So, I was told the other day (actually it was voted on by the Boys and Girls Rooms during one of our in-shelter board meetings), that since I am the eyes and ears of the shelter, that maybe I should do a little promotion of certain animals we think deserve some recognition, the first set being designated for those who have made great strides since coming to the shelter.

First on our list is Keisha. Keisha wins the Most Improved Award in the Kennel. I do remember when she came in, and I have to admit, I was impressed by how pretty she was. Through the grapevine and many trips to the office litterbox, I learned that she had come in as a stray, and what people don't realize is how much that can either break or make an animal. I have seen so many cats and dogs come in as a stray, believing that their owner will come looking for them. Because of this belief, a lot of animals shut down, and don't talk to their next cage neighbours, not to mention the staff at the shelter. Once they realize that no one is coming for them, they have to...

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Posted at: 09:59 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Hey it's me again, Nyla, one of your favourite shelter cats. I decided to write again, because I need to get a bunch of stuff off of my chest.

So far this year, we've had triumphs and we've had troubles. They always say to end on a good note, so I will.

Every year we have animals coming in as strays. Animal Control is always on the road trying to catch dogs and cats whom were dumped on the side of the road. Some examples come to mind: The little Westie mix, Ghost,  who was dumped at Bass River Bridge and was caught by a legal trap and later died from her injuries. The Golden Retriever Santana, who was seen literally being kicked out of a van on the highway. Belle, a German Shepherd mix, who was found lying in a snowbank on the side of the highway near Belledune. Then Africa, the Black Lab female, who is just a baby herself, being less than a year,  will be welcoming in puppies in the coming weeks. And the countless cats that come in every year, with no owner coming to claim them. It's no surprise what people are capable of doing when...

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Posted at: 11:06 AM | 2 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Thanks to the staff at the shelter, I have managed to hack into Frankie's blog and decided to write one myself. This is Nyla, the other shelter cat. You know who I am...I'm the better looking one! I was taking a nice nap the other day, watching the winds and snow hitting the window to the kitchen when I heard one of the shelter workers say how cold it is outside and how lucky we are all to be inside safe and warm. It got me thinking about all of those unfortunate who are still outside, especially with it getting colder! I can only hope that other people are worrying about these people and animals. Please stay warm, and please help those that may be in need of a warm shelter.

On a lighter note, although I am the more serious of the shelter cats (opposites attract!), I also wanted to say a BIG THANKS (that's me yelling) to everyone who helped out this past year and will continue to help this year. To the dog walkers (especially this guy Steven who is always talking about some dog named Bagout), who brave the cold to give a shelter dog some needed...

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Posted at: 01:34 PM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

First of all if you follow the links here you will see one of the largest Puppy Mill raids that was ever held in US history. This just happened on June 26, 2008 and the videos shows you much effort has to happened in order for one raid to happen. Although we here in NB are not used to seeing these kinds of things on such a massive scale it does happen and there are many puppy mills currently operating in NB and throughout Canada. The message is the same, and the conditions the animals live in are consistently similiar. I urge you to contact your politicians and tell them it's time for the government of NB to get the legislation to protect animals from puppy mill operations in effect. Although we have had a law on the books now for 10 years that would address the ability of SPCAs to prevent these types of operations from existing through the Pet Establishment clause, the government is still waiting to enact that portion of the law. Thus the SPCA cannot proactively inspect these operations and unless there are actual witnesses to the situation willing to testify and lodge complaints and be...

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Posted at: 11:42 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

We here at the shelter are both happy and sad to say goodbye to our dear little Pug. Sad because we will miss her snorting and wanting to be picked up. Happy because she has found her forever home with great people. Even though she had a bad start in her life, she has shown us how much hope there still is in the world and there are Happy Endings!  She will be visiting us from time to time and that is alwasy a thrill for us here at the shelter to ses our former "residents" in good hands. We love you Pugerella, be happy!

