The Blessing of the Animals is a traditional celebration held around the world  to mark the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, who was known, among other things, for his love of animals.

The local Blessing of the Animals multidenominational service will be held on Saturday, October 3rd at the Anglican Cathedral on Church Hill at 2 pm. All creatures welcomed, but pet guardians must be sure their animals are safely under control (e.g., with a leash or crate, etc.).

A Sweet "Bully"

While the main goal of Ruff-Spots is to support animal shelters and rescue groups within Newfoundland & Labrador, our concern for animals is never just limited to our own borders.

Recently, we heard of a fanatastic group based in Ontario, called “Bullies in Need“. BIN is a group that primarily rescues American Pit Bull Terrier as well as other pit bull-type dogs.

This group exists mainly because of the breed-specific-legislation found in Bill 132. According to Ontario provincial law, pit bull-like dogs are banned from living in Ontario unless they were born prior to November 2005 (there was a 90 day grace period after the law took effect in August). Any puppy identified (or misidentified) as a “bully” after November 2005 is illegal, and subject to seizure and euthanization.

So, many so-called bully puppies or young dogs that that end up in Ontario animal shelters are euthanized. But not all. Some, through the efforts of compassionate shelter staff and groups like BIN, get a second chance. The “older” dogs (4-5 + years), born prior to Bill 132, can be legally adopted within Ontario. Younger dogs cannot. For these dogs, BIN looks to out-of-province foster care providers and adopters.  There is even one of BIN’s foster dogs right here in NL (check out “Reggie” – the sweet sleepy dog in the photo above- from their list of adoptables).

Interested in getting a Pit Bull? Consider adoption and rescue instead of purchasing one from a breeder. 

Can’t adopt but are shocked by what is going on in Ontario? Think about a donation to BIN.

Afraid of Pit Bulls or think they should be banned? Take some time to educate yourself on this type of dog- you’ll probably be surprised!  Here are some other great sites to check out:

Pit Bull Rescue Central
HugaBull Advocacy and Rescue Society
BAD RAP

If you’re interested in contacting BIN, e-mail them at bullies_in_need@hotmail.com

Have you ever considered adding a bird or a “small” animal, such as a guinea pig or rabbit, to your family?

The Bird and Small Animal Rescue, located near Clarenville, has several beautiful bunnies- many of them spayed or neutered- as well as some very cute guinea pigs available for adoption. Looking for a bird, turtle, or other little furry creature? Check their website first and “rescue, don’t buy” whenever possible.

Oreo, the black and white Dutch-mix rabbit in the photo above, is just one of the lovely pets available for adoption at the Bird and Small Animal Rescue.

Click for some information about owning a rabbit from the House Rabbit Society.

The British RSPCA has good information about caring for guinea pigs and other small animals.

Although caring for a small pet can be a fantastic learning experience for an older child or a tween, parents need to be willing to accept the responsibility for the pet if the child starts to lose interest. Because, after all, pets are for life!

New Poll Reveals Americans Often Treat Pets Like Humans | Dog & Cat Health, Wellness, Products and Breed Information

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Ruff-Spots Neutered Loui from Happy Valley/Goosebay SPCA
June 2009

Ruff-Spots Spayed Rose from Central Paws
June 2009

Two new Spay/Neuter Assistance programs are now being offered by the City of St. John’s for cat owners:

CAT NEUTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

In efforts to help control the cat overpopulation and as a community service
Avalon Animal Hospital is offering one day of COMPLIMENTARY MALE CAT NEUTERS for residents of St. John’s who have been unable to afford this service. All cats will be tested for Feline Leukemia/FIV as a part of a province wide study being performed by the Department of Natural Resources and Memorial University.

Applications can be obtained at:
Humane Services
81 Higgins Line
St. John’s, NL
or online at www.stjohns.ca

Applicants must be residents of St. John’s.
Limited number of surgeries available.
Only those approved will be contacted.

This program is administered and in co-operation with the City of St. John’s.

And, this too:

GET OUT OF THE HEAT!
City of St. John’s Presents

Subsidized cat spay/neuter program for residents of St. John’s needing financial assistance

GET YOUR CAT SPAYED OR NEUTERED FOR $65 (Includes a Cat Tag)
You are eligible for assistance if you meet one of the following criteria:
- combined family net income of $25,000 or less
- single parent with a net income of $25,000 or less
- single and have a net income of $15,000 or less
- senior receiving income assistance

You must show proof of financial need with the following:
- proof of identification which shows you reside in St. John’s.
- proof of income (copy of 2008 income tax assessment)

Applications for assistance can be obtained at:
- Access St. John’s, City Hall
- Humane Services, 81 Higgins Line
- Online at www.stjohns.ca

Spay and neuter now to control the pet population & for your pets health and well being. Spaying and Neutering can reduced medical and behavioural problems

This program would not be possible without the support of the following veterinary clinics:
- St. John’s Veterinary Hospital
- Sunrise Animal Hospital
- Terra Nova Veterinary Hospital
- Topsail Road Vet
- Torbay Road Vet

A short news clip from VOCM can be found here.

