Return of the Carcross Posties

Yes, once again the posties and the good people of Carcross have spent the past year raising money for the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter. They visited the shelter on Saturday and donated $2,204 to us.

Thanks to everyone in Carcross and to the posties for all their hard work.

Also in donation news:

A group of Grade 10 students at Porter Creek Secondary School built and auctioned off gingerbread houses. They were able to give the shelter a $50 gift card and $276 which will be matched by The Feed Store in Whitehorse.

Thanks to the students and staff at PCSS for their work and to The Feed Store for once again being a great supporter of the shelter.

O little pups of Whitehorse

How sweet we see thee lie,
Around thy deep and dreamful sleep
The shelter staff go by.
Yet in thy deep dreams shineth
The everlasting hope,
The coming weeks will see a home
Where they will be loved.

How carefully, how carefully
The loving homes are chosen.
So dog imparts to human hearts
The blessings of the canine.
No ear may hear their coming,
But in this land of snow,
Where good homes will receive them now
The loving pup will bide.

Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a slogan for this time of year,
A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas.
The RSPCA, together with similar societies around the world, works to educate people as to the problems associated with giving animals as gifts. Where midwinter festivals are held, December is a busy time of year. There is so much to do with visiting family, making feasts and buying presents that there is little time to give a new animal the attention it requires and deserves.
Maybe your kids have been begging for a pet and promised to take care of it. How many toys do you remember being abandoned by Boxing Day? Exactly.
All animals need care and puppies and kittens need much more than adults. They will grow as well, they don't stay small and cute forever.
Too many animal shelters see an influx of animals in January due to people giving animals as gifts which are then unwanted.
The Mae Bachur Animal Shelter will not be adopting out animals from 18th December to 27th December. This is a common policy among animal shelters to avoid shelter animals being returned unwanted after Christmas.

If you are thinking of taking on an animal as a pet, whether from a shelter or elsewhere, wait until after the festivities have finished and you have the time to devote to the new member of your family.
As the unknown author of "Forgotten Dog's Christmas" wrote,
" You weren't given a gift, you were given a life".

The staff and residents of the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We thank all those people who have donated time, money and items to help us take care of our animals through 2010 and look forward to seeing you again in 2011.

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a picture of Rover and Santa

Christmas is rapidly approaching once more, someone had to break it to you.

Once again, Humane Society Yukon is offering the chance to have your pet`s photo taken with Santa.

Santa will be at The Feed Store, 9006 Quartz Rd, on 27th November, 4th December and 11th December. On all three Saturdays he will be ready to pose with your pets from 11AM to 4PM.

A 5x7 photo of your pet and Santa is only $10 and all the proceeds go to the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter.

Just what you need as present for your cousin Julia! Or Auntie Mabel! Or your granny! There`s always someone who will appreciate it.

Wonderful News on Trevor

The Yukon Supreme Court has granted our application to keep Trevor here at the shelter. We will continue providing him with training and exercise under the guidance of Dr. Shelley Breadner, the animal behaviourist who assessed Trevor. We will be able to transfer Trevor to a suitable home once one becomes available.

Thank you to everyone who worked hard to get us through this lengthy court process!

We have kept our costs to a bare minimum, thanks to our volunteers, as well as the support of the Law Line, and the generous donation of time from our lawyer, Carrie Burbidge. Thank you so much, Carrie! We couldn’t have done it without you.

Here is an excerpt from Justice Veale’s judgement:

“I appreciate the weariness of the City with this process but I cannot agree to euthanize the dog when there is a responsible owner, the Humane Society Yukon, prepared to care for the dog with all the safety conditions in place along with the supervision and management of Dr. Breadner. In other words, Trevor will be managed in the interests of public safety, whether or not a suitable foster home is ever found for him. Should a suitable home be found for the dog in the City’s jurisdiction, the City must be notified so that By-Law Services can exercise its mandate under the Animal Control Bylaw, especially as it concerns public safety. Should a suitable home be found for Trevor outside the City, the local authority must consent and the provisions of this Order apply.”

