi-sion. Your cat or kitten should be allowed to get usedto wearing the harness and leash indoors before ven-turing outside. Never leave a pet unattended as hecould get tangled up in the leash and strangle himself,he could be attached by another animal or frightenedby a sudden noise: he could hurt himself or free him-self, run off and get lost.

For pet-owners living in high rises, it is important totake proper precautions to make sure that your cat orkitten doesn’t fall off the balcony. Every summer, toomany cats and kittens are injured or killed in falls frombalconies, disproving the myth that cats always landsafely on their feet after a fall. When cats fall from highplaces, they land with their feet slightly splayed apartwhich could cause severe head and pelvis injuries.

Screening your balcony or building an enclosure onthe balcony is the only way to ensure the safety of yourfeline friend. Some companies that install screens tokeep pigeons off balconies could install secure screen-ing for you.

If you have a backyard with enough space, youmight want to build a sturdy enclosure, like a largecage, to contain your cat (or cats) safely and allowthem to enjoy the outdoors without any risks.

The enclosure should be inspected regularly forholes and gaps, through which a cat could get out, andany that are found should be sealed immediately. Thisenclosure could be very basic or be a more elaboratestructure withtunnels, stairsand platformsgiving your cat orcats more spacefor walking, run-ning, sitting orsleeping.

Your furryfriend wouldprobably appre-ciate having apatch of grass towalk, sit, and lieon as it is softerthan stones andconcrete andcooler in hotweather. Somecats enjoy nibbling on grass; so make sure that youdon’t apply pesticides or fertilizer to your lawn.

You should ensure that there are no poisonous

Why cats should not be allowed toroam outside:Destruction of wildlife

In Canada each year, free-roaming cats kill millionsof birds and small mammals (rabbits, chipmunks,amphibians, reptiles), including endangered species. Arecent study has shown that free-roaming cats con-tribute to the increase of the insect population bykilling insect-eating birds.

Cats are an introduced species and “Wildlife in theWestern Hemisphere did not evolve in the presence ofa small abundant predator like the domestic cat, andthus, did not develop defenses against it.” AmericanBird Conservancy.

Wellbeing of the catOutdoor cats are vulnerable to:• Being struck by a car and being seriously maimed orkilled. Cars are obviously not part of the natural envi-ronment and therefore, animals are not equipped torecognize them as “dangers”.• Being attacked and killed by dogs and larger wildlifelike foxes and coyotes, now present in urban areas asa consequence of urban sprawl.• Becoming victims of human cruelty or being kid-napped and sold to research labs.• Being poisoned intentionally or accidentally (pesti-cides, weed killers, antifreeze in the winter etc.)

• Getting infestedwith parasites,such as fleas,r o u n d w o r m s ,heartworms etc.that may requireexpensive andprolonged treat-ments.• C o n t r a c t i n gserious viral dis-eases such asFeline Leukemiaand FIV (felineAIDS), distemperand bacterialinfections.

It should sufficeto mention thatthe average life

span of an indoor cat is 15 years while the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is fewer than 4 years.

Safely enjoying the great outdoors in a cat enclosure.


plants close to the enclosure to allow your pets to eatthem. Many popular garden plants are harmful, evendeadly, to pets. Some examples of beautiful but dead-ly plants are azaleas, autumn crocus, day lilies, fox-glove, lily-of-the-valley, morning glory, oleander,Oriental lilies, poppies, rhododendrons, and yew.

Safe-to eat-greens such as catnip, borage, cat mint,cat grass, and valerian are likely to be a hit with yourpet. Other non-toxic plants to consider planting in ornear the enclosure are bachelor’s buttons, bamboo,begonias, Canterbury Bells, coral creeping rosemary,crepe myrtle, globe thistle, grape hyacinth, hollyhock,Honeydew melons, fuchsia, ice plant, Irish moss,Jacob’s ladder, lace flower vine, lipstick plant,marigold, melons, moss phlox, moss rose, muskmelon,Oregon grape, pampas grass, purple passion vine, spi-derwort, snapdragon, strawberry, Sweet William, zin-nias, and zucchini squash. Among the trees and bush-es that are safe for cats to eat are linden, magnolia,hawthorn, hickory, honey locust, and mulberry tree.An added benefit is that the enclosure and your yardwill be more attractive.

