Our tougher animal cruelty laws working? Not so much. - Updated

From the Canadian Press, First year of tougher animal cruelty law shows weaknesses, activists say:

Tougher Criminal Code provisions against animal cruelty took effect a year ago, but animal-rights activists say the law has proven ineffective. Some recent cases:

Nova Scotia woman drowns two newborn kittens - fined $5.

Northwest Territories man leaves dogs outdoors to freeze and starve to death - no charges laid.

Ontario man drops kitten from a 5th floor balcony, then runs it over with car - charges dropped.

New Brunswick man kills five Pomeranians with a hammer - absolute discharge.

Ontario man shoots, blinds and abandons dog on bush road - acquitted.

The legislation does not even outlaw breeding, training or selling animals to fight each other.

When I posted this up last night, I didn't really have a comment for it because I was tired but also because it was like reading some fiction about a place far away, possibly a different country, possibly off-planet, where everyone lives in societies which operate like Kafka nightmares. The whole thing just seemed too unreal to take seriously.

I have to wonder what it would take to actually get charged and convicted of animal cruelty under Canadian law because apparently it's okay to drown, freeze, starve, drop, run over, shoot and blind the family dog as long as the person claims he did it without intent.

How does someone unintentionally drop a kitten from five floors up, unintentionally get in his car and then unintentionally drive over the kitten? How does someone unintentionally drown kittens in a bucket of water?

I wonder if this would work as a good defence argument for someone:

"Uh yeah, that guy who unintentionally left his dogs to freeze and starve to death outside - sorry, my client unintentionally kicked him in the nutsack. Yeah, my client's steel toed boot just suddenly and unintentionally raised itself up at a high speed and traveled unintentionally forward and impacted with the guy's nutsack. This unintentionally happened over and over and over again. Yeah, I realize the guy can't have any kids but my client swears, it was all unintentional."

Maybe, to be more clear, the lawyers and politicians who came up with this brilliant piece of legislation should call it the If You're an Asshole and Want to Be Cruel to Your Pet That's Okay Because We Don't Care Law - Seriously, We Don't Care.

From redstarcafe, more info on the weaknesses of the current legislation and a better alternative here.

Dumpster dog gets a home

CHARLIE'S SONG

When darkness falls
on one so young,
Each breath so hard to draw,

How can you hope
to understand
The last cruel face you saw.

And yet amongst
the darkness comes
Faint hope and faith in good,

A whimper now for all to hear,
If only someone would.

And then through fate
or luck or God,
Whatever truth you see,

A dustman heard
your piteous cry,
And brought you safe to me.

So now my task?
To make amends
To one so small and sweet,
To show you all the world can be
And make your life complete

To give you
not but tender touch,
And show you all that's fair,

To reap the warmth
of hearts unbound,
Enough for all to share.

I'll watch in time
the pain subside
Bad memories fade like dew
Replaced by joy in all of life,
With love from me to you.

That's a poem submitted by Mark Collins to Toronto Animal Services as part of his pitch to woo the adoption of Charlie. Charlie, you might remember, is the little Lhasa Apso that was thrown away into dumpster a couple of weeks ago and rescued by a janitor. It may be a good thing that OPP sergeant Mark Collins, a cop with a big heart when it comes to animals, sent in that poem because it certainly made his adoption application stand out from the nearly one hundred others. Now Charlie is happily living with Mark and his family on their 190-hectare farm.

Here's the Toronto Star article for more details: 'Tough cop' takes in pup cruelly left in dumpster

It's wonderful so many people offered to open their homes to Charlie and I hope that those people will now consider opening up their homes to the other dogs left behind at the city's shelters and rescues.

For example, this old guy ...

... and his buddy...

They've both been at Toronto Animal Services for a few weeks now. The older one is fifteen and the younger one is five and they are very attached to one another so they are going to be adopted out only as a pair. They've been through enough already and no one wants to put them through the additional heartache of another separation. Adoption information about them is available here and here.

There are, of course, many excellent local dog rescues aside from Toronto Animal Services and one of the ones I've dealt with before is called Happy Tails Rescue. Happy Tails Rescue specializes in small breeds and always has a selection of great dogs looking for a home.

Here's one. His name is Magic.