(Slightly Less) Crowded House

Thanks to the people who have adopted and fostered some of our animals and the animal shelter in Skagway we are now less crowded than before. Whilst the situation is not at crisis point, we still have many animals looking for loving homes.

We are still in need of dog walkers and other volunteers to help out at the shelter. We have many dedicated walkers but we can always use more. You give a dog a break from the shelter for an hour or so and give yourself some exercise.

Why not call round sometime and meet some of our furry inhabitants. You never know who could steal your heart.

Shelter Update

The Mae Bachur Animal Shelter is full to capacity. We are not accepting any more animals at this time. Please note that our website is under repair this week but we have an overwhelming amount of puppies, small, medium and large dogs currently available for adoption. Come down today and see our residents. We are also in need of foster homes for puppies and special needs dogs.

Please come by today, we are at 126 Tlingit Street in the industrial area. The shelter is open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 7PM.

We hope to have our website updated for adoptions very soon.

Buddy Can You Spare a...Massive Amount of Dog Food?

Wow! When we put the the ad in the Yukon News and on the blog we didn't expect the response to be as big as it was. We have received a massive amount of food for our animals as well as cash donations to put towards food costs.

We know that Yukoners are generous but even we were surprised by the number of people who donated food.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to buy food for us, who dropped off money for food or who arranged for food to be ordered.

Dog Jog A Success

Our annual Dog Jog took place on 29th August. 26 dogs took part in the walk and about $1000 was raised for the shelter.

Thanks to all those who took part as well as their humans.

Jessica and the Kettle Corn folks popped popcorn for the participants and donated all sales to the shelter. Thanks to them and also the Feed Store who loaned us a water trough for the dogs and donated a box of pigs ears as rewards for the dogs.

Northern Wonders

Northern Wonders isn't just the name of this youth group, it's a good description of the kids involved. Through the summer they have been selling cookies, lemonade and homemade dog treats. Thanks to all their work, they managed to raise $555.53 for the shelter. More great work by young Yukoners. Thanks to everyone for all their work raising the money for us.

Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

For those of you who haven't seen the Yukon News, this is the text of an advert we are running:

We are calling upon the generosity of Yukoners once again.

The shelter is running low on dog food. We need Technical puppy food, as
well as any quality brand of adult dog food.
Any donations of dog food, either wet or dry, would be very much
appreciated. If you are cleaning out your shed or just want to do some
shopping for us, we could put it to good use.

Thank you so much, we couldn't do it without you. For more info or to drop
off donations:

Mae Bachur Animal Shelter

126 Tlingit Road

633-6019

Humane Society Yukon Annual General Meeting

The AGM was held 17th August at the Whitehorse Public Library. It was a well attended event, thanks to all those members who turned up.

As a result of the AGM we now have a new board. Some of our directors have continued and others chose to stand down. Our thanks go out to those directors who have left the board for all their work and dedication to the cause of helping Yukon animals.

Jordi Mikeli-Jones who was previously vice-president is now the HSY President.
Tracy Smythe who was previously the administrator at the Shelter is now Vice-President.
Paula Armstrong has taken over the duties of Treasurer.
Annie Griffin is remaining in her position as Secretary.

We have a further five directors, Rachel Westfall, James Kirby, Danielle Noel, Jan Slipetz and Maryanne Baer. Many of whom are new and who are bringing plenty of enthusiasm and fresh ideas to the Society.

Cadets Cache Comestibles at Checkouts

Some of the cadets attending the Summer Training at the Cadet Camp helped raise money for the shelter. They bagged people's groceries at Superstore and managed to raise a whopping $1,476.68 for us.

The cadets, some of whom are seen above, presented a cheque to the Humane Society Yukon's President on 12th August.

Many thanks to the cadets who took the time to help us out and to the people who gave money. Where we have young Canadians of this calibre in the country, we can all know that Canada will be in safe hands.

More Birthday Gifts!

Amelia Johnson had a birthday recently and asked for gifts for the shelter rather than herself. A cash donation and six bags of goods were the result.

Thanks to Amelia and all the people who got on board to donate to us.

Pet food recall

We've just had word about a new pet food recall.