Here is a letter that Ruff-Spots has sent to the Office of the Chief Veterinarary Officer of the Province as part of the consultation process for the new live animal statutes that are being developed.

More information about this process can be found here:
Provincial Consultation on Live Animal Statutes

Other key amendments to the new regulation, which will be called the Animal Health and Protection Act, encouraged by the SPCA, can be found in this news release:

SPCA News Release March 23, 2009

We encourage all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador who are interested in animal welfare to write a letter or an e-mail to the OCVO.
*******************************************************************************************
Dear Dr. Whitney,

I am writing as President of Ruff-Spots Animal Welfare Foundation, a registered charitable foundation in Newfoundland and Labrador that was founded in 2003. We are an organization consisting entirely of volunteers, and our main mandate is to help improve the quality of life and adoptability of rescue/shelter animals by funding their spaying and neutering procedures. Additionally, Ruff-Spots aims to stimulate dialogue, through our efforts and examples, which will educate the general public about rescue/shelter animals, animal rescue organizations and shelters, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, and animal welfare issues in general. Since our inception, we have fundraised and provided funding to 10 animal shelters throughout the province to spay or neuter 232 adoptable animals. With the cooperation of several local veterinary practices, we have also administered a low-income spay/neuter assistance program (SNAP-NL), which has provided funding for the spay/neuter procedures of 90 pets of low-income families.

It is in our capacity as an organization concerned with all issues of animal welfare in Newfoundland and Labrador that I now send you our comments about the current live animal statutes in the province.

Firstly, we commend the Province for the realization that the existing regulations and Acts dealing with animal welfare are mostly out-dated and inadequate. There are three areas, in particular, in which we hope the new Animal Health and Protection Act will provide further protection against cruelty for animals in this province:

1. Strengthening/re-defining “standards of care” for animals.

Currently, the definition of “mistreatment” of animals in the Act is inadequate. We feel that failure to provide appropriate standards of care for any animal should be considered mistreatment and be a provincial offence prosecutable by law. We would like to point out that the recently-enacted Animal Welfare Act in Ontario has clearly outlined “standards of care” for all animals, and has made special provisions of care for dogs that live outdoors, as well as captive wildlife and primates.

Excerpt from Ontario Regulation 60/09 (under the OSPCA Act):

Standards of care for dogs that live outdoors
3. (1) Every dog that lives primarily outdoors must be provided with a structurally sound enclosure for its use at all times.
(2) The enclosure must be weather-proofed and insulated.
(3) The size and design of the enclosure must be adequate and appropriate for the dog.
(4) A chain, rope or similar restraining device used to tether a dog that lives primarily outdoors,
(a) must be at least three metres long;
(b) must allow the dog to move safely and unrestricted (except by its length); and
(c) must allow the dog to have access to adequate and appropriate water and shelter.
As you know, the culture of keeping the “outdoor dog” is alive and well in Newfoundland. We believe that adopting the standard or care definitions from the Ontario legislation would be relevant in this province.

We further believe that more precise definitions of standards of care and mistreatment will provide the legal “teeth” to deal with animal breeding operations, i.e., “puppy mills” which provide inadequate conditions for their animals. Although this province has not yet had major issues with puppy mills, it is likely that as regulations and fines increase in other provinces, operators will look to set up their businesses in provinces with less stringent regulations or enforcement. We hope that our new Act would discourage and prevent this.

2. Increasing Penalties/Fines:

The current penalties for convicted offenses under the current Act are inadequate and should be increased.

Again, we would like to call your attention to the new legislation in Ontario, which has increased potential penalties for offences of animal cruelty, including up to 2 years jail time, fines of up to $60,000, and a lifetime ban on animal ownership.

We feel that similar penalties should be provided for in the new Animal Health and Protection Act.

3. Prohibitions on Fighting:

While we have been very fortunate that dog or other animal fighting has not been an enterprise in Newfoundland and Labrador, we feel that specific provisions should be made in the new legislation that prohibit the training or permitting of animals to fight other animals, as well as the owning or possessing of equipment or structures used in animal fighting.

There a several other issues related to animal welfare in Newfoundland and Labrador that I would like to take the opportunity to comment on.

Firstly, we would like to encourage the Province to support the training of additional Special Constables under the new Animal Health and Protection Act. It is our impression that the number of Special Constables is inadequate throughout the province, particularly in regions off the Avalon Peninsula.

Secondly, we wish to encourage further cooperation with municipal authorities, such that in the event that the new Provincial Act and a municipal by-law are in conflict, the one which would provide the most protection for the animal would take precedent.

Finally, we wish to have it known that our group in no way support breed-specific legislation in terms of the banning of particular dog breeds that are perceived as “dangerous”. There is absolutely no scientific support for banning particular dog breeds, and in some areas where such laws have been enacted, they have been found prejudicial, ineffective, and have been rescinded. Any animal control legislation enacted at the provincial or municipal level to protect the public should not be permitted to include breed-specific provisions. Further to this point, we feel that the ban on the importation of the Labrador Husky to the island, as provided in the current Dog Act, should be removed under the new Animal Health and Protection Act.

On behalf of the volunteers of Ruff-Spots Animal Welfare Foundation, I thank-you for the opportunity to comment on the review of Newfoundland and Labrador’s live animal statutes. We wish you the best of luck in the consultation process and are happy to be of any assistance at anytime.

Sincerely,

Donna Short
President,
Ruff-Spots Animal Welfare Foundation Inc.

In Canada and the United States,  June is adopt-a-cat month.  

Cats can make the “purr-fect” pet for some people. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but most cats don’t deserve the aloof reputation that they often have.  While  cats are more independent than your average dog, most cats give their people oodles and oodles of  affection! 

And, to be honest, cats are much lower maintenance than dogs. They are content to live their lives completely in the house, with the occasional entertainment of  bird watching through the windows, and a play bout or two a day with their person or another feline companion.

Most of the Ruff-Spots Team members have been owned by cats at some point in their lives, and we can tell you, from personal experience, how wonderful it is to have cats in your life.

 Right now, I (Carolyn) have two cats: Walter, an almost 17-year old stately gentleman, and Binka, a 3 year old black-and-white female who is completely “bomb-proof” (a good thing, since she lives with 3 kids and 3 dogs!).  Here’s my story:

Walter is a CFA- he was adopted from the Oakville Humane Society when we were living in Ontario many years ago. We adopted him as a companion for our young Nick- the biggest, fluffiest, sweetest grey and white cat who I fell in love with on Boxing Day morning in 1991 when I was a volunteer at the St. John’s SPCA. Nick was with us for 16 years, through several moves back and forth across the country and for the arrival of two of our three children (btw, cats and babies do so mix!). He is still greatly missed and will be remembered forever.

After Nick passed, his life-long companion, Walter, seemed depressed. But, after several months, Binka found us (quite the feat, as she was at the Burin SPCA!) and we thought that she might be a good companion for Walter. It was actually because of Ruff-Spots that we found Binka. She had been living in the Burin shelter since she was a tiny kitten. At the time, she was 5 months old, and the shelter staff asked Ruff-Spots for funds to have her spayed, so that she would be more adoptable. When I took one look at her picture and her story, I knew that Ruff-Spots would be spaying a different cat at the shelter, because she was coming home to us.

In celebration of Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat month, Ruff-Spots is asking all cat lovers  in Newfoundland & Labrador to submit a photo of their cat or cats, along with a short story. 

Send us your photo to ruffspots@gmail.com and we’ll post it on the blog.

It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the cats  in our lives and to raise a little public awareness about the many, many cats that are waiting for their forever homes in every single shelter in this province.

So, pass it on to your friends and co-workers. Put it on your blog. Spread the word… June is adopt-a-shelter-cat month!

I’ve told you our story, so here are the photos:

Walter

Binka

The SNAP program would like to re-direct interested applicants who live in the St. John’s area only to contact the City of St. John’s Humane Services Division (City of St. John’s Animal Care and Adoption Facility on Higgins Line) for help “fixing” their animal companions. Pet owners can contact Humane Services about their Low Income Spay/Neuter Assistance Program which is beginning in June 2009.

Ruff-Spots’ Shelter Spay/Neuter Fund, which assists animal shelters and rescue groups across our province, is out of funds and is also on hold until further notice.

At this time, Ruff-Spots board of directors will be taking a ”paws” for the summer months and will inform the public of our status via our web site.

Thank you to all our supporters and have a great summer!

Ruff-Spots Spayed Winkin from Heavenly Creatures
May 2009