From his adoption description: Magic is a very special little man. He is about 10 years old and weighs about 10 lbs. Magic got his name because he is so cuddly that he melts into your chest when you pick him up and makes you feel so happy. It is like magic!!! Magic is missing both eyes a but he quickly finds his way around and is not bothered much by his disability. He bounces around like he can see, occasionally bumping into furniture, but not as often as one might expect once he has explored an area. He is very happy, cuddly and playful. For information on Magic, you can check out his profile here.

These are just a few of the dogs that will never make the evening news but who are in just a great a need for loving homes. We need to figure out a way to match them up with those other hundred applicants that went home empty handed.

The news media is a funny thing. It focuses its spotlight onto those things that need to be revealed but sometimes at the risk of overshadowing or pushing aside other equally significant stories. But, occasionally, the news is more than just an interesting anecdote. Sometimes, the beam of its spotlight is expansive enough to cast light on the larger problems and leads to an overall improvement for more than just the one subject of the story. Sometimes, a news story actually contributes to positive societal change. I hope the recent publicity around the dumpster dog, the story of Charlie, is part of that.

Bobby and Andy

Bobby

Andy

Now they've got names.

I wouldn't say they're warming up to people but they do seem more relaxed in their environment as long as no one gets too close to them. Three feet is safe. Any closer and their heads lower and they freeze and they're ready to bite.

A staffer got bit this morning.

They can't be collared so they can't be walked. Someone tried to get one outside with a catch pole but the pup was instantly in such fear and desperation that it twisted onto its back, struggling, and started bleeding out its nose.

So, now, when one soils its kennel, a staffer sets up the kennel directly across with water, blanket and treats. Then both kennel doors are opened. The pup, sniffing the treats, slowly walks out of his dirty kennel, but only if the person is well back away, and walks into the clean kennel with the treats.

I know at least for that moment, alone with its treats, the pup must be happy but I can't capture that happiness on my camera because the pup doesn't trust me and it especially doesn't trust my camera.

There has been some good news, though. One staffer was able to entice one of the pups to tentatively pull a treat out of her hand after she sat quietly and calmly outside its kennel door for a good long while. It's a small thing but it's a good sign.

There's a plan afoot at TAS to do something special with Bobby and Andy, to try to save them. Everyone is crossing their fingers that it'll work out. Hopefully, there will be some news about this by mid-week and I can spill the beans but until then, give a thought to Bobby and Andy when you say goodnight to your dogs tonight.

Continued here.

Toronto Animal Services Friday review, April 10

Two Lhasas came in last week. As so often happens with Lhasas, one arrived so badly matted that he had to be shaved and then later, because he was shivering, he was given a jacket to wear. Pink may not have been his preferred colour and the other dogs that made fun of him were quickly given a faceful of fearsome Lhasa attitude.

No, I'm kidding. He's a little sweetie and didn't mind the pink outfit at all.


His buddy here, and I'm not sure if it's male or female, managed to hang on to its coat and was might happy about it.

I'm guessing these two will be up for adoption in a week or two once their spay/neuters are done if they're not done already.

Spring leak

Mondays are bad enough but when it's a Monday like this past Monday, rain verging on snow, temperature at 1 degree and dropping, and Sunday's warm spring breeze transformed into a late fall-like bluster, it's painful. Waking up is painful. Looking out the window is painful. Stepping out the door is especially painful.

Rocky in his sky blue raincoat doesn't care about weather as he bounds out the door. Even with his old arthritic hips, he's still very much a bounder though now sometimes his bounding verges on blundering. Stella, on the other hand, sticks her head out the door and then looks at me.

She says, "Okay, Smartyboy, you can turn the lights on and off. Why can't you turn the rain on and off? You're obviously not trying hard enough. Go ahead. Flick the switch. I'll wait."

"No can do, Stella. It's walk in the rain or nothing," and Stella's about to head back to bed but the leash I'm holding stops her and she she knows it going to be miles before she naps again.

"You're a heartless prick," she says but I pretend I don't hear her and off we go.

At the park, I release Rocky from his heal, not that he ever heals all that well but you know, it's all about the trying, and he is so overjoyed he no longer has to walk beside me but gets to walk at the end of his leash three feet ahead of me that he bounds those 3 feet all smiles and wagging nub. Stella gives me her usual oh brother look and keeps pace beside me and a little to the back, basically as far away from Rocky as possible.

