Dogs in slo-mo

Yes, it's an advert but the subtleties the slo-mo camera captures are pretty cool.

Earthlings - the complete video online

I hesitate to post this link here because this movie is probably the most horrific movie I have ever not seen in its entirety and it brings up too much that is beyond the scope of this blog. This is a movie about the most extreme animal cruelty, not the kind done to animals in dark corners by psychopathic deviants but directly and indirectly by all of us.

Like I said, I've never watched this movie in its entirety. I've hardly watched any of it actually. Last time I tried, I clicked on a scene where some men were standing around a panting dog who was lying behind a compacting garbage truck. Yes, what you think happened next happened but I clicked off before I had to watch it.

Many people say this movie has changed their lives. I believe them but I wonder if it's changed their lives for better or worse. Some things make us stronger. Some things ruin us. You have been warned.

http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/video-full.php

Friday review, Mar. 5

A bunch of black Labs/mixes were brought up from high kill shelters in the States last week. I'm always amazed at the quality of dogs that come up from the States. Their personalities are always so pleasant. I guess that speaks to the number of dogs that are killed down there and how we get the cream of the crop through rescue.

Oops, my mistake. I thought these guys were from the States (that's usually where a lot of TAS South black Labs come from) but turns out they're from Quebec.

Brand spanking new and some with no names yet.

Jack

Toronto Animal Services South also got in dogs from Quebec last week (the facility is pretty buzzing right now). Check out the Corgi mix with the dangerous ears.

Not yet named

Finn

Buck

Barkley, the hairy eyeballed Maltese Terrier got groomed so I took a new photo. I hear he's had his eye operation done so I'll need to take an even newer photo with his now hairless eye - hopefully get around to it this weekend. He'll be put into adoption once the eye is completely healed and will probably be snatched up pretty quick since he's such a cutie pie. That's a good thing because the shelter environment is degrading his personality with other dogs.



More on Barkley here.

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

Cat in a box

A guy has this cat. He doesn't particularly care much about this cat but he likes having it around because it makes him feel good about himself. He likes the feeling of power he has over the animal. He keeps it in a 2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft metal cage. He's kept it in the cage for over two years now, ever since the day the guy brought it in from the alleyway where it had been living previously. Once or twice a day, when the litter box needs cleaning or the food or water need refilling, the guy takes the cat out and puts a leash on it and ties the leash to a table leg so the cat doesn't get away. The guy hates having to chase after the cat. Sometimes the guy might stroke the cat for a few minutes but sometimes the cat doesn't like this and tries to scratch him. The guy doesn't know how long he will keep the cat in the cage for. He figures maybe for another two years. After that he'll see. Maybe once he's tired of the cat, he'll get a dog but of course he'll need a bigger cage.

Now how about we make some adjustments to this situation:

Guy Number Two has this cat, in fact he's got several cats, hundreds. He cares deeply about these animals and caring deeply about these animals makes him feel good about himself, that he's doing something to help keep these animals alive. He keeps each cat in a 2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft metal cage. Some of them have lived in their cages for over two years. Most of them have come from alleyways or backyards or parks or have been dumped at the guy's front door by their owners. Once or twice a day, people, nice people, come around and spend a few minutes with each and every cat. They'd like to spend more time with the cats but there are so many and each one deserves some attention and there's just not enough time. Some of the cats, the feral ones or the ones with behavioural problems don't necessarily like all the attention and scratch the people petting them. The guy worries about these particular cats because they may never find homes. He may have to keep them in their cages for a very long time, maybe for many more years. He won't euthanize them. He will let them die in their cages before he does that.

Let me turn this around some more:

Guy Number Three has some hard and fast rules about how long a cat can live in a cage. For the sake of argument, let's say it's one year. Any cat that's still in a cage unadopted at one year plus a day gets put down. Now this guy isn't completely cold-hearted. He tries to find the cat a home. In fact, during the month leading up to the deadline, the guy tries really really hard to find the cat a home, sending out e-mail blasts, calling up all his rescue friends, asking family members for the hundredth time if they have room for just one more cat. But the cat is unsociable. Nobody wants another unsociable cat. So, finally, just as the cat is starting its 52nd week living in its cage, this guy with a heavy heart puts the cat's name up on a whiteboard which informs the staff and volunteers that the cat is going to be euthanized at the end of the week.