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Posted at: 11:36 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

It's been a busy weekend with several dogs adopted anda couple transfered to the Miramichi SPCA. Just a quick note for those of you inquiring about little Pugerella. She went through her surgery with flying colors. The Vet said she was remarkedly healthy for all she has went through. The infection in her reproductive tract had caused her to have a flase pregnancy. While there were no puppies, she experienced all the "joys" of pregnancy including lactating and labour pains. That is over with her successful spay surgery. Her eyes are much better and the Vet said that while she will not recover complete sight they are much better and she can get around pretty good. It is amazing how forgiving and loving dogs can be despite experiencing some pretty horrible experiences. She is now wagging her tail and looks forward to greeting everybody in the morning. She still has "accidents" but we have noticed that regular and frequent potty breaks outdoors will be required. She likes people's company and gets upset if left alone for too long. She also gets along well with cats and other small dogs although big dogs that are too rambunctious make her nervous. We... [More]

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Posted at: 02:40 PM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

It's been a busy weekend for all of us here with another adoption fair come and gone.  Many volunteers get together to plan, coordinate and carry out this event and for that we are always grateful. Some of our furry friends here at the shelter were featured and got a chance to meet a lot of people and we are keeping our claws crossed that they will all be getting a new home soon. As much as they like it here it's always better to have our own home with a family to love and take care of us. I would like to take a momment to introduce to you our new friend here at the shelter which some of you have probably met already. Her name is Pugerella and she is a 7 year old Pug who was left partially blind and deaf due to years of neglect. Pugerella came to us as a stray picked up near Losier Settlement in the Acadian Peninsula. She was underweight, had severe eye and ear infections and was very afraid of every sound. She soon captured the hearts of all the shelter staff and has become a special project for the staff. Pugerella has...

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Posted at: 01:59 PM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

Hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago it didn't look like winter would ever end. Now the warm weather has arrived and the snow is melting fast. Be careful to keep your pets off the ice! With the arrival of warm weather comes the time to think of cleaning our yards and with the disappearance of the snow banks comes the revelation of lots of doggie doo! Dog walkers are out in full force and are reminded to pick up after their dogs as it is a city by-law to do so. Most of us will be soon be raking our yards and picking up the left overs from this winter. There are plans underway for a designated dog park and it will be nice for dog owners to have an area to let their dogs run free and get some much needed exercise but remember your doggie manners like picking up after your pet as the city will be monitoring the success of this dog park. It is a good time as well to remind dog owners that spring means the inevitable exposure to contagious diseases such as parvo and the best protection for your pets... [More]

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Posted at: 10:07 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

I wish it were but it's not. On Sunday, March 30th we received 19 housecats as a result of a house fire. Yesterday we picked up 6 more and today still 2 more. We have 5 more still to catch as these are actually going back into the house and we can't go in but traps have been set and we should have the rest in the next few days. That means 32 cats from one location alone. Three cats have 11 kittens between them and we are sure a few more are pregnant which will result in more kittens.  To put that in perspective 32 cats represents about 50 % of what we would normally hold at the shelter. That's a lot of cats. Of course the owner is not in a position now to help financial as he has lost everything in the fire but this was a disaster waiting to happen in any event. When you allow a couple of cats to start breeding indiscriminately you run into trouble rather quickly. These cats are all related, in other words, 1 became 5 became 12 became 20 became 32 and more on the way in less than 2... [More]

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Posted at: 08:49 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Did you know that is the earliest Easter in over a 100 years? And we won't see an early Easter like this for another couple of hundred years. Has something to do with the lunar cycle and Easter always falling on the first Sunday of the new moon after the first day of Spring? Something like that. Anyway it sure is the snowiest we have had in a very long time. I remember when Spring meant Pussy Willows ,tulips, robins, marbles and skipping ropes. Ah the good old days. Anyway that hasn't stopped the animals from coming in. The Easter Bunny dropped by at the shelter and left us a bunny. No not a chocolate one but an actual live bunny. Funny enough his name was Pope. We renamed him Bon Bon. He is a dwarf rabbit and pretty cute and friendly. Now we normally don't advocate people get bunnies for Easter presents. They sure are cute and cuddly when they are  little. Sadly, people don't realize that unlike a dog and cat they require a lot more work to maintain with the cleaning and upkeep of their enclosures. They sure can poop! Some bunnies can be litter trained like a... [More]

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Posted at: 08:36 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink