#61
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THS Donations
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No, I don't have anything in "black & white", but the process has been set up and the new fund has been properly coded into the donation department's system. There is a fund at the OSPCA that is strictly for the animal care at the THS - honest. So, if the judge is correct and their funds cannot be used for legal fees, that's great... but there is still a fund for THS at the OSPCA, at least until things are straightened out and a trustworthy system is in place at River St. Donors have a choice. |
#62
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Today's paper http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toro...violated-rules
It's getting worse by the day, hope donator's continue to give for this shelter. So many animals ...
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In rescuing animals I lost my mind but found my soul ~ anonymous ~ |
#63
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THS Donations
Not too sure how this link will work, with my lack of expertise here, but now there is information on the OSPCA website about THS investigation FAQs and the info on the donation fund for THS animals through the offices at the OSPCA:
http://www.ontariospca.ca/press_rele...stigation.html Last edited by habibi; December 2nd, 2009 at 02:07 PM. Reason: URL fix |
#64
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Thanks for posting that habibi, when I looked this morning that info was not showing. The OSPCA have a bad habit of not keeping people upto date on things.
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#65
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I was there many years ago, around the time I wanted to adopt my dog, and there were animal workers outside protesting. It bothered me then (though I would've never been informed had I not seen their picket) that animal care workers would be marching instead of helping out. My gut told me that something was *really* bad inside.
And apparently it's only gotten worse through the years. The THS is crying foul and that they're the victims of some sort of OSPCA/media witch hunt, without giving any evidence for their perspective. They've also hired some hot shot Toronto lawyer. If they get off or if the THS returns to where it was before, I'm going to be FURIOUS. I think they need an entire board change and someone willing to take over that actually cares about the animals. Euthanasia for space is NEVER right, but obviously never euthanizing any animals under any conditions is terrible as well. Some animals simply suffer too much being kept alive and I don't think Trow cared at all. I think that the best place to find some objective, first hand information is this blog http://helpths.wordpress.com/ run by people who work and used to work at the THS. Read some of the stuff they're saying because it's so appalling that it's hard to believe it's happening right here in this city. RIP Casper the ceiling cat. |
#66
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THS Donations
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No problem.. now there will be some answers for concerned people. I cannot reveal my position, but I am closely associated. Let me just say that the OSPCA does not jump to conclusions or rush into "releases". The organization works carefully and takes time that the public may not percieve of or understand readily to work for animal welfare. Public statements are not made until all points of consideration are dealt with. Sometimes there are sensitive dealings that could affect the outcome of many things - a legislative campaign or perhaps an investigation. Media releases are as timely as they can be, for the welfare of the animals that is so heavily at stake. |
#67
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I agree with habibi in that the OSPCA, as dramatic as the raid was, seems to be taking this very carefully. People at the THS keep talking about the bad blood between the two societies but the OSPCA took five months to investigate these allegations. Personally, I wish this all had happened a long time ago but I appreciate the care the OSPCA is taking to get this done properly.
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#68
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This morning's Star:
Warnings about humane society shelter ignored Ex-worker sent province letter about inhumane conditions for wildlife http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toro...helter-ignored |
#69
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Blankets & Towels Needed!
Just got word that these items are desperately needed at the THS!
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#70
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This article was in the Toronto Star this morning, some of you might find it interesting...
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/...itimate-debate |
#71
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Thought provoking article Chris.
Sadly, I'm sure these issues aren't particular to only Toronto's shelter. If people weren't irresponsibly and ignorantly breeding, acquiring, and dumping pets in the first place, we wouldn't have to be hearing of such stories.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#72
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A question the THS will have to answer to,how they spent $10 million and owed $750.000 to vets etc...still did not have enough money to care properly for the animals
We can blame all the owners out there for sure,they are the cause we need shelters,but the purpose of the THS is to care for these poor little souls. What I thought was a good situation at THS turns out to be a disaster,shame on everyone involved:sad:
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"The cruelest animal is the Human animal" 3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie |
#73
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Very good article, chris, thanks for posting.
One point that really makes me think, that it was almost a witch hunt against the THS is that somebody tipped off the OSPCA about the trap with a mummified cat in there. If somebody knew about it, why hadn't they removed it or had THS check on it before the raid? Animal care is a very passionate issue that I don't think you could ever get two large groups of people to see eye to eye on everything.
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Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#74
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Naturally I agree with everyone here.
This is absolutely heartbreaking! I couldn't click on the link, and I switched channels after hearing the "warning" message on television. How these guys witnessed it all, and actually participated in it, is unfathomable! Sadly also, this is the reason why a lot of people nowadays have become more reluctant about making donations to charity. Last edited by Ford; December 8th, 2009 at 10:25 PM. |
#75
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[QUOTE=Love4himies;858149]
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Does anyone know if there will be a meeting anytime soon to vote in another president?