Proctor & Gamble are recalling all varieties and sizes of the following:


Iams Veterinary Dry Formulas
Iams Prescription Renal Diet Cat Food
Eukanuba Naturally Wild
Eukanuba Pure

The recall concerns dry food that carries "Best By" dates from 01Jul10 to 01Dec11. No canned food is involved in this recall.

P&G are recalling this food due to possible salmonella contamination. They advise that any pet food involved should be discarded.

Salmonella can infect many animals including humans. If you suspect that you or your pet has contracted salmonella, call your vet or doctor immediately.

On your paws, get set, jog!

The 17th annual Mae Bachur Dog Jog is right around the corner.

On Sunday 29th August, Whitehorse dogs at the SS Klondike and walk or jog their owners around the Millennium Trail. Registration is at noon, with the jog starting at 1PM. The jog will be followed by snacks and prizes. Prizes will be awarded for Smallest, Largest, Best dressed, Oldest, Most Money Raised and of course the owner/dog lookalike contest!

Spread the word!

See you there!

Thanks to Meadow Lakes

Meadow Lakes Golf Club in Whitehorse made a large donation to us. For the month of July they set aside $3 for every paying round as a donation for the shelter. We just received $2,500 from Meadow Lakes. That's a lot of golf!

Thanks to Meadow Lakes and all the golfers who helped raise the money.

Leaving on a jet plane

As of writing, the shelter's pups Kveldulf, Delilah and Flicka are currently ensconced in the SPCA shelter in Victoria, BC. They are doing very well and already playing with the volunteers. The pups, originally from Ross River, will be shortly moving to their new homes on Vancouver Island. The SPCA in Victoria has been short of puppies and the shelter here has had too many. So, thanks to a lot of work by some of our Board members there is an agreement between Victoria SPCA and the Mae Bachur shelter to occasionally send some of our homeless pups to BC.

Of course, there would be no point in such an agreement if there was no way for the pups to travel. That's where more Yukon and BC generosity comes in. Air North have donated four flights a year for puppy transport. When they arrive at Vancouver airport it's time for Worldwide Animal Transport to take over and they are donating their time and experience to taking care of the pups at the airport. Then Pacific Coastal Airlines fly the canines to Victoria, again for free. After that it's just a short trip to the SPCA.

The shelter staff and Board members would like to thank the airlines and Worldwide Animal Transport for all their help.

More donations

Samantha Martinson had a birthday on 24th July and asked for donations for the shelter. She has just been by and dropped off a lot of useful items to us. A slightly belated Happy Birthday to Samantha and thank you for thinking of us.

Hot town, summer in the city

Even in the Yukon temperatures can get hot, the readings you see in the weather report are SHADE TEMPERATURES. A thermometer left lying in direct sunlight can read several degrees above that temperature. So, even if the weather report isn't too warm the heat in the sun can be much hotter.

Why this little science lesson? Dogs in cars. We've all seen it, a dog in a car with windows cracked slightly to let a breath of air into the vehicle. Maybe five minutes in the shade, not a problem. Longer or any time in direct sunlight, you have a problem. Let's take a look at some figures, the temperature in the sunshine is 29C, in ten minutes the temperature can climb to 39C. In half an hour it could reach 49 degrees celsius! A car acts the same way as a greenhouse and traps heat inside even if the windows are open an inch or two.

Dogs have a lower heat tolerance than humans and can suffer severe damage to the central nervous system, heart and liver in a very short time.

Don't believe me? Try this test, park your car in the sunshine. Crack one or two windows so they are open about an inch. Sit in your car, wearing a sweater and do not drink water. Time how long it takes you to get so uncomfortable you have to leave the car. Now think about how a dog would feel after the same time.

What can you do if you see a dog in distress? First, try to find the dog's owner. If you're in the parking lot of a large store then there's a good chance that the owner is inside and can be paged. If you can't find the owner then contact the police or the local animal cruelty officer. Do the same if the owner refuses to help. Many places have laws regarding dogs in hot cars and even if your area doesn't then animal cruelty laws will still apply. Remember to call the authorities rather than do anything yourself, that way you are not responsible for any damage to the car.

