Toronto Animal Services dog photos June 13

unnamed Labradoodle

Princess - Basset Hound

unnamed Dalmatian

Dalmatian and Princess

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Toronto Animal Services South dog photos June 12

Willy - Poodle

unnamed Schnauzer

Lucy - Jack Russell Terrier Chihuahua cross

Daisy - Border Collie

Brett - Cocker Spaniel

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Stella and the bee

Stella's had a life long fascination with bees. If they buzz around, she tries to catch them in mid flight. She's been stung a couple of times inside her mouth but that only makes the game more challenging. If they're not airborne, she just watches them.

This afternoon, she found an injured one crawling around in the backyard.


She stared at it and wouldn't leave it alone for a good hour. I was thinking she might want it for a pet until finally she lapped it up with her tongue out of the crevice it had crawled into and gingerly took a couple of chomps and ate it.

Here's the non-action packed video:

Update on Ursula

From Gudrun, Ursula's owner:

We got some great news this week. Ursula was tested to see if she still has the blastomycosis and the tests came back negative! It only took 5 months of giving her medication twice a day hidden in yummy treats since the pills had a bitter flavour, but it was worth it.

I've attached some pictures of our adorable girl.



That's wonderful news and congrats, Gudrun. Looks like Ursula is a keeper.

Runaway Baby

The leash gets tangled up in the volunteer's feet. She trips, drops the leash, lands hard on the sidewalk on all fours, goes kathunk (we feel it through our shoes), goes "Uhn", and the dog, frightened, takes off. The dogwalker yells "Baby!" and I think, That's affectionate, but later realize that it's the dog's name.

Baby is a small white American Eskimo dog and she's running away from the crash-noise-yell towards the parking lot. A woman coming out of her car sees Baby and beckons the dog over, pretending she has a treat. Baby stops running and takes a step towards her.

"Grab the leash!" someone yells but the woman doesn't hear or doesn't react. Baby takes another step towards the woman, nose up in the air trying to get a scent of the treat, realizing there is no treat after all and backs away. For a moment the woman and the dog stare at one another and then Baby turns tail and takes off, leash trailing behind her. The woman looks at Baby as she runs and then looks at us and shrugs.

We check to see if the dogwalker volunteer is okay. She is. Maybe a couple of scrapes, maybe some minor bruising later. My friend is already in her van, taking off after Baby. I get into my car, wishing I had my bicycle with me instead, and drive after Baby as well. The volunteer gives chase on foot.

I see Baby ahead, still running now along the side of the road heading towards the main intersection at Dufferin where there will be two lanes of traffic. Just before she gets there, she veers right then turns around and veers left and I think she might turn back around but instead she blindly runs across the intersection. I hold my breath. She doesn't get hit. I exhale. She's now in the parking lot of Medieval Times heading towards the park where I used to walk Stella every morning. The parking lot is half full with people walking from their cars to the show. My friend in the van is already over there and out of her vehicle, asking people to try to call the dog over to them.

I drive across the intersection and into the parking lot as well. I see Baby playing the part of a mad footballer, deking and dodging people with outspread arms and legs akimbo and beckoning voices and little kids squealing in delight at all the fun.

Baby avoids them all but it's all too much commotion for her here so she turns around and runs towards Dufferin again and again I hold my breath and I imagine everyone in the parking lot collectively holding their breaths as she dashes across Dufferin again back onto the CNE grounds, and we all exhale.

By the time I drive back over, Baby is nowhere to be seen. I see the volunteer. She had glimpsed Baby along the bushes by the border of the CNE grounds but she has lost sight of the dog now as well. She is near tears. The other driver in the van pulls up and we all talk and decide to go back to the office and see if anyone's heard anything. As we arrive, cars and TAS vans are pulling out and we tell them where we last saw Baby.

Five minutes later, I drive away with a sinking feeling. I have all these visions in my head of screeching tires and Baby bounced off the fender of some car only to be found months from now by some city worker picking up leaves and garbage.

Then, just before I get to the Dufferin intersection, I see a TAS van coming towards me. Baby's sitting in the passenger seat, paws on the dash, head looking out the windshield.

I follow the van back to the office. Baby had apparently cooled her heels and finally approached someone who grabbed her leash and held onto her until the animal control officer in the van retrieved her.

I'm expecting Baby to be a nervous, anxious dog but when I take the leash to go photograph her, she isn't that at all. In fact, she's gentle and friendly. She seems happy to be around us and as she wags her tail, I'm sure she's thinking, "Can we do that again?"

Maybe, but not with us. She was adopted a few days later.

From the new owners of Baby (now Sadie):

Here are some photos of our little girl. We all love her very much.



For adoption information on dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

2 videos

You've probably already seen this one but here it is for posterity:



This next one is inspirational ... something to keep in mind when the THS sets up its educational program:

The new Toronto Humane Society A-team

I kept hearing that old line that the good guys never win over and over the last few days but the good guys actually did win this time. For a board of directors of an animal welfare charity, you can't really get much better than this.

Michael Downey with his massive corporate resume including CEO of Tennis Canada and former senior executive at Molson's and Maple Leaf Sports is now the president of the Toronto Humane Society. In the last several months, he has gone from being a concerned member to someone who is now intimately aware of the problems and challenges the THS faces and I'm sure will be integral in coming up with the plans on how to move the THS forward as a successful corporate entity.

Marcie Laking, with her extensive animal rescue background and experience within the THS is a perfect vice president. She is outspoken, well spoken and her animal welfare sensibilities along with Michael's business acumen make for a well balanced head for the THS.

Linda MacKinnon, whose dogged determination over the past several years to unseat Tim Trow and his iron grip over the THS is an inspiration to tyrant topplers everywhere and is the new chairperson.

Ian Wintrip, a forensic accountant, is the treasurer. Hopefully, he'll be able to shed some light on a question at the top of everyone's minds which is where all the money was going to these last ten years at the THS.

Lisa Gibbens, communicator and strategist, who stepped down from a seat on the Faces of Change slate, worked tirelessly behind the scenes campaigning to get the slate elected. She is now the secretary.

The new board's next order of business will be to meet with the management team of the THS and figure out how the finances are shaping up and what state the staff and facility are in after their six week hiatus. Fingers crossed that those six weeks under the old regime were well used by staff and management alike and not wasted away on extraneous activities like bringing one's car into the facility so that it can be worked on, hypothetically speaking.

More on the new board here and here.