A spot to use as a “litter box” is essential. It could beas simple as some sand in a corner of the enclosure ora box with a wooden frame. If you decide on a framedbox, laying a loose wire screen down and covering itwith about four inches of sand will make it easier tosift and dispose of solid matter.

People tend to forget that their pets can also sufferfrom heat exhaustion, heat stroke and sunburn whenoutdoors. Providing shady spots in the enclosure and

Comprehensive lists of toxic andnon-toxic plants can be found atthe following websites:

• American SPCA:Animal Poison Control Center toxic plants:www.aspca.org/site/PageServer_pagename=pro_apcc_toxicplantsnon-toxic plants:www.aspca.org/site/PageServer_pagename=pro_apcc_nontoxicplants

• Canadian Poisonous Plants InformationSystem: http://res.agr.ca/brd/poisonpl/

• Cornell University Poisonous PlantsInformational Database: www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/index.html

Depending upon which toxic plant has beeneaten, symptoms could include depression of thecentral nervous system, loss of co-ordination, diffi-culty breathing, drooling, excessive thirst, vomiting,diarrhea, loss of appetite, intense gastrointestinalirritation, severe abdominal pain, increased heartrate, liver failure, severe kidney damage, kidney fail-ure, cardiac abnormalities, heart failure, hypother-mia, dehydration, weakness, muscle twitching,trembling, tremors, seizures, coma, and even death.

If you know that your pet has eaten a poisonousplant, you should immediately take her or him toyour regular vet or, if the office is closed, the near-est emergency vet clinic for treatment. Try not topanic – a rapid response is important, but panickingcan interfere with the process of helping your pet.To assist the vet in making a diagnosis and decidingon treatment, take the plant with you, and, in a seal-able plastic bag, any material your pet may havevomited or chewed. It will also help if you knowhow much was eaten and how much time haselapsed since it was ingested.

If you see your pet eating a plant and you are uncertain if it might be poisonous, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Hotline at 1-888-426-4435. The hotline is open 24 hours aday, 365 days a year. A $55 consultation fee may beapplied to your credit card.

If it turns out that your cat has eaten a toxic plant,immediately take him or her to your regular vet orthe nearest emergency vet clinic, even if you do notnotice any adverse effects as an animal may appearnormal for several hours or days afterwards.

Each year free-roaming cats kill millions of birds


fresh water will lessen your pet’s risk of being adverse-ly affected by the summer sun and heat. Dependingupon the amount of space available and your budget,shade can be provided by an umbrella, an awning,bushes or a combination of two or all three of theseoptions. It is also a good idea to keep your pets indoorswhen the sun is the strongest, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Felines with light-coloured noses or light-colouredfur on their ears are especially susceptible to sunburnand skin cancer. Applying sun block to your furryfriend’s nose and ear tips will help avoid sunburn.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are very seriousconditions that could cause your cat to die. The signsof heat stress can include panting, glazed eyes, a rapidpulse, unsteadiness, a staggering gait, vomiting, or adeep red or purple tongue. If your feline becomesoverheated, you need to immediately lower his or herbody temperature. Move her or him into the shade andapply cool (not cold) water over his body to graduallylower his core body temperature. Apply cold towels orice packs to your pet’s head, neck, and chest only. Letyour pet drink small amounts of water or lick icecubes. Then take your pet to a veterinarian; if your reg-ular vet’s office is closed, go to the nearest emergencyvet clinic.