Stella finds an interesting odor by a garbage can and lowers her head and starts to do some serious investigating. Rocky, having missed that spot is all, "Whoa, what's that?" and he comes bounding back, shoving Stella out of his way and gives the spot a sniff and then lifts his leg and pees on Stella's head which is still lowered to the ground. Stella, braintrust that she is, doesn't notice, I guess because it's raining and just keeps sniffing the ground while Rocky's pee splatters against her ear. I pull her back and I'm like, "Stella, the fuck? Rocky just peed on you, you dingbat," but Stella's all "Wha?" and "Huh?" and really doesn't know what the fuss is about.

Rocky, for his part has lowered his leg and is now walking and peeing at the same time. He pee walks quite often and is always very nonchalant about it and it reminds me of ... I don't know ... it's like if the I.T. guy at work - 'cause I think Rocky would be an I.T. guy if he were human, but not the smart I.T. guy who can fix your computer remotely in like 15 seconds but the not so swift I.T. guy who has to actually come to your office and ends up spending half the day there eating burritos and farting and sucking his fingers clean every time before typing magic words on your keyboard which he swears will fix what ails the machine, but you both end up just staring at the monitor for what seems like hours waiting for nothing to happen - it's like if that guy suddenly just decided to take his shoes and socks off and then continued to work on your computer in his bare feet. Uh, well, maybe that's not the best comparative example but it is an example of someone here at work and I just had to get that out there.

Okay, so I can't come up with a human equivalent to Rocky's pee walking but suffice it to say, I'm glad it's raining because it at least washes away the evidence. One time with pee walking Rocky, a little girl stopped and pointed at him and said, "Look mommy, why, why, why is that dog doing that?" and mommy said, "I don't know hon, maybe there's something wrong with it," and I was about to explain that there was nothing wrong with Rocky but I realized that would've been a futile protest as every step he took, his wiener bobbed up and down splattering pee onto the sidewalk, onto the littered Coke can and onto his own feet. As Rocky neared the girl, nosing in for a pat, her mom blurted out "Oh my god, honey, don't touch that dog. You'll get your shoes wet," and she pulled her daughter away to safety.

That embarrassment reminds me also of the woman in the two piece lavender business outfit who raced across the parking lot when she saw me with Stella and Rocky and asked, "Are they friendly?" to which I replied, "Well, Rocky's really friendly but Stella sometimes takes a while to warm up to ..." at which point Stella strolled up to the woman and looked up at her with her most doe-eyed, I'm-an-angel-and-I'm-owned-by-a-heartless-prick expression and the woman of course fawned over her. Rocky noticed this and bounded over and pushed Stella out of the way and just as the woman said "Oh, my" and started to pat Rocky's head, Rocky shuffled and crouched and started to push out a big one.

Usually, he's pretty fast but that time it was like he was trying to push out a bag of concrete and I was like, "Uuuh, sorry about that," and the woman was like, "Oh don't worry about it," and she continued to pet him as we both stood there in silence, smiling politely, watching Rocky take the longest dump of his life.

Rocky finally finished giving birth and as if that was some release signal, the woman said, "You've got two really nice dogs," and she walked away and I looked at Rocky and I was like, "You tard. Why couldn't you wait?" but he was already focused elsewhere, sniffing out the next prime spot to christen.

What was I writing about? Oh yeah, right, spring. Well, they say it's here, officially. Unofficially, it feels like late November. It's still bloody cold. Stella's pissed off and Rocky pissing.

On air

I'm in one of the CITY TV studios standing around like everyone else, waiting for the live broadcast of CP24's Animal House Calls to begin. I'm there because Johanne Tasse is going to be a guest on the show to talk about the rescue partnership between Toronto Animal Services and caacQ. Along with Johanne is Anne who is a rescue volunteer with Rosie Animal Adoption and Mica, a brown Lab from Quebec who will be put up for adoption by TAS South.

In front of me, I see what looks like a male, brindle Cane Corso and I recognize him immediately as one of the dogs seized by the Toronto Humane Society from the horrid living conditions in a backyard shed a few days ago. Along with the male, a female was also seized as well as some other smaller dogs and animals.



Is this the dog from the seizure? I ask the woman who is handling the dog and she says yes. Friendly?, I ask but just as a formality because it's obvious that it is friendly judging from its demeanor with strangers and also because there's no way the THS would bring an unmuzzled, aggressive large dog into a TV studio.

This dog, along with the seized female, are the likely but unconfirmed parents of the the two pups that landed at Toronto Animal Services a few days back. It likely may have been that incident with the stray pups which lead to the eventual call to TAS to investigate the premises of the owners of the adult dogs. After arrival of TAS officers, THS was called in to perform the animal seizures and to determine if any animal cruelty charges would be laid.

