I was delighted when Lowell Brown, founder of the site, called and asked if I would like to join the Toronto barks team! I couldn’t wait to say YES, thank you for the invite and opportunity! Each month I will be submitting a column called “Barking for A Home” and will feature a shelter or rescue dog who is in need of a place to hang his or her leash in a new forever home. I will also include background information about the organization that is facilitating the adoption, their mandate and a wish list. Our primary goal is to bring to light the number of dogs who, through no fault of their own, need a second chance at love and life. As well, while introducing readers to the different groups via the column, we hope to inspire some of you to become involved in volunteering, even in some small way – no job is too small when it comes to helping dogs! Fundraising, event planning, newsletter creation, web site maintenance, fostering, transporting and administrative tasks all need the helping hands of many.
Sadly, there will always be homeless, displaced dogs. Some twenty-five years ago when I worked at the humane society I was somewhat idealistic (as often the young are). We saw so many dogs coming into the shelter each day, it was over-whelming. Litters of puppies that were ‘accidental’, yet often the same people were back 6 months later with another box full of pups, teenaged dogs were given up because they grew too big, were too energetic or people “had no time” for them, other times dogs were left at the shelter because people were moving, had allergies, the dog was destroying the house, or the kids no longer had any interest and senior dogs were often seen at the shelter when owners were moved to long term nursing homes or the hospital. Each new day also brought an influx of stray dogs who were never claimed. I believed that if we educated people on proper dog care, the importance of spaying/neutering, providing adequate exercise and stimulating the mind through positive training and interaction people would “get it” and dogs would live a happy, full life with the humans that originally chose to make them part of their families.
Unfortunately, life in the world of dogs is not so simple; in fact it can be extremely complicated. I will say that over the last decade or so, there have been leaps and bounds made for dogs. Dog guardians on the whole seem to be far savvier, and there are more resources than ever before in terms of services for dogs. Dog walkers, dog day care, available information on the internet, educational dog fairs and events, additional dog training facilities, dog sports and off leash dog parks to touch on only a few! I think back to days gone by and if we, as adoption councilors, suggested hiring a dog walker even fifteen years ago, the people that were applying to adopt would think we ‘over the top’ with our expectations and I guess to a much lesser degree it might be perceived by some the same way today. However, generally speaking we have come a long way with the dogs we love.
This said humans are and always will be – well, human. Dogs need us to be their responsible caregivers, but regrettably we don’t always make the right choices and dogs can and do end up put in precarious situations because of those choices. Every dog who needs re-homing has a story, but in most cases we won’t ever know their story in its entirety. If only dogs could talk! But because they can’t we hope to speak for them as best we can through the Barking for a Home column which will begin in January. I’m looking forward to bringing the work of shelters and rescue organizations to the site, networking with Toronto barks members and hopefully helping needy dogs find the love and care they so deserve!
Have a safe and happy holiday!
Lorraine