If you are having guests over, perhaps for a bar-beque, confine your cat to a closed room and makesure that nobody, children included, enters the room.With people coming and going, it iseasy for a cat to slip out of the houseunnoticed and get lost. Having the catoutside, even on a harness and leash,is not recommended as you may getdistracted by your guests and not beable to keep an eye on the cat.

Summer festivities are marked byfireworks displays and by an unfortu-nate number of cats and dogs gettinglost each summer during those dis-plays. Frightened by the noise andlight, they run away and, panic strick-en, they continue to run until they can-not remember their way back. Apartfrom making sure that your pets aresafely confined early in the eveningbefore fireworks start, there are a fewthings that you can do to lessen thenoise and make your pets more com-fortable.

Keeping the windows shut and curtains drawn willhelp to reduce outside noise. Playing soothing musicor having the TV on can help to mask the noise of thefireworks. Getting your cat settled in cozy, familiar ter-ritory such as a comfy bed or favourite chair may alsohelp her deal with the noise.

Make sure doors and windows are securely fas-tened so that your cat can’t get out and run away ifshe panics.

If you are planning a car trip, perhaps to the cottage,your cat should be confined to the back seat in a petcarrier. Some newer models of carriesr have a loop orslot for attaching a seat belt.

Remember to keep the volume of the car’s soundsystem to a moderate level as your cat has very sensi-tive hearing.

After you arrive at the cottage, confine your cat toone room until he/she has a chance to get acclima-tized to the new surroundings. Remember to provide alitter box, water, and food.

Don’t allow your cat to run loose in the outdoors ashe could get lost or have dangerous and deadly run-inswith the local wildlife (i.e. skunks, raccoons, porcu-pines, coyotes, foxes, just to name a few) Make sureyou have the phone number of a local vet, in caseyour cat needs emergency veterinary care.

Now your and your feline friend are ready to enjoythe summer together.

Tête-à-tête in the sunset. This enclosure, eight feet high, satisfies the cats' pas-

sion for heights. Cats should be brought indoors at dusk to avoid exposure to

mosquitos bites (heartworms).


Billed as the most excitement you can have for twobucks, horse racing attracts millions of spectators, mil-lions of gamblers and multibillions of dollars.Revamped race tracks offer visitors gourmet food inupscale restaurants and enough slot machines to keepthe patrons’ money flowing fast and easy. From theoutside a night at the races appears to be innocent funall in the name of enjoyment and entertainment.Unfortunately, horse racing is nothing more thangreed and exploitation of animals and when moneyand animals are mixed, the real losers at the race trackare always the animals.

The most popular of the horse races is the onebetween the two year olds. Numerous studies and arti-cles have been written documenting the plight andimpact of racing horses at such a young age when theirjoints are still maturing and their growth plates havenot closed. These young animals are required toendure very rigid training sessions and race at speedsexceeding 60 km per hour on a hard surface while car-rying a man on their back. As a result of the unnaturalstresses suffered, many race horses experience prob-lems such as gastric ulcerations and pulmonary hem-orrhaging (bleeding in the lungs), which are uncom-mon in horses worked at a more sensible level. Manyhorses finish with leg fractures that end their racing“careers” by four to six years of age, when they arebarely mature. One study on injuries at racetracksconcluded that one horse in every 22 races suffered aninjury that prevented him or her from finishing a race,while another estimates that 800 thoroughbreds die

each year in North America because of injuries.1The cost of veterinary care and lost race time can

run into thousands of dollars yearly. Many trainers andveterinarians, with the owner’s blessing, turn theirhorses into drug addicts in order to keep them racingeven when they should be resting or convalescingafter an injury. In the U.S. the legality of drug used onracehorses is determined according to the individualstate, with Kentucky being the most lenient. An articlein The Washington Post stated that every horse at the2003 Kentucky Derby was given a shot of Lasix (whichcontrols bleeding in the lungs), and most were proba-bly given phenylbutazone (an anti-inflammatory). Thedesired side effects of these drugs are to mask pain andmake a horse run faster. Unfortunately, there is no wayfor laboratories to detect every illegal drug and, aslong as there is the expectation of big profits, the useof illegal drugging of race horses will always be aproblem.