The division of enforcement duties between TAS and THS was explained to me some time ago as being: TAS enforces municipal by-laws whereas THS enforces animal cruelty laws but in practice these distinctions can sometimes get hazy.

I pet the dog and it is very responsive so I crouch down and give it a good scratch on its big noggin. What kind of dog is he? I ask because there had been some uncertainty about the breed of the pups. At this point, Tre Smith, the popular face of the Toronto Humane Society, in his familiar flak jacket uniform, turns around and looks at me and tells me some exotic breed name which I can't recall two seconds later because I was distracted looking at the thick layer of foundation on his face. There is something about make-up applied on an obviously masculine visage that is conspicuously jarring.

Well, he's a wonderful dog, I say and someone beside me wearing a headset agrees.

Tre says, Oh yeah, when I first went to get it, it tried to tear me ... it tried to attack me. It was just doing his job, though. Protecting its property. It was totally unsocialized but we took it in and socialized it and now it's great.

Tre gets the attention of the dog and says, It was probably beaten or hit. He demonstrates this by taking his open palm and whacking the air in front of the dog's face and the dog flinches and pulls away. See, it's a little hand shy, he says.

How's the female doing?, I ask. What's she like?

She's not so friendly, the woman handler says.

I mention that I've seen the pups at Toronto Animal Services that may or may not be the offspring of the dog in front of us and I get back a couple of grunts and the conversation ends.

I walk back into the waiting room with Johanne and Anne and Mica and we sit there and a few moments later, the live broadcast of Animal House Calls begins and we watch on the monitor as Anne Rohmer talks to Tre about the Toronto Humane Society's rescue of the dog and the other animals from a couple of days ago.

Johanne isn't on until the last segment of the show so we sit and talk and watch the jumble of people as they hurry around the studio. I watch Anne Rohmer as she smoothly conducts her interviews with her guests and I'm a little surprised that there is only one cameraperson working on or near the set. No directors, assistant directors, DOP's, etc. Other than the lights, it feels like it's just Rohmer having a chat with someone.

In the rest of the studio, though, there are lots of crew, and most of them are quite dog friendly. Mica gets much attention. The make-up person lets Mica sniff the tub of foundation powder that's been liberally spread around on everyone and for a second I think she's going to powder Mica's nose as well. A newscaster tells Mica she's very pretty and comments on how small she is for a Lab. I'm about to joke that she's actually a Pit Bull in disguise but decide against it in case someone overhears and believes me. Another woman walks by and crouches down to pet Mica and calls her a lovely dog and tells me that there's no way she'd ever actually own a dog because she doesn't want her clothes to smell.

Soon enough, the bunny woman and the vet are finished and it's Johanne's turn in the hot seat. She walks onto the set leading Mica with her leash but someone doesn't want Johanne holding Mica while she's talking to Rohmer and so Johanne suggests I hold onto the dog but then someone else gets the guy with the headphones to hold onto her instead. That's fine because I'd wanted to take a couple photos from the sidelines anyway.

Johanne does a good job plugging caacQ and Toronto Animal Services and everything goes smoothly but then after the segment is done and the cameras are turned off, Rohmer pulls Johanne over to a copy of Toronto Humane Society's monthly magazine and opens it up to a page comparing THS euthanasias to TAS euthanasias, slightly concerned that caacQ might be sending Quebec dogs to their deaths. Johanne explains that isn't the case at all and I blurt out something about how the numbers are misleading but I doubt I allay Rohmer's fears much before she runs off to check something on the monitors.

As we head back to the waiting room to gather up our stuff, one of the producers stops Johanne and tells her something like, Okay, you were supposed to bring someone to handle your dog. If I had known you didn't have anyone to handle your dog, I wouldn't have allowed you on the show. We could have been sued. Our guys can't handle your dog. If one of our guys is holding onto your dog and the dog rips his face off, he could sue me and you and we just can't have that kind of liability. You must have someone handle the dog. Our people cannot do that.

Johanne handles the rebuke without breaking her smile and I bite my tongue.

Then we leave.

More on the two Fila pups here.

Get a dog by Ben Stein

Watch CBS Videos Online

Nice sentiment but I'm not sure advising unemployed people to go out and get a dog is such great advice if money is going to be a concern. Volunteering at the local shelter, on the other hand ...