February 2017 Sweet things are happening at the Ontario SPCA Barrie Animal Centre in the month of February! “Bake” a difference for animals in need by stopping by the centre for our National Cupcake Day™ celebrations. For more information on how you can help, contact us today at 705-728-7311 or email barrie@ospca.on.ca
Happy Family Day from the Ontario SPCA Tails are wagging at the mention of Family Day, which is coming up on Monday, Feb. 20. Family Day isn’t just for your two-legged family members though. Fluffy and Fido would also love to spend time with you. Whether you’re snuggling up in front of the TV, heading out for a walk, or spending the day away visiting family, Family Day is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your two and four-legged family members. If you’re travelling with your pets, check out the fact sheet on Travelling Safely with Your Pet to help make the most of your trip. Looking for ideas on what you can do to keep busy and have a fun day this Family Day? We’ve got a few ideas that you and your pets are sure to love!
Time is running out to register for National Cupcake Day™ National Cupcake Day™ for SPCAs and Humane Societies is Feb. 27. If you haven't yet registered to host a Cupcake Day Party, there's still time to get involved and bake a difference in the lives of animals in need. We want your Cupcake Day experience to be a sweet one for you and your guests, which is why we asked celebrity chef Anna Olson to share a mouth-watering cupcake recipe that is sure to win over even the toughest critics. Visit our blog to see Anna Olson’s Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake recipe. Have friends with dogs? Another fun alternative or addition to a Cupcake Day Party is a Pupcake Party. Your event will go to the dogs – literally – when you offer Fido and his friends a canine-friendly cupcake. To help inspire you, we wanted to share this great “pupcake” recipe from Anna Olson. Definitely worth a try! Now in its fifth year, National Cupcake Day is presented in partnership by the Ontario SPCA and BC SPCA and is a collaborative event to support local SPCAs and humane societies across the country. To participate, visit nationalcupcakeday.ca to register to host a National Cupcake Day party and invite co-workers, friends and family. Guests donate to the participating animal welfare charity of the host’s choice in exchange for a cupcake, raising critically-needed funds for animals that are abused, abandoned, neglected or no longer wanted. Visit nationalcupcakeday.ca to register, bake and donate
Rats find new homes thanks to community support Thank you to everyone who donated items from our wish list to help us care for the rats at our centre. You helped make their stay with us a comfortable one as they waited to be adopted into loving homes. As you may recall, Ontario SPCA animal centres across the province, including Barrie, welcomed a large number of rats in late December after nearly 600 of the pocket-sized pets were removed from an apartment in North Bay. To help find homes for such a large number of animals, PetSmart® held a rat adopt-a-thon, sponsored by PetSmart Charities®, at stores throughout the province. We’re thrilled to report that over 350 rats are now in new homes!	Lily found a loving family Congratulations to Lily on finding her forever home! Lily came to us as a stray and, unfortunately, attempts to locate her owners were unsuccessful. When we posted a photo of Lily to our centre’s Facebook page, it caught the attention of a family who thought this loveable lady would make a great addition to their household.  They called us almost every day to see if she was still there. When Lily became available for adoption, they made the two-hour trek to adopt her. In fact, they were so eager to welcome Lily to their family that they were waiting outside our centre before the doors were even open that morning. Her new parents were extremely excited to be able to take her home and have updated us that she is fitting in extremely well with her new family. We wish Lily all the best in her new home.
Share your thoughts on Ontario SPCA merchandise We want to hear from you! We’re going to be introducing some new Ontario SPCA merchandise and we want you to help us determine what makes the cut. We want to know what you’d be most interested in purchasing from a new online store available through our website. Our goal is to offer Ontario SPCA-branded merchandise that animal lovers like you need and want. Please take a minute of your time to answer our poll question to tell us about the type of products that you value as a pet owner.  Thank you for sharing your valuable opinion with us.	Do you know the signs of hypothermia? Winter is far from over and there are still many cold days ahead. If your pet enjoys being outside and thrives on fresh air and exercise, they could be at risk of hypothermia. Would you recognize the signs if your pet was suffering from hypothermia and would you know what to do? Prevention is half the battle when it comes to keeping your pets warm and safe. For some pets, their fur coats  can protect them to a certain extent outside, but only when there’s no breeze. If the breeze is enough to lift the fur, their vulnerable skin is exposed to the cold. This is why it’s critical to listen to weather reports to hear not only the temperature, but also the wind chill values. If your pet is outside, they need to have ready and accessible access to a proper shelter so they can get out of the wind when they need to. Visit our blog for more prevention tips and to learn more about the signs of hypothermia and how treat it.
Support animal rescue and adoption with a visit to TSC Drop by your local TSC Store (The Incredible Country Hardware Store) starting on Feb. 24 to participate in the Paws & Hooves Program supporting the Ontario SPCA and our Affiliate Communities. For every $2 donation, you’ll receive a paper paw or hoof of your choosing to be displayed in the store showing your support. More than $228,000 has been raised to date through the Paws & Hooves program to help animals in your community and across Ontario. Please visit your local TSC Store to participate in the Paws & Hooves program and help make a difference in the lives of animals in need.	Local business donates snow blower We owe a big thank you to our friends at the Barrie Chiropractic and Health Services! They made a huge and very useful donation of a snow blower! Thank you, Mark Trudeau, Darryl Bossence, Karen Snow and Kim Davies, for making this possible. The generous support shown by our community is truly heartwarming! Interested in helping out? Please visit our website to view our wish list of much-needed items.

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Newshound is a free electronic newsletter published monthly by the Ontario SPCA to inform our supporters and friends of animal welfare about Ontario SPCA Community initiatives, programs, events and experiences. Contents of Newshound may be reproduced with appropriate credit.

Ontario SPCA Barrie Animal Centre
91 Patterson Road, Barrie, ON, CANADA L4N 3V9
Charitable Business #88969-1044-RR0002

Phone: (705) 728-7311
Fax: (705) 728-7243
Email: barrie@ospca.on.ca

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