Guy Number Two hears about this and is outraged. He calls Guy Number Three a cat killer. He says that Guy Number Three never cared about cats, that he's only interested in killing cats to keep the cages empty so he doesn't have to clean them. Guy Number Two never actually talks to Guy Number Three about any of this, never asks for his side of the story, but Guy Number Two does talk to his small group of friends who all think alike and they've all eagerly decided amongst themselves that this must be the case with Guy Number Three. They hate him.

Guy Number Three hears about what Guy Number Two and his friends are saying about him and gets pissed off. After the cat in the cage is euthanized and other cats are euthanized, he starts getting more officious and withdrawn from the staff and volunteers. He gets defensive. He thinks everyone is out to get him. Guy Number Three starts to worry more about people's perception of him than about how to help the animals in the facility.

In walks Guy Number Four. Guy Number Four has got big plans. He won't tell anyone what those plans are but he promises that once he takes over the place, he'll let people know. He manages to rally a few people together because, really, who else can they choose from at this point? It's all quite impressive at first with the promise of big plans from Guy Number Four. After a while, though, with conditions not really getting too much better at the shelter, some of his supporters start to ask Guy Number Four for a clue as to what his big plans are but Guy Number Four gets insulted by this line of questioning and starts yelling at those people, accusing them of being traitors to the cause.

Guy Number five, meanwhile gets a dog dumped at his doorstep. He scans the dog for an identification microchip and it turns out the dog is from the shelter where the other guys are hanging out. Guy Number Five phones Guy Number Three and says:

"Hey, I got one of your dogs. You need to take him back. I don't want to have to look after another one of your failed adoptions."

But Guy Number Three says, "No way, Jose. You touched it last. It's yours."

And Guy Number Five says, "It doesn't work like that. This dog is your responsibility."

Guy Number Three: "Ain't my responsibility. Guy Number Two adopted him out."

Guy Number Two, hearing his name mentioned, comes running over and starts yelling at Guy Number Three, "I know all your dirty secrets. You're a cat killer! You kill cats in the middle of the night. I hate you!" and he turns and he yells at Guy Number Five, "And I know all your dirty secrets. You're going to kill that dog, you dirty dog killer. I hate you!"

And Guy Number Three says, "I wasn't killing cats. I was saving cats."

And Guy Number Five says, "I don't even want this dog. Here take it back."

And Guy Number Three says, "Yeah? Make me."

And Guy Number Two is yelling and stamping his feet and shaking his fists, "Cat killer dog killer cat killer dog killer cat killer dog killer!"

Guy Number Four is in the wings waiting, confident that his day in power will come.

Now believe it or not, there's actually a Guy Number Six involved in all this but Guy Number Six is scratching his head and not doing much because even though he wants to help, he doesn't know how to help. He doesn't know or really care who is wrong or who is right. He's not really into any of this animal welfare stuff because there are too many kooks mixed up with it but still, he doesn't like it when animals suffer. He looks into the banks of cages lining the hallways. He sees all the cats who have been living in them for weeks, months or years. Some of the cats are purring, some hissing and some are slowly going insane.

And that folks, metaphorically speaking and in no particular order, is sort of what's going on in the background at the Toronto Humane Society.

Meanwhile, the people there who are doing the good work are still doing the good work.

Current adoption notice, March 4, 2010:

Fabio & Bugsy

A112409 & A119717


Hello, my name is Fabio, and this is my best friend, Bugsy. I came to the shelter as a stray in May 2007 (almost 3 years ago!!!) and Bugsy came as a stray in Jan 2008 (2 years ago!). We met at the shelter and have been inseparable ever since! We are a pair of very special boys with very special issues. We are both FIV+/FeLV+. Many cats with these viruses can live healthy lives without symptoms for months or even years, but their immune systems are compromised and usually they will eventually succumb to an FIV/FeLV related illness. Right now, we’re both healthy and on no medications at all. We are looking for a very special Permanent Special Needs home with no other cats, that is accepting of our conditions and willing to open their heart to us for as long as we may have. WE ARE LOVING AND AFFECTIONATE BOYS WHO DESERVE A HAPPY ENDING. If you think you may be able to help us out, or have questions about us, please come and ask about us at the cat desk, or contact the Permanent Placement Program at 416-392-2273 x2354.

ALL WE WANT IS TO KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE LOVED.

Please pass this along to anyone you know who may be able to help!