A dog cannot let itself out of the car, it cannot call 911. If you see a dog in a car on a hot day that looks in distress, don't walk on by. Help the dog, whatever you need to do.

In Whitehorse you can call us at the shelter, 633-6019. Also you can contact the City's Bylaw Officers at 668-8382 or 334-1084.

Friendship with animals

We have a couple more people to thank for helping us.

Pier-Anne Menard and Alizee Salesse made friendship bracelets and sold them in the local market. They donated all the money made to the shelter.

Thanks Pier-Anne and Alizee, the staff and animals really appreciate your help.


We also received a donation of $100 in memory of Charlie the dog from Krista and Kalin Mroz. We do appreciate people thinking of us even in very difficult circumstances, thank you both.

Trevor Update

There was another court hearing on Monday 5th July regarding Trevor. For those of you who have not read the latest news...

The City of Whitehorse has requested more time to speak to residents of the area where Trevor will be staying and to deal with both First Nation and territorial governments. Justice Ron Veale has stated that he will make a final and definitive ruling on 5th October. In the meantime, Trevor will remain at the shelter in the care of staff and the volunteers who are cleared to take care of him.

The Society would like to thank all those people who have donated time and money to help Trevor so far. We hope that in October Trevor will be able to travel to his new home.

Donations from Outside

We always talk about how generous Yukoners are, now we've had a donation from Alberta.

United Way of Calgary, Donor Choice Program sent us a cheque for $288.00

Thanks to United Way of Calgary and the Calgarians who chose us to receive the donation.

Another Donation

Another local company has just helped us out. Marsh Lake Tents & Events has donated $1,000 to the shelter.

Thanks to them from all our animals. It shows how great the support is from all Yukoners.

Sunstroke

No, it's not what we're suffering from in Whitehorse after the bright sunshine and heat of the past few days (pauses for hollow laughter) it is our annual music festival.

If you're in the area of Whitehorse, the fun starts at 4PM Friday 25th June (today) and runs till midnight. Saturday 26th June has a whole twelve hours of music from midday to midnight. We have Rock, Roots, Doom Metal, Folk, Blues and more.

There are local vendors, activities for kids and beer gardens for the, ahem, more grown up kids. The price is $20 per day and kids under 12 get in for FREE!

This is a fundraiser for the Humane Society so, if you're in the area please come along to Shipyards Park to enjoy some great music and help our animals. If you're not in the area, just hop on a plane and fly up here to the beautiful Yukon! Come on, you know you want to.

Kids today...They're just so generous!

Many thanks going out to Cameron Araj. Cameron just celebrated a birthday and asked people to give things suitable for our animals instead of presents. Thanks to Cameron's generosity the shelter now has more food, blankets, money and toys for our animals.

Also raising money for the shelter were the Whitehorse Baptist Church Youth Group. They started off with 4 HB pencils and by a process of "bigger and better" managed to raise $110 for the shelter.

Thanks to all the group, great job!

More thanks go out to Dylan Cozens, who donated $40 to us from his birthday.

Cat Food Recall

For those of you who may not have heard, there is a recall on certain types of Iams canned cat and kitten food.

The details are as follows:

On June 9, Iams (a Proctor & Gamble company) recalled Iams ProActive Health canned Cat and Kitten Food, all varieties of 3 ounce and 5.5 ounce cans, with "09/2011" and "06/2012" date stamps on the bottom of the can. The recall applies to North America. The problem is a deficiency in vitamin B1 (Thiamine).
Cats who have been fed these foods exclusively should be watched for symptoms that include decreased appetite, vomiting, and possible dizziness. If your cat shows these symptoms, call or visit your veterinarian immediately. Cats with a mixed diet - for example, who regularly get dry cat food, or another type of canned - are probably getting the vitamin from the other food. It's a good idea for cat owners to return recalled food anyway.
Stores should accept returns of this food for a full refund. For a complete information, visit the FDA recall page or the Proctor & Gamble (Iams' parent company) page.

Thiamine is an extremely important vitamin for cats and dogs. It has been linked to a healthy immune system and proper functioning of the nervous system. As always with pet health, if you see your cat showing any of the signs listed above CALL YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY.

"She...is leaving"

After 4 years in charge of the shelter our Administrator, Tracy Smythe, is moving on to new challenges. All the staff wish her well and would like to thank her for her dedicated work on behalf of the animals.

Garage Sale A Success

The shelter's garage sale ran last weekend and raised over $4,000!

Thanks to all those who donated items as well those as those people who bought stuff from us.

Special thanks goes out to our amazing volunteers who organised the sale. It took weeks of planning to achieve the sale together with a lot of work.

A Healthy Canine Mind In A Healthy Canine Body

Well, summer is just about here (risk of frost tonight excepted) and the shelter is preparing for some upgrades.

We are having a fence installed in our dog yard at the shelter, this extra fence will increase the canine capacity of our yard. Not all dogs get along with each other and so when dogs are out for exercise we have to to find the appropriate mix of pooches. The end result is that some dogs end up spending yard time on their own. When the solo mutts are outside we can't let any other dogs out. Our new fence will effectively double available dog space and so allow for all our dogs to have more time running around in the fresh air.

Even though all the dogs get the best of care in the shelter they still have to spend a lot of time in their pens. All of our dogs look forward to their walks and yard time and when our upgrades are complete, their wait will be shorter. Sanus canine mens in a sanus canine somes, which requires plenty of outdoor canine activity.

This project would not be possible without some help, in this case the help has come from Yukon Energy which has donated $5,000 to the shelter for this project. Many thanks to Yukon Energy for their help which will greatly increase the canine hwyl at the shelter . This is genuinely one of those cases where the phrase "We couldn't have done it without you," applies.

Trevor Update

As those of you who live in the territory may be aware, there was another court hearing regarding Trevor the dog on 26th May. The result of that is a court hearing on 5th July. We have a potential foster home for Trevor outside Whitehorse and the Society will be holding meetings with the City in the next few weeks to discuss the matter before the court date. The City has indicated that they want to work on ironing out any problems and both sides will be working hard to resolve the situation to Trevor's advantage.
The judge has indicated that he wishes to see the matter resolved either way in the near future and we are hopeful that Trevor can be homed and continue his rehabilitation.

On a lighter note, Dogtown - The Trial of Trevor had its first performance at Whitehorse's Guild Hall recently. Written by local playwright Ross Ness, the play was performed to positive audience reaction. Ross is currently at work on a full length version of the play. It is hoped that Trevor will be able to make a public appearance on stage when the play is completed and receives its premiere.

Another helpful Yukoner!

10 year old Alanna Tochacek has been going around her neighbourhood collecting donations of food and blankets for the shelter. She also has plans to involve her school in doing more for us. Also Alanna chose to spend part of her weekend spending some quality time with our cats.

Many thanks to Alanna and good luck with the future collecting!

Spring has sprung, well today anyway

Plants are growing, being planted and gardeners are preparing fertilizer for their gardens. This can be a dangerous time for dogs.

Plants such as crocus, tulips, daffodils and lily of the valley contain toxins that are harmful to dogs if the bulbs are chewed.

Fertilizers that include cocoa mulch, blood & bone meal, disulfoton and any organophosphates are also very hazardous to dogs. The same goes for many herbicides and pesticides. Anything lying on the surface or even in loose soil can get on dog's fur and later be ingested.

Raised beds are a good idea for dog owners who are also gardeners and if you must fertilize your lawn or garden then either use a pet-friendly product or keep your pet away from the garden.

Your local garden centre will have access to all the information as to what plants and products are safe to use around dogs.

Combing and brushing and combing and.......

'Tis the season for shedding. All those of us who have dogs know that around this time there's plenty of excess hair lying around. What do you do apart from compost it? You could help the Gulf of Mexico.

It's true, booms made of old nylons and hair can soak up amazing amounts of oil. An organization called Matter of Trust is collecting hair and nylon stockings to make booms. Any hair will work, human, dog, cat or polar bear. (The shelter does not advocate travelling to the Arctic to comb polar bears. Any polar bear hair is collected at your own risk.)

