Community rallies to help mother dog deliver 11 pups

When a local community saw a very pregnant free-roaming dog as winter set in, they reached out for assistance to get her someplace warm before she had her puppies. Fending for herself, her pups would not have survived the harsh winter weather.

After multiple attempts to catch her, she was successfully live trapped and brought into our animal centre. We named her Bobbie. She’s a friendly dog, so we believe she likely had a family once. She was placed in a foster home with our volunteer, Ron, who also happens to be the driver of the Ontario SPCA Mobile Animal Wellness Services unit.

Ron was prepared for Bobbie’s arrival and had already built a whelping box where she could feel secure to have her puppies. Not long after, Bobbie gave birth to 11 puppies! We’ve named them Maggie, Molly, Abby, Archie, Charlie, Stevie, Henry, Freddie, Thor, Candy and Xena.

Unfortunately, Bobbie was diagnosed with heart worm and Lyme disease, which is very serious and requires lengthy and costly treatments. To help cover the cost of Bobbie's care, please consider making a donation.

Baking the world a batter place for animals in need!

Dust off those aprons and preheat your ovens because Cupcake Day for the Ontario SPCA is right around the corner! Good news – registration is now open, and we are counting on bakers like you to make life a whole lot sweeter for animals in need!

When you register and fundraise for Cupcake Day, you are helping to give vulnerable animals the second chance that they deserve, plus you get to eat delicious cupcakes - what could be sweeter?

Are you getting excited yet? The animals at the Ontario SPCA sure are! Take a look at how our furry friends are celebrating cupcake day this year!

Join the paw-ty, register today at cupcakeday.ca and bake a difference for animals in need, one cupcake at a time!

Reuniting found animals with their families

When a stray animal arrives in the care of the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society, we do everything we can to reunite that animal with their family.

To enhance our efforts to reunite lost animals with their families, we have launched a new page on our website featuring animals that have been found and brought into the care of the Ontario SPCA.

When a stray animal comes into our care, our animal care team members also check to see if the animal has a microchip. We always encourage caregivers to have their furry friends microchipped and to keep the contact information on file up to date. Doing so increases the chances of being reunited with your animal.

Visit our website to check out the new page and see animals who have been found. Be sure to share their profiles on social media to help them find their families.

Tips to spot and manage arthritis in cats

Cats are some of the most remarkable athletes on the planet, with their fast reflexes, flexible spine, and powerful muscles. But as they age, their movement starts to slow, and they lose that feline finesse.

With aging comes the insidious progression of a debilitating and painful disease – osteoarthritis. Also known as degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis progresses with time. Pain from osteoarthritis tends to appear gradually, and it doesn’t usually cause limping in cats like it would in dogs. Cats also tend to be stoic by nature and hide their pain well. All these reasons may, in part, explain why the disease is difficult to spot!

So how do you know if your cat has arthritis and how can you manage this condition? Check out this month’s blog from Royal Canin, the official feeding partner of the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society, to learn more about what you can do.

Close to 600 animals find loving homes during iAdopt

iAdopt for the Holidays is over for another year and we have nearly 600 reasons to celebrate. That’s how many animals found loving forever homes during the 2022 iAdopt for the Holidays campaign, presented by Swiffer®.

Thank you to everyone who entered and voted in Ontario’s Cutest Adopted Animal Photo Contest. In case you didn’t hear the meows, we received over 2,906 submissions with 58,309 votes. Our grand prize winner was Po and Rei, with 20,600 votes!

Through our new Adopt it Forward program, 38 animals had their adoption fees paid by generous donors. To help those animals find loving homes, we are piloting this new program that gives donors the opportunity to pay the adoption fee for one of our more difficult to adopt animals.

There are still many animals in need of a loving forever home. Visit our adoption site to see animals awaiting adoption.

How to keep small animals mentally stimulated

Mental stimulation is important for the behavioural enrichment of small animals. But how do you keep them entertained?

The quickest and easiest thing you can do to change up their environment is to rearrange items in your friend’s living environment. Moving items to the opposite corner makes them think about its change of location; they may even try to move it around to place it where they want it. Introducing different “furniture pieces” such as branches and bedding can create a different environment. Introduce only one item at a time to prevent fear and stress.