The New York Times reported some of the mostcommon ways used to enhance a race horse’s per-formance include bronchodilators to widen air pas-sages, hormones to increase oxygen-carrying redblood cells, cone snail or cobra venom injected into ahorse’s joints to ease pain and stiffness, and a “milk-shake” of baking soda, sugar, and electrolytes deliv-ered through a tube in the horse’s nose to increase car-bon dioxide in the horse’s bloodstream and lessen lac-tic-acid buildup, warding off fatigue. The article notedthat batteries are even concealed under a horse’s skinto deliver a shock when the horse is flagging.2

Kentucky Derby: according to the Washington Post almost all horses running here were given a shot of Lasix to control

bleeding in the lungs. Batteries are often inserted under the horse's skin to deliver a shock when the horse is flagging.

The unglamorous life of race horsesBy Corinne Thaw


Conceivably the most distressing truth about racehorses is that thousands of foals are born every year inorder to develop a few dozen or so exceptionally goodracers; the rest are disposed like discarded objects,sold at equine auctions, then held in “holding barns”until they are large enough to be transported to slaugh-ter houses. Their corpses are then shipped off to Japanor some European countries for meat consumption.

The outcome of the retiredrace horses or thehorses that are notfast enough is similarto that of the discard-ed foals. Ownerswho no longer wanttheir horse or can’tmaintain the upkeepof their animal sellthem to “killer buy-ers” for $500 to $900each. Since profitdictates the bottomline, it is no wonderthat these peopledon’t have secondthoughts about dis-posing of their ani-mal for profit. Horsessold for slaughter aretreated as poorly asanimals bred for con-sumption. They arewedged onto doubledeck cattle truckswith ceilings so lowthat the horses areunable to standupright and areforced to enduremany long hours of travel, often without food or water;many die en route to their death.

Unfortunately, the ultimate fate of the slaughterhouse is not spared, no matter how much prize win-nings a horse has earned for its owner. Picturesque set-tings of retired thoroughbred grazing in green pasturesexist mainly in the movies and for only a lucky few.Horses who have won major stakes in their prime arenot always spared the trip to the slaughterhouse. In theUnited States, investigators traced the identificationnumbers of five horses who were bought by “killerbuyers”. Racing and bloodline records show that allfive horses were champion race horses with parents or

other close relatives who had competed in or wonTriple Crown races.3 The truth of the matter is thatwhen the horses don’t win races, they’re worth moredead than alive. According to The Humane Society ofCanada (HSC) 60,000 horses are slaughtered everyyear in Canada to satisfy the foreign appetite for horse-meat.4 The sad reality is that when a horse is no longerprofitable, it doesn’t matter whether it’s NorthernDancer or an old gray mare – killer buyers don’t care

about racing records;they only care abouthow much the foreignbuyer will pay per

pound.5The life of the

race horse is any-thing but glam-orous. The animalcruelty associatedwith horseracing iscomparable to thatof the manyexploited and mis-treated animalsaround the world;when moneyenters the mix, ani-mals become the

victims of greed andabuse. Animals are notdisposable objects andshould not be treatedas such and yet mil-lions of animals areused and abused andtossed out like yester-day’s garbage. As indi-viduals we have verylittle power to counter-

act a multibillion dollar industry but if we collectivelydecide to stop spending our money at the racetrack orat any of the other myriad places that exploit animalsthen our voices will be heard.

1 Ted Miller, “Six Recent Horse Deaths at Emerald Downs SparkConcern,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8 May 2001)

2 The Horse Racing Industry: The Facts. The Horseracing Industry– Gambling with Animals’ Lives, In Defense of Animals USA.

