April 2017
Meet Your Match® through the Ontario SPCA You could be gazing at the animal of your dreams, but you just can’t tell what they’re thinking behind that cute little furry face. What if you knew a little something about their personality and habits before you moved in together? Get ready to find a pet that suits your needs – get ready to “Meet Your Match!” A program of the ASPCA, Meet Your Match® is the only method in existence that evaluates an animal’s behaviour and interests and matches them to an adopter’s preferences so that you take home a pet you can really click with. The Meet Your Match program won’t let you go home without knowing who’s in that carrier or on that leash. Watch our video to learn more about this innovative program and see the matches it has made. Already have the pet of your dreams? We want to hear your adoption story! Enter the #IMetMyMatch video contest. For your chance to win, upload a video of your story telling us what made your pet perfect for you, or post your video on Instagram using the hashtag #IMetMyMatch and then claim your entry. The contest closes April 17, so don’t delay! The randomly selected winner will receive a $50 credit for PawsandGive.ca, our online giving catalogue, and an Ontario SPCA swag bag.
Nominate your veterinarian today for this year’s Got A Pet? Get A Vet!™ Award Help us recognize local veterinarians and their staff who go above and beyond to provide excellent care for pets and their families. From May 1 to May 21, we want to hear from you! Submit your favourite veterinary clinic for the 2017 Got a Pet? Get a Vet!™ Award and encourage friends and family to go on the gotapetgetavet.ca website to vote for the winner.  Got a Pet? Get a Vet!™ is an annual education campaign by the Ontario SPCA, in association with the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) and participating SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada. It promotes and educates owners about the importance of annual veterinary checks. Just one checkup a year will help protect your pets against a variety of potentially life-threatening diseases, detect health problems sooner and help you avoid unexpected costs.
Paws & Give: Better than a chocolate bunny! Spring is finally here and Easter is just days away. If you’re looking for something fresh and meaningful to give, we have Easter and spring-themed “animal-grams” for you!  Donate just $10 through Paws & Give, our online giving catalogue, and send an eCard to your friends and family to celebrate the season, all while helping animals in our care. Or, choose a Rocky & Friends plush adoption to give in place of a basket of chocolate or trinkets. The little ones in your life will be cuddling a soft plush dog, cat or horse while you’ll have the warm, fuzzy feeling that animals in need are safe and cared for, all because of you. You can be a hero this spring!
Join us for a Spay-Ghetti dinner (with no balls) You’re invited to join the Ontario SPCA Orillia Animal Centre for our Spay-Ghetti dinner (with no balls) on Friday, April 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Geneva Event Centre. Enjoy a pasta dinner – minus the meatballs – in support of the Orillia Animal Centre. We hope you’ll join us for a delicious dinner, which includes Caesar salad, garlic bread, refreshments and desserts. You’ll leave with a full stomach and the satisfaction of knowing you helped support animals in our community. Tickets are $15 per person. For more information, call the centre at 705-325-1304.	The shy dog with a big heart found his forever home We’re thrilled to tell you that our handsome boy Stryker, a two-year-old Husky cross, has been adopted! If you knew how far Stryker has come, you would know just how special this moment was for everyone at the centre. When Stryker was first surrendered to us, he was shy and didn’t even know how to walk on a leash. Our staff and volunteers worked diligently to bring Stryker out of his shell and their hard work paid off! We wish Stryker all the best in his new home. We know he’s going to have so much fun with his new “brother,” Chewy. Congratulations, Stryker.
Volunteers like Dawson make life better for animals  April 23-29 is National Volunteer Week and we have so many amazing and dedicated volunteers to recognize, one of whom is Dawson. Dawson is a dedicated and reliable local high school student who volunteers by spending enrichment time with our cats. He grooms them, plays with them and sometimes just sits quietly with them. This enrichment is essential to keep our cats healthy and happy and prepare them for life with a new family. Volunteers like Dawson are the backbone of every not-for-profit organization, and the Ontario SPCA relies on hundreds of volunteers across the province to help keep our animal centres running smoothly. During National Volunteer Week, we will honour those who have volunteered their time to Animal Welfare and improving the lives of the animals in our care. Volunteers are vital and we can’t thank them enough. From all of us here at the centre, thank you, Dawson – and thank you to all our volunteers! If you would like to get involved and be part of our team, visit our website for more details.	Meet Smiley the blind therapy dog Despite abuse suffered at a young age, you’ll never find this Golden Retriever without a big smile on his face. We recently welcomed a very special guest to join us on our Animals’ Voice Pawdcast: Smiley, the blind therapy dog. Smiley the blind therapy dog, as he’s become widely known on social media, was born without eyes and spent two years living in a puppy mill, where he suffered attacks from other dogs. Even after being rescued, Smiley struggled to find a loving home to care for him. Nobody wanted him because of the challenges they thought would come with owning a blind dog. From those traumatic beginnings, Smiley never lost his calm and gentle personality. After some time adjusting to his new home, he became a certified therapy dog with St. John Ambulance. He now visits schools with his owner, Joanne George, who shares with children how Smiley was bullied for being born blind. It’s a powerful story to explain to children why bullying is wrong and hurtful. To hear Smiley’s story and the challenges of raising a special needs dog, listen to our podcast with this incredible dog and his dedicated owner.
Can you help us reach our fundraising goal? In the last issue of Newshound we told you about Bella, a brave little Chihuahua who came to us with a badly broken leg. X-rays revealed she had two broken bones in her front leg that required surgery to correct. Metal plates and screws were needed to repair the damage to her tiny leg. She came through the surgery well, but had another setback when she suffered a seizure that night. The great news is Bella rallied and grew strong enough to go up for adoption. We were so happy for this little dog the day a loving family adopted her and took her home! Bella’s story has a happy ending, but our fundraising goal to help recover the costs of her surgery and care is far from being reached. We need your help. Will you make a special gift today to help animals like Bella get the life-saving care they require?	Cupcakes come to the rescue to support animals in need Thanks to bakers and supporters across the nation, close to $530,000 – and counting – was raised for National Cupcake Day™ for SPCAs & Humane Societies in 2017!  To date, the campaign has raised nearly $2.38 million, proving that Canadians have a sweet tooth for cupcakes, and a love of animals.  The average cost to care for a shelter animal is $568, which means that over 900 animals were helped with the success of this year’s National Cupcake Day. The wonderful success of the day showed that animals in need across Canada can have their cupcake (pet friendly, of course!), and eat it too! Set your baking timers now for the 2018 National Cupcake Day taking place on Monday, Feb. 26.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?  Subscribe here to get your monthly Newshound right to your inbox.

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 Orillia Animal Centre
467 West Street North, Orillia, ON L3V 5G1
Charitable Business #88969-1044-RR0002

Phone: (705) 325-1304
Fax:  (705) 325-1027
Email: orillia@ospca.on.ca

© Copyright 2020

Unsubscribe | Legal Disclaimer | Privacy Statement

Need Help? 1-888-668-7722