__________________
In rescuing animals I lost my mind but found my soul ~ anonymous ~ Last edited by Golden Girls; December 6th, 2009 at 08:20 PM. Reason: spelling |
#76
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Here is a link to the latest news I've seen just now:
http://www.marketwire.com/press-rele...a-1086340.html I spent 8 hours at the THS today (Sunday) cleaning 34 cat cages. Aside from what was mentioned in the link, there were three cats in my room who had health concerns. One was a lovely black & white male with severe raw lesions around his neck. Another was a Persian with a lesion under his eye from discharge eating away at the skin and he was severely matted and had diahrrea. A third consumed three bowls of water while I was there - the vet took blood and found he was diabetic and removed him from the room. The black & white boy with the lesions is suspected of having a food allergy. I immediately changed his food to hypoallergenic and he ate three servings in quick succession. The records on the cage doors are in total disarray - large gaps in information and pages going back to last summer in a mess. They have NO toys! These poor animals are sitting in cages for months with absolutely no stimulation or exercise. It is absolutely astounding how many cats are in that building - remember the "Day in The Life" bull**** that was on the THS website in the summer? Those breezy spic and span hallways in the new "Cat whatever they call it"? Well kids, it is JAMMED with cages, many of them holding two or more. There is crap all over the floors - litter mixed with food and spilled water, and shredded paper, because they line the cages with paper and there are no toys, so what else is there to do for months on end? It's disgusting and heart-wrenchingly sad. The people I worked with, outside my room were freindly and helpful enough, but not overly communicative. I learned that staff there were not allowed to converse much - just business, no enjoyable conversation. They are now realizing that the gestapo is gone and they can relax, so the atmosphere is becoming brighter now. I'm going back on Tuesday and wish I could go more, but my own job is there to do too. If anyone can help, they sure need it! Of course, there are security concerns....the place is basically still a "crime scene", but if you can spare the time, especially with the cats and are able to fit the profile of the helpers they need, please go! Last edited by habibi; December 7th, 2009 at 12:55 AM. Reason: typo |
#77
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I must add that three of the cats that I cleaned today were completely fractious (hissing, biting, nasty tempraments). I had to use heavy padded gloves, cover their heads with a towel and scruff them tightly to get them into a holding area so that I could clean their cages. A third cat never got completely cleaned because I could not remove her. I pushed a wad of paper towel soaked in disinfectant around as much of her cage as I could reach with a broom. Then, I had to put the new stuff in. She was traumatized for the whole process.
I am a cat lover- I have four babies of my own, feed successive strays until I can get them spay/neutered and rehomed and have been fostering kittens for five years. I LOVE CATS..... BUT, when a fractious, unadoptable cat is in a cage in a boring shelter environment for months on end, THAT is cruel. The kindest thing that can be done for an animal like that is humane euthanasia. You will never be able to convince me otherwise.... I have assisted at humane euthanasias many a time and I can tell you with complete confidence that there are times when it is the kindest thing to do. To keep an animal in a small cage interminally is nothing short of cruel. This is happening at the THS. |
#78
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habibi:
I also volunteer for a humane society and I have to tell you that every morning the same mess is greeted by the volunteer cleaners that you describe, so that is not isolated to the THS. There are un-neutered cats that will spray all over the floor (they are waiting to get neutered, my HS has a manditory spay/neuter policy before adoption). Some will even destroy their cages before the staff have finished cleaning the room. Also, I would like to tell you a story about a male stray that was brought in and had a year long stay. He was angry, he hated people, he didn't want to be touched. He bit and bit and bit the staff. He was not allowed out for play time as he was too angry (I now think it was probably more frightened than angry). I felt for this guy :sad: and wondered if it wasn't better to have him euthanized too. One day the right person came along and fell in love with him. They were experienced cat handlers and so they adopted him. He has turned out to be a wonderful, lovable lap cat . The HS gave him a chance and is now in a lovable family. He was found declawed which is probably the reason for his biting and fear. . He was at the shelter for almost a year. I am sure glad my HS doesn't euthanize for space because I would probably not have my sweet Rose right now. She was a hissing, angry girl during her stay at the HS, not the same cat as what was living in my home. After a month of tears from saying good bye to her after a visit at the shelter, I brought her home for good, and have not regretted one second of having a semi feral in my house. She turned out to be such a sweet, wonderful kitty.
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Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#79
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In the STAR today there is a full-page account from 2 employees who work at the THS for $10/hour.
Do I believe them,yes,I do 100%!! I don't think there is a witch-hunt to get Trow or the TSH,who else is there to step in,but the OSPCA??(McGuinty??) It seems to me Trow enjoyed his own little dictator-ship and maybe more will be unearthed once the THS finances will be investigated. There are more people than Trow responsible for this outrage,but Trow was the president,hence responsible It's all about the animals,not Trows feelings,all these employees and volonteers cannot be wrong,nobody works at the THS because they love to clean cages,they do it because they love animals.