3 The Humane Society of Canada, press release, 1994.4 Ibid.5 Ibid.

When a horse is no

longer profitable, it

doesn't matter

whether it is Northern

Dancer or an old grey

mare, they all end

sold per pound.

www.justsaywhoa.org

Mare and foal waiting to be

killed. www.justsaywhoa.org

Foals at slaughter.Thousands of foals

are born every year in order to develop

a few dozen good racers; the rest are

slaughtered. www.justsaywhoa.org


elonging to theR a n u n c u l a c e a efamily of plants,Pulsatilla has a longhistory of medical

use for a wide range of problemsranging from colds and coughs todigestive, hormonal, urinary andgynecological problems and emo-tional issues. It is native toScandinavia, Denmark, Germanyand Russia.

Parts Used

The whole, fresh floweringplant is used and the juice is

expressed to make the remedy.This particular plant is distin-guished by its smaller, purplish-black flower heads.

Psychological Profile

This is a great female and hor-monal remedy when there is aneed for, and improvement from,consolation. The patient experi-ences changing moods, fear ofconfined spaces, solitude and thedark. Pulsatilla can also to beused where there is emotionaldependency with fear and a feel-ing of abandonment. The patient

Pulsatilla Nigricans

Pulsatilla has a long history of medical use for

a wide range of problems

The Homeopathic Column

By Cynthia Harcourt D.V.M.

Common Names:

Pasque flower, Meadow Anemone, Prairie Crocus, Anemone Nemorosa

B

Pulsatilla Nigricans (“Windflower”)


likes to please and gives in order to receive. Pulsatillacandidates are sensitive, shy, timid, melancholic, andsweet-natured but can be irritable. There is a need forsympathy, affection, caresses and being understood.There can be sadness with a tendency to crying andself-pity.

General Symptoms

The patient displays a variety of symptoms andmoods such as:

• Sensitivity to cold, although being in a warmstuffy room may worsen the symptoms.

• Thick mucus discharges, bland or creamy toyellow to green and non-irritating.

• Lack of thirst• Changing pains that appear suddenly and dis-

appear gradually.• Fever often accompanied with shivering and a

lack of thirst.• Perspiration, that may be only one-sided.Pulsatilla is also used to treat puberty and pregnan-

cy complaints. Symptoms worsen at twilight andevenings and also between 2 and 4 p.m., and areaggravated by lying on the left side, as well by inges-tion of greasy or rich, fatty foods, getting the feet wetand generally by anything that slows the circulation orincreases congestion.

Symptoms are relieved by exposure to cool, crispweather, fresh air and by cold applications, as well asby moving slowly and by consolation and sympathy.

Clinical Indications

Ailments with a profuse discharge of excessivemucus, upper respiratory infections, colds with arunny or blocked nose, sinus congestions, hay fever,and loose coughs with bland to yellow to greenphlegm.

• Eye problems such as sties or conjunctivitis.• Digestive problems caused by eating rich, fatty

foods. The patient may experience nausea,vomiting, or gastroenteritis.

• Urogenital complaints often accompanied bya need for comfort and sympathy.

• Backache and “wandering” arthritis, pain inknees and hips, often worse at first motion butbetter with movement.

• Tooth pain and ear pain and problems withdark ear wax.

• Worsening with heat or warm food andrelieved by cold food.

Practical Examples

Pulsatilla can be useful for gentle animals that havea yielding disposition. The animal’s behaviour may bechangeable and contradictory. He may experiencecapricious and irregular appetites, refusing to eat whatis normally acceptable to him.

Animals who experience diarrhea after a dietarychange are candidates for Pulsatilla as well as animalswho are sad, timid, and have been abandoned for feelabandoned.

This remedy is particularly beneficial for animalswith eye discharges that are thick and bland or yellowto green and who may also have inflamed eye lids andwatery, itchy eyes. It is the remedy of choice for felineinfluenzas with eye symptoms and for coughs with lotsof mucus production.