The Cesar Millan effect

I usually don't intentionally let dogs I walk go up to too many people but this Lab's just come up from Ohio and has been locked up in a cage for who knows how long and has had a cruddy life and was this close to being euth'd so I make an exception for him. He's untrained and hyper-enthusiastic. He butt wiggles at and tries to meet everyone who passes by. I let him approach a few of the friendlier people, at least the ones who aren't wearing super nice clothing. Everyone's good with that, even delighted to meet the dog, except for one father and son who I don't see, who walk up from behind and try to pass but the Lab runs two steps at them before the leash goes taut and he doesn't reach them but the dad's aghast and the six year old looks like he might cry and the dad tucks the kid beneath his arm and hurries off, giving me a dirty look.

"You're going to have to learn to stop rushing people," I say to the Lab who looks at me with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. "And also stop looking ridiculous."

I take the Lab upstairs and along the way he greets every staffer like each one is his closest and dearest friend who he hasn't seen in ages and everyone greets him back like he's the overgrown puppy nutbar he really is.

There's a couple sitting upstairs and as I walk by them the woman asks, "Is he your dog or are you adopting him?"

"I'm just walking him. We just came back from his walk," I say.

"You're a dog walker here?" she asks.

"I'm a volunteer. Sometimes I walk the dogs, sometimes I ..."

"Is he up for adoption?" the man asks.

"Yes, he's a ..."

"He's too big," the woman says.

The Lab knows we're talking about him or maybe he doesn't but regardless he wants to meet the new people. He starts to pull towards them.

"Hold on," I say to him - as if my words could actually make it through the dizzy happy fog that is this Lab's permanent condition.

"Oh it's okay," she says and both she and her husband lean forward in their chairs to get ready for his greeting.

I advance slowly with the Lab who's drooling with anticipation at the thought of making more human friends. The Lab reaches them and they start to pet him. The Lab starts to paw and to generally get over-excited at the stimulation.

"He's dirty. He doesn't know his manners," says the woman.

"He's not well trained," says the man.

"No, he just got here," I say.

"You should train him better," says the woman. "It's easier to adopt out animals if you train them first. You should train him to sit."

"Training dogs to sit is easy," says the man.

"We trained our last dog to sit in 10 minutes," says the woman.

Then, as if to teach by example, the man goes, "Chuh."

And the woman goes, "Chu."

And the man goes, "Chuh, chuh."

And the woman goes, "Chu."

And the man goes, "CHUH! CHUH!"

And the woman goes, "Chuchuchu!"

Regardless of what people might think of Cesar Millan and his methods, he's got a way of dealing with dogs that works for him. Some of his critics will accuse his show of being one big editing scam where hours of work are condensed into a few minutes but I don't think this is the case. I think, in his own way, Millan is a genius. This isn't an ethical judgment. His alpha dominance methods may be an outdated, moral outrage to some but that doesn't mean he's not a master at what he does and what he does, as far as I can tell, is exude his presence over the dogs, his air of being in charge. I'm pretty sure his method isn't just about his trademark vocalizations.

Maybe I've had a long day and I'm slow to react or maybe I'm just an asshole. I should pull the Lab off them but both the man and woman are now chuing almost in unison and I want to see how this is going to turn out. The Lab is getting more excited by all this chuing and he's now up on his hind legs trying to clamber onto the man's lap.

"CHUH! CHUH! CHUH! CHUH!" the man says.

"CHU! CHU! CHU! CHU!" the woman says.

The Lab's high up enough on the man's lap to start licking his face. His wife, seeing this assault on her husband, reaches out and give the Lab a bit of a shove with her fingertips and then leans forward and goes, "Chu. Off. Chu."

I've been perusing (I don't have time to actually read whole books anymore) Temple Grandin's Animals Make Us Human. In the chapter on dogs, she discusses whether the relationship between dogs and their owners should be based on alpha dominance or one more akin to parent and child. She brings up an interesting point about how it's a myth that wolves in the wild live in packs. Wild wolves actually live as families. Usually, a group of wolves consists of the two parents and their kids - the ones who are still hanging around. The parents are "dominant" in the way most parents are dominant over their kids and the kids generally stay in line even after they've grown up - just like with most humans (someone can become CEO of a big company but when he goes home, he still defers to mother and father).

But Grandin isn't sure about the artificial environment created when people take dogs into their homes. Do the dogs view the humans as parents or alpha pack leaders? It may be subtle but the difference would inform the proper balance between guidance vs. dominance. Grandin thinks that in Millan's case, where he has a pack of thirty or more unrelated dogs living peacefully together, it's dominance at work. Millan is the alpha dominant leader of the pack and the dogs realize there's no point for them to fight over the top boss position. In a typical family setting, though, with only one or two dogs, Grandin thinks the dogs will view the humans as parents because it's a more natural and comfortable social hierarchy for them, just as it would be for human children.