You can drop off the hair at Kutters, 309 Wood Street in a plastic garbage bag. They are also accepting old nylons for the booms.

The BBC's website has an interesting article in their magazine regarding this, http://www.bbc.co.uk/

More Thanks

Aimery Barrault had a birthday and donated money to us, thanks Aimery.

Oscar Sawicki collected $20 at his 9th birthday and donated it to the shelter. Thanks to Oscar.



Yukon Engineering Services held a fundraiser barbecue on 7th May.

They managed to raise a massive $2,020 for the shelter as well as making some really good burgers. The staff and animals at the shelter extend their thanks to YES. As we have said before, it is due to great Yukoners like the staff at YES and all those who donated money that we can keep the shelter open.

Thanks also to the Kindergarten class of Whitehorse Elementary School. They baked some dog biscuits, which our dogs love, and coloured some drawings which are now adorning our entrance.

A little known danger

These little plastic tags are a common sight holding together bags of bread and bagels. They can be a danger to dogs, cats and even children if they should be eaten. The hooks can latch on to the walls of the stomach or intestines and perforate them.

That requires emergency treatment from the vet and could be fatal. When you throw out the plastic garbage, make sure your animals do not have access to it.

A jug of lemonade, a cookie and thou

Northern Wonders youth program held a fundraiser for us last Friday, 23rd April. They sold lemonade, cookies, dog treats and teddy bears and raised $350 for the shelter.

They are also holding another sale 30th April at their building on Wann Road with more lemonade and cookies.

Northern Wonders also have an account at Raven Recycling and so any refundables can be dropped off there and the money will also be donated to the shelter.

Thank you to everyone at Northern Wonders and those people who helped them raise the money.

It's Spring in the Yukon, It's Garage Sale time!

Once again Humane Society Yukon is holding a Garage Sale!

Come to the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter on June 4th, 5th and 6th and see all the great stuff we'll have for sale.

The shelter will be accepting items starting on 15th May. Please, no electronics.
Anything else you don't want but is still in decent condition is welcome.*


*This does not apply to spouses and children.

Trevor

Some people have been asking us about Trevor recently, from all over the country. Trevor is still here at the shelter. We are still searching for a home that meets all the requirements and there is work ongoing to try and relax some of the restrictions. If you live in Whitehorse and think you may be able to help Trevor, please contact the shelter.

The restrictions on Trevor are part of the court order and it is only the Supreme Court of the Yukon who can change or lift the restrictions.

Earth Day Donation

Thursday 22nd April was Earth Day and Yoga In The Alpine, here in Whitehorse, had an Earth Day fundraiser.

They donated $300 to the shelter.

Thanks to all the people who raised the money.

Add three eggs and bake in a low oven...

Humane Society Yukon is looking for help with our new fundraiser. We are publishing a cookbook!

Do you have a favourite recipe that you want to share? All the recipes in our cookbook will be provided by HSY supporters and you get credit for your contribution.

So, what we are looking for are recipes in the following categories:
Pet Food
Desserts
Cookies/Cakes/Pies
Breads
Main Dishes (Wild meat or fish only please)
Beverages
Soups & Salads
Vegetarian & Vegan

We are accepting recipes at the shelter, 126 Tlingit Street, or you can email them to
pdbastien@northwestel.net

Want to help out more? $20 will get you listed on our sponsor page or $50 will get you a full page ad! Space is limited for our ads so act quickly. Call Deborah at 667-2066.

We are also taking pre-orders for the book which will be out in the summer.

Everyone has their favourite recipes so share yours and help our animals now!

Thank you, Merci, Diolch yn fawr

Time once again to thank more of the great Yukoners who help out the Shelter with donations.

Amy Petelski raised $148.05 at her sixth birthday party by asking for donations to the shelter in lieu of gifts.

The Feed Store and Super A Porter Creek both made large donations to the Shelter recently.

Brody and Gracie Ryckman had a birthday party this past weekend. Instead of gifts, they asked for dog biscuits and treats for the shelter.