Pulsatilla is the appropriate remedy for animals witha bladder infection/inflammation who are very needy,seeking consolation and do not have thirst stimulus aswell as for dogs with pyometra (an infection of theuterus) or showing “false pregnancies” or to turn afetus around in the uterus.

Dosing

Pulsatilla can be useful in both acute and chronicconditions. It is better to start with a lower potency,e.g., 6CH. It can be used as a “dry dose” of threecrushed pellets, repeated three to four times per day inan acute situation or as a “liquid dose” of three dis-solved pellets in a half glass of distilled or reverseosmosis water giving one teaspoon three to four timesper day. Both types of dosages are administered atleast half an hour away from food or water. Pulsatilla30CH may be used also, but it should be repeated farless often than the 6CH potency. Avoid using higherdoses such as 200CH or repeating such doses.

Please notice that this can be used as a guidelineonly. All animal illnesses should be diagnosed andtreatment should be recommended and supervised bya qualified veterinarian. Homeopathic remediesshould be administered under the directions andsupervision of a homeopathic veterinarian.

Dr. Cynthia Harcourt practises holistic veterinarymedicine and uses homeopathy as her main modality.She supports her patients with raw food diets andflower essence therapy. Dr. Harcourt works out of heroffice in Queensville, Ontario.


ou’re not one of those animallovers, are you?”, asked the priestthat I’d known since I was elevenyears old. When I answered, “yes”,he went on to tell me about thesquirrels near his residence, whowere engaging in destructive

behaviours, such as chewing on wires and rippingscreens. To my utter amazement, Father Norton toldme that for some time now, he had been setting trapsfor the creatures, then drowning them because theywere such a“ n u i s a n c e ” .Other small ani-mals had alsomet the samefate as the squir-rels becausethey had unwit-tingly enteredthe traps. WhenI observed that Iknew some peo-ple who werealso a nuisance,but still verymuch alive, Iwas waved offwith a laugh. Iwent home, feel-ing ill and quitedisturbed about what I’d just heard. How couldsomeone whose life was committed to preachingabout the God of peace, compassion, love and jus-

tice deliberately plan and carry out the deaths ofthese vulnerable animals? Were they not created bythat same God, and are we not asked, even expect-ed to show compassion and care for them as well asfor the humans on this earth?

The examples used in this article are Catholic,because that is the faith community with which I ammost familiar; however, I hope that this article willhelp all of us think about the universal spiritual val-ues that should guide our choices and actions.

While no religion based upon a loving Godwould condonecruelty to ani-mals, someinterpretationstry to validate atreatment of ani-mals that is lessthan compas-sionate. Forexample, forcenturies theChristian theo-logical teachingthat humans,unlike any othercreatures, havebeen made inGod’s image,endowed withimmortal souls

and rational minds has manifested itself in a “hierar-chy of creation”. All of creation was seen to be at thedisposal of human beings. In recent years, as our

Caring for Animals from

a Religious Perspective

by Monica Davies

“Y

The Creation of the Animals, fresco by Raffaello Sanzio 1483-1520Is mistreatment or disregard for animals not contravening the preaching of

creation?

An act of animal cruelty by a member of the clergy raises questions and

ethical issues. How is disregard or carelessness for animals compatible with the reli-

gious beliefs of the Creation? If animals are God’s creatures, should they not be

object of our compassion and respect?