In either case, Grandin makes no mention of the chuh sound.

The Lab, oblivious to the noise coming from the couple and now happily invading the (very) personal space of his two new best friends, has won the competition of wills.

"Alright," I say to the Lab and I pull him towards me. "Hey, stop that," I say and I turn the squirrely dog around to face me and try to calm him down.

"He's much too big," the woman says.

The man is brushing off his pants and wiping off his face while the Lab's attention gets diverted elsewhere: the cats, the floor, the adoption office, the elevator, the columns, the stairs. After a quiet moment of observing the slight to non-existent attention span of the Lab, the woman says:

"Our dog died a few months ago. He was sixteen."

"We're looking for a poodle. Do you have any poodles?" the man asks.

"I don't know about poodles but there are some other smaller dogs here," I say. "You can go into the adoption room and have a look. One of them is pretty timid, though, so please take it easy on him."

I take the Lab into one of the back rooms. He's not ready for adoption yet - still needs to be health checked and speutered. I walk him into his kennel and just as he realizes I'm going to leave him behind and is about to freak out, I take out a biscuit and present it to him.

"Sit," I say and after a moment of consideration, the Lab sits. I may not have Millan's amazing power over dogs but I do have access to good snacks.

Brindi's life in the balance

Brindi is a dog out in Halifax whose life or death will be decided by a judge on March 9. I'd posted about Brindi before but then let it slide, waiting for the outcome of the legal proceedings. Well, the trial for Brindi's owner, Francesca Rogier, concluded last week and she has been found guilty on three charges: 1. owning a dog that was running at large, 2. owning a dog that attacked another dog and 3. failing to comply with a muzzle order. So, under the eyes of the law, Rogier is guilty and will be sentenced next week. At the same time, Brindi will also be "sentenced" the difference being that Brindi's sentence could be life ending.

During the last 19 months which Brindi has spent confined at the Nova Scotia SPCA awaiting all the legal proceedings to finish, she's made some friends. Here's a recent letter written by the NS SPCA on her behalf to the prosecution:

(click on image to enlarge)




And Brindi's got a lot more supporters than that especially given her on-line presence along with coverage in mainstream media. It would seem that no one wants Brindi dead except for animal control and city prosecutors - and how often have we heard the same story here in Ontario? (Why are so many municipal agencies at war with their citizens over their dogs?)

The drama isn't just about Brindi, though. Rogier has become quite a controversial figure herself recently, polarizing many people within the animal welfare community with her strong pronouncements on various matters and people. In some ways, the story about the owner's behaviour has overshadowed the story about the fate of the dog and that's unfortunate.

If you want to find out more about Rogier and Brindi you can just google "Brindi Halifax" and you'll get hundreds of links - a most impressive use of social media to advance a cause. The online chatter is more like a roar at times, though not always very accurate or civilized.

This is Rogier's own site, Free Brindi.

This is the Facebook site, Save BRINDI From the City of Halifax.

Joan Sinden's site has a lot of information about the whole Brindi/Rogier affair. Sinden has come under attack by some of Rogier's supporters for questioning certain aspects of Rogier's actions in this whole ordeal and I think she's removed her earlier posts because the hate mail started pouring in. She's got some recent posts, though. It's a very interesting read, especially if you go through some of the many comments, that perhaps gives insight to why the animal welfare community so often eats its own. Just type in "Brindi" in the search box on her blog and the posts will come up or you can start with this one, Deconstructing a BAD newspaper article.

If you have a moment, please express your concern for Brindi's fate. Here's the contact info:

Director of Legal Services Mary Ellen Donovan at
HRM Legal Services
POB 1749
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 3A5
Fax: 902-490-4232
http://www.halifax.ca/legal/index.html

AND

Mayor Peter Kelly at kellyp@halifax.ca, phone: 1-902-490-4010, fax: 1-902-864-6917

Update on Ophelia

I don't remember Ophelia so I'm guessing she got adopted before I had a chance to even take her photo. Good for her!

Here's the update from her new owners:

I just wanted to let you know that Luna (formerly Ophelia) is doing really well. She's already really attached to me and Andrew and she's getting along with the other dogs. We took her to the vet last weekend to get her sutures removed and she received a clean bill of health. She's settled in nicely with our family and has been a great addition. Thanks for saving our little girl!

I've attached some pictures of her first week with us.