July 2017
Businesses pledge support for No Hot Pets To help spread awareness about the dangers of leaving pets unattended in vehicles, and to assist pet owners, the Ontario SPCA is encouraging businesses across the province to take part in its annual No Hot Pets campaign. Through this new initiative, businesses that pledge their support for our No Hot Pets campaign will receive a digital sign that they can print and display in their store window, letting pet owners know they can bring their animals inside while they shop or do business. They will also be added to a growing list of participating businesses on the No Hot Pets website, nohotpets.ca To date, over 500 businesses in towns and cities across Ontario have joined the No Hot Pets cause. Interested in joining the growing list of businesses that support No Hot Pets? Take the pledge at nohotpets.ca and email nohotpets@ospca.on.ca to receive your digital sign.
Register today for our Friends for Life! Walk™ Mark your calendar for our annual Friends for Life! Walk™ taking place on Sunday, Sept. 24, at the beautiful Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland. In addition to a scenic walk through the marsh, Paul’s No Frills is graciously hosting a barbecue. We will also have face painting for the kids, fun and games for your furry friend and goody bags. Register at friendsforlifewalk.ca and start fundraising now. All proceeds from this event will help us continue to feed and shelter homeless animals, reduce the unwanted pet population through spaying and neutering, reunite lost pets with their families and provide humane education and animal advocacy to our community. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep current on the latest Friends for Life! Walk news, contests and giveaways. Fundraise & WIN: Register and raise a minimum of $50 online before July 31 for a chance to win 1 of 2 Scandinave Spa passes. Self-donations count towards your entry. Register now and start raising funds for animals in need!
Bonded cats find homes together This month was an exciting one for cat adoptions! Our friends at Pet Valu in Midland helped us to get a bonded pair of 11-year-old cats, Smokey and Sparky, adopted into a fantastic family. Smokey is an outgoing fellow, but his brother Sparky is easily spooked. It was important that they found a home together, as they are so dependent on one another. That’s why we are so glad they were able to find a home together! We wish both boys the best in their new home, and we know Smokey will continue to look out for his brother. We were also fortunate enough to see two other pairs of bonded cats go to great homes this month. Although adopters came in for just one cat, once they saw how strong the bond was between the cats, they were happy to welcome both into their life.	Pat has a special way with cats A big thank you goes out to Patricia Weyman, our cat volunteer. Pat spends a couple hours a day, three days a week, with the cats and we can’t thank her enough for everything that she does. Her gentle presence is invaluable to our timid new arrivals who are unsure of their surroundings. Pat lets them know they are in a good place and we think they definitely get the message. Pat’s patience and kindness are hugely appreciated by staff, and can be life-changing for the cats. Interested in joining our volunteer team? Visit our website to learn more about how you can help animals in need
Celebrating our 100,000th spay/neuter procedure The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society has reached a major milestone, performing our 100,000th spay/neuter procedure since we began offering high volume spay/neuter services to the public. As part of a larger provincial strategy to help reduce pet overpopulation, the Ontario SPCA began offering high quality, high volume and self-sustaining spay/neuter services to the public in 2009 when we opened the Ontario SPCA Centre Veterinary Hospital near Newmarket. Mirroring the success of that service, the Ontario SPCA Marion Vernon Memorial Animal Clinic in Barrie transitioned that same year to exclusively offer high-volume spay/neuter services. Based on a conservative estimate of average litter size and how many litters can be produced annually by every unfixed female, the number of female cats and dogs that have been spayed to date could have produced more than 6,152,000 kittens and 1,338,000 puppies, respectively.	North Star Air Ltd. makes $30k donation The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society was given a boost to continue to provide support and services to remote Indigenous communities in northern Ontario thanks to a $30,000 donation by North Star Air Ltd. Over the last two years, the long-time air transport service provider and partner to the remote northern communities has teamed up with the Ontario SPCA, local groups, Indigenous communities and Humane Societies across Ontario to help find new homes for over 140 northern dogs. Recently, close to 20 dogs and puppies arrived in Thunder Bay from Big Trout Lake with North Star Air’s assistance. Volunteer veterinarians accompanied the canines after a spay/neuter clinic in the community. The animals then travelled to Southern Ontario where they were placed up for adoption. North Star Air assisted in the project by providing air service for the volunteer teams to travel to the remote community and to transport the animals back to Thunder Bay.
Waze alerts remind pet owners not to leave animals behind As part of our No Hot Pets campaign, the Ontario SPCA has partnered with Waze to bring helpful reminders to pet owners travelling with their four-legged friends. Waze, the world's largest community-based traffic and navigation app, has introduced a new safety feature, Waze Child/Pet Reminder alerts. After navigating to any destination, this customizable, opt-in alert appears at the end of your ride and reminds you to check your car before you leave. Time driving is usually spent planning next steps – what we’ll do when we reach our destination, what to make for dinner, which route to take. We hope this feature serves as a reminder to be present and remember our furry friends who cannot speak up when it’s time to get out of the car.  To set up the reminder alerts, make sure you have the most recent version of Waze downloaded from your App Store or Google Play and go to Menu > Settings > General > Child Reminder > Turn on “Allow Reminders.” You can also customize your message to include the names of your children or pets. To customize your message, follow the steps above, then select Custom Message. For more safety tips, and to take the No Hot Pets pledge, visit nohotpets.ca	Over 40 animals find new homes during northern transfers It’s been a busy summer for the Ontario SPCA Provincial Animal Transfer Team and for the Ontario SPCA Indigenous Programs. The Ontario SPCA once again partnered with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (Big Trout Lake First Nation), located about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, to deliver essential Animal Welfare services. Pet owners brought 73 cats and dogs to be fixed and receive vaccines to help control the local animal population. Following the recent spay/neuter clinic, 18 community dogs and cats were transferred to central Ontario. Those dogs and cats have since been placed up for adoption through the Peterborough Humane Society and have already found new homes. While this important work was taking place, the Provincial Animal Transfer Team was in a different part of the province working side by side with leaders of another community that has also made Animal Welfare a priority. During our visit, 25 animals were transferred to the North Bay and District Humane Society to be placed up for adoption. Special thanks to Big Trout Lake First Nation for inviting us to your community, as well as PetSmart Charities of Canada, North Star Air Ltd., the Canadian Animal Assistance Team, Beat the Heat Kenora, the Ontario SPCA, the Peterborough Humane Society, the North Bay and District Humane Society and our many volunteers for making this important work possible. What can you do to help? A donation to our Provincial Animal Transfer Team will ensure this important work continues. Make a gift today and simply select “Provincial Animal Transfer Team” when asked where to designate your gift. Interested in volunteering on a transfer? Learn more on our website.

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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.

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