awareness of the world grows into one of a globalvillage, people of peace and good will, from variousreligious and non-religious backgrounds, are learn-ing from one another’s practices and beliefs. We see,perhaps in a new way, the importance of living withthe awareness that we share, rather than dominate,this planet with other members of the animal king-dom. We can still believe that our souls are immor-tal and that our minds are rational, if we so choose.In fact, a contemporary analysis of these attributeswould mean that instead of using animals for our“pleasure”, we recognize that we have an increasedresponsibility toward our non-human roommates(after all, we do share the same space!). Animals areoften vulnerable, powerless and voiceless in ahuman-centred world. When they are considered asa “nuisance”, as Father Norton saw the squirrels, it isusually because their world and activity clashes withours. As people of peace and goodwill, love, com-passion, and justice, we have a responsibility to finda solution that fits into these categories; not in mis-treatment, violence, or neglect. The sad case ofFather Norton and similar stories of abuse and cruel-ty is an extreme example of behaviour that isopposed to the principles of the world’s major reli-gions and to the ethic ofsecular-based spirituality.Sometimes, however,arguments have beenmade on religiousgrounds that are not aboutacting out of such oppos-ing values, but about howwe choose to spend ourtime, energy andresources. This view saysthat we should have acompassionate attitudetoward animals, but sug-gests that if we act onbehalf of animals, itwould somehow detractfrom the compassion andjustice called for in ouractions toward humanbeings. In a recent articlein the Catholic Registerentitled “Why I’m NoLonger a Vegetarian,”author Sara Loftson makes

this very case. She begins with the notion of the hier-archy of creation, noting the compassion for animalsshown by St. Francis of Assisi: “While he urged peo-ple to honour God’s creation including animals, it ispeople God created in His image, not budgies.”(Whether or not this is the best way to summarizethe theology of St. Francis is another question that Iwill not address here). Her next point, howevercrudely it is made, gets to the heart of the issue:“Why do we get all teary-eyed when Bambi’s moth-er is shot dead in a cartoon movie, but don’t blink aneye when we hear news reports about people gettingshot in war or through gang violence?” My answer tothat is: we can in fact do both. If ever there was anexample of the “hierarchy” of creation, it would bethe ability that we humans have to be attentive toboth tragic events, to apply one value to all areas ofour lives and our work. It is called living consistent-ly. From the perspective of those core spiritual val-ues (both religious and non-religious) of love, com-passion, justice and peace, we not only have theability to attend to both animals and humans, but wehave an obligation to do so. We must care for thevulnerable, speak and act for the voiceless and pow-erless, and work in our little corner of the world,


The squirrel explaining creation to his young: “And then God created squirrels in His own

image.”

wherever it is, for the good of all creation. Thismeans that we can be activists for animal rights. Wecan devote time and energy to the rescue of animalsand the end of their neglect, abuse and mistreat-ment. We can do this as committed members ofwhatever religion or spirituality we espouse and stillstand for justice, compassion and peace for humanbeings. To do so would be to live consistently a lifecommitted to the core values of our various beliefs.I spoke to someone in animal rescue services aboutFather Norton, who asked if I would be willing to goto court to testify about what I had been told aboutthe killing of the animals, in the event that FatherNorton could be “caught in the act”. I am ashamedto admit that I said “no”, fearing repercussions at ourworkplace. Although it would mean little withoutmy testimony, I gave animal rescue services all ofthe information that I had: his words, a map of thearea with Father Norton’s residence marked off,some likely locations for the traps, and an educated

guess for the site of the drownings. Had I been con-sistent with my beliefs, I would have had thecourage to publicly stand up against Father Norton’swillful and heinous actions that were so contradicto-ry to the message that he preached. The guilt andregret that I feel is still very painful, but not nearly aspainful as the suffering of the trapped, terrified ani-mals as they met their slow drowning death at hishands. I think of them often, and as I reflect on whatit means to live my own religious values in a consis-tent way, so many passages from Scripture come tomind. The beautiful and simple words of the prophetMicah sum up what is asked of us, “only this, to actjustly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly withyour God.”

Monica Davies, a postgraduate in theology andphilosophy, lives and works in Toronto.


Prayer of a Stray CatP R A Y E R O F A S T R A Y C A T

Please send me somebody who’ll care,

I’m tired of running, I’m sick with despair.

My body is aching, it’s so racked with pain,

And I pray as I run in the rain,

That someone will love me and give me a home,

A warm cozy bed to call my own.