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"The cruelest animal is the Human animal" 3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie |
#80
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L4H,I agree with you,no animal should be killed to make room for more..our Oakville HS,is a good place,yes,some animals have sadly been there a long time,but there are enough people to give them time and affection.
However,what has been unearthed at the THS is a totally different scenario.
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"The cruelest animal is the Human animal" 3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie |
#81
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Here is the article Chico was talking about:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toro...rkers-say?bn=1 Quote:
Habibi...I don't know if you have ever actually worked in the shelter system, if you have then you should know that semi-feral/feral cats can be turned around to become loving pets. |
#82
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Quote:
__________________
Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#83
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Newspapers just want to sell papers, and as we saw with Bryant, they don't tell it all, just what they want to reveal. What I have seen at the little shelter I volunteer for can be shocking, Sick, stray cats that have been brought in who are waiting for diagnosis before decisions are made, which we know can take some time before the vet gets results back. It can be very, very shocking to see these cats in those conditions, but they won't euthanize until a vet states the chances of survival are not good. I can't say how the THS is run, I haven't been there, but I just want to let people know that dirty cages, sick cats and over crowding is not isolated to the THS, it happens in every shelter. There are just not enough volunteers.
__________________
Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#84
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I volunteered with the OSPCA for a couple of years, never arriving at 8am, but when I did get there, conditions were never appalling, litter boxes/food dishes were washed every day sometimes twice depending on the day...The cats were fed twice daily as were the dogs....This is still the norm at this shelter where they have between 300-400 cats at any given time.
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#85
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All cages are cleaned, litterboxes sterilzed, food dishes fresh food dishes put out, at the shelter where I volunteer for too, but I can tell you that Malcolm and Matilda's, the two feral kittens I rescued, cage would be appalling when I got there to clean them up :sad:. Volunteers had to give them baths, they would be full of food and feces . So if you saw them before the daily cleaning and took a pic and sent it to the media to be published, I am sure there would be many shocked and angry people too. Plus, they were being treated for a severe eye infections so they not only had a filthy cage, but looked sickly too. You would swear nobody cleaned their cage for a week , but I know it wasn't so, as I was there doing it on weekends and they have a very strick policy on cleanliness, but what happens after closing could not be controlled. M&M stayed in hiding while the shelter was open, but after it was quiet, they destroyed their cage . . I still miss those two :sad:.
I guess my point is that no shelter is perfect and THS being a huge shelter there was probably even more than average issues. Reality of it is that there are never enough resources or volunteers, to keep everything spic and span and to nurse every cat the way they should be (in my opinion they don't heal well in a shelter environment). These are not ideal living conditions for cats, I know, but the only alternative is to euthanize for space. Sometimes it is so easy for us to sit and judge, not so easy to manage a perfect shelter with limited resources, especially if you are trying to manage with a mandate of no kill. I am not defending Tim, I don't know him or how he ran the THS, I am speaking of non kill shelters in general .
__________________
Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#86
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I agree with you 100% L4H...if the statements from the current employees at the THS are true imo that is not the norm for shelters in general.
I think that understaffing is a hugh problem at all shelters and to rely on volunteers all of the time is wrong, afterall they are "volunteers"....I think that if management were to give up some of their "bells and whistles" and use donations from the public for the reason that they were intended, that would help with staffing problems. By "bells and whistles" I mean, laptops, blackberrys etc., |
#87
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I agree, Chris, if the manager really, really cares for the welfare of the animals, then they would do without bells and whistles, I know the shelter manager here does and uses her own vehicle for transportation and works 50 hours and gets paid for 25. :sad: I think that is why I support them as much as I do.
__________________
Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#88
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I am not able to give Trow the benefit of a doubt,his THS had a budget of $10 million and still not enough for food and medicines for needy animals
I've only been to the Oakville HS,there are adoption-rooms for the cats,each room usually with a regular volunteer care-taker I know a man who volunteered there for 15 yrs,"his"adoption-room was his,he even built an outdoor run for the cats. He himself adopted cats that were deemed unadoptable,old and sickly,or had been there for a long time. It's heartbreaking to see cats in cages,but whenever I donate toys or things and visit the kitties,there has never been a problem,except I leave in tears:sad: I am certain that once their finances are looked over at the THS,they will find something amiss..
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"The cruelest animal is the Human animal" 3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie |
#89
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Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#90
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Too many shelters euthanize feral cats first because of lack of space. That is not the answer. Spaying and neutering is. I am not even going to comment on Trow and gang. It just makes me sick. :sad:
__________________
Assumptions do nothing but make an ass out of u and me. We can stick our heads in the sand for only so long before it starts choking us. Face it folks. The pet population is bad ALL OVER THE WORLD! |
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