My last owner neglected me and chased me

away,

To rummage in garbage and live as a

stray.

But now I’m tired, hungry and

cold,

And I’m so afraid that I’ll

never grow old.

They’ve chased me with

sticks and hit me with

stones,

While I run in the streets

just looking for bones.

I’m not really bad, please

help if you can,

For I have become just a

“victim of man!”

I’m wormy and I’m ridden with

fleas,

And all I want is an owner to

please.

If you find one for me, I’ll try to be good,

I won’t run away and I’ll do as I should.

I don’t think I’ll make it too long on my own,

Cause I’m getting weak and I’m so all alone.

Each night as I sleep in the bushes I cry,

Cause I’m so afraid that I’m gonna die.

I’ve got so much love and devotion to give,

That I should be given a new chance to live.

So PLEASE, PLEASE answer my prayer,

And send me somebody who’ll really care.


I want to subscribe to Animal News $14.00 plus GST in Canada$25.00 in USA

I want to become a member of ORA $30.00I want to donate to help the animals: see below.

Please send cheques to

ORA: 300 Coxwell Ave., P.O. Box 22608, Toronto, ON M4L 3W7CRN: 85580 9448 RR0001

For subscription rates outside Canada and US please enquire by e-mail at: [email protected]

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ORA -Organization for the Rescue of Animals, is a registered charitableorganization, 100% volunteer based, promoting the humane treatment of all animals and the preservation of wildlife.

ORA operates in and around the Greater Toronto Area and we are working for the well-being and protection of all our fellow animals. While any animalspecies is the object of our concern (dogs, raccoons, skunks, bears, coyotes, etc.), and while we are devoted to protect their rights and interests, we havefound ourselves largely involved with the rescue of cats. In this field ORA is committed mainly to:

• Campaigning for and financing spaying and neutering in order to contain pet over-population

• Locating suitable permanent homes for tamed feral cats, for stray cats and forcats abandoned by their owners

Toward the preservation of the Canadian wildlife, endangered by urban sprawl,ORA is working to:

• Acquire large acreages of forested land in different sensitive areas of Ontarioto be preserved as permanent sanctuaries for the indigenous fauna.

• Solicit donations of private land in any area of Ontario to create oases wherethe wildlife can live peacefully and protected.

ORA - Organization for the Rescue of Animals300 Coxwell Ave., P.O. Box 22608, TO ON M4L 3W7

Tel: 416 726 8895 Fax: 905 473 9604

Website: www.ora-animalrescue.org

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A B O U T O R A

w w w . o r a - a n i m a l r e s c u e . o r g

All proceeds fromthe sale of this magazine go to the animals under the care of ORA -Organization for the Rescue of Animals

For more information on these and other pets for adoption please visit:www.ora-animalrescue.org/adoption.php

or call 416 726 8895.

ORA - ORGANIZATION FOR THE RESCUE OF ANIMALS

300 Coxwell Ave., P.O. Box 22608, Toronto, ON M4L 3W7

Tel: 416 726 8895 Fax: 905 473 9604

Website: www.ora-animalrescue.org Charitable registration #85580 9448 RR0001

Muazie is a sweet 10 year old who wassurrendered to ORA by her elderly care-giver who is now in a retirement home.Muazie was very much loved and shestill misses him. She is sociable with peo-ple, and although she adjusts well toother cats, would prefer to be an "onlychild".

M&M and Whitey (from left to right)are two gorgeous 4 year old sisters, abit shy towards humans since theyspent the first year of their life as strays.They get along well with other cats, sothey are perfect for a multiple cathousehold.

Maxime (left) and Charlie (right) are a handsome, healthy, viva-cious, 9 month old Husky mix. They are a lot of fun, sociable,and great with other dogs.

volume 3, issue 2 2007.pdf · acton veterinary clinic 10 river st. acton, ontario tel: 519 853 1450...

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