Callia Fielding also accepted money in lieu of presents and donated it to us.

Darcey Mackay donated $125 to the shelter plus dog treats from her 9th birthday.

Thanks to the above and to those many others who have donated money to us. We can't say it enough, we really appreciate all the donations we receive. Without the generosity of Yukoners we would not be able to take care of the animals that pass through the shelter.

And the winner is...

These are the results and the prizewinners from Rendezvous.

In the Pet Parade:

First Place: Rhonda Kotelko with Charley.
Charley is the three legged dog in the pirate costume.

Second Place: Sophie Senecal with Bijou.
Bijou is the hamster who took part in the parade.

Third place: Kelly Pollard with Maggie.
Maggie can be seen wearing tartan in our picture of the howling contest.

In the dog howling contest:

First Place: Diane Pawluck with Stitch and Sophia & Sullivan Bond with Wib.
The contest was so tight that Stitch and Wib could not be separated.

Second Place: Michael Pelow with Nanuk and Steve Brewis with Kyloe & Sika.
Another close battle for second with one of Steve's dogs as backing singer to the rest.

Third place: Sparks.
We don't have Sparks' owner's name.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all for taking part.

Happy Rendezvous!

Yes, it's Rendezvous again in Whitehorse complete with all the fun and crazy events. The Humane Society was involved in the Pet Parade and the Dog Howling Contest. There will be a full update of the Dog Howling results later but we did have a three dog tie for first and a two dog tie for third place.

Here are some of the entrants.

The dog in the lower right also acted as a backup singer for the rest of the dogs.

These are some of the dogs in the pet parade.

This was an ingenious costume, the peg leg is real. The dog was unfortunate enough to lose a hind leg and wore the peg leg as part of the outfit. This was the costume that won first prize.

Yes, it is a pet parade not a dog parade so we do get other pets.

Thanks to all those who took part in the parade. Thanks also to those who dropped some money in our donation can.

Enjoy the rest of Rendezvous!

Musher Donations

The Yukon Quest ended this month with Hans Gatt as the winner, arriving with some very healthy looking dogs who were ready to keep going. A musher started an initiative to raise money for the shelter and we were presented with a cheque for $1,000 this week. So, thanks (in no particular order) to Hans Gatt, Gerry Willomitzer, William Kleedehn, Michelle Phillips, Simi Morrison, Maren Bradley, Jeff Luehmann, Ryan Kinna, Darren and Leanne Kinvig, Kenny Tetlichi, Sky High Wilderness, Uncommon Journeys and Didier Moggia.

As you may have heard or seen on CBC Yukon on Wednesday, we are in need of money to help us cope with the influx of puppies and dogs in the shelter. Thanks to everyone listed above for the much needed donation.

Dogs and puppies and cats, oh my!

The shelter is completely full! As of writing we have 17 dogs, 23 puppies and 11 cats in the shelter. We are looking for help both for fostering animals and with donations of puppy food and money. We have already been forced to tell people that we cannot accept new dogs at the present time.

The major part of this problem is the lack of spaying and neutering of pets. To all those of you who have taken the time and expense to fix your pets, thank you.

These unwanted puppies and kittens become a burden on those people who care for them. Even worse, they can be abused, left to starve or freeze to death. There is no need for a dog or cat to have one litter of young to be healthy. We have had two puppies literally left outside the shelter this week, one of whom was paralysed.

The staff at the shelter do everything possible to take care of the animals here, but sometimes we are in desperate need of help. Food and money donations are always welcome, especially so given our current situation. 23 puppies need a lot of food, taking care of all the animals requires a lot of money.

Thanks to the Carcross Posties

The posties in Carcross have once again been working hard and raising money for the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter. They called by on Saturday 23rd January and donated a cheque for over $3,000.

A great job by the posties and the people of Carcross, thanks a lot. Without help like this we could not help the animals.

Moonstroke Festival

Moonstroke Music Festival was held on 22nd January and was a great success. Over $5,000 was raised for the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter. Moonstroke was held at the Mount MacIntyre Rec Centre and if this year is anything to go by then we will definitely need a larger venue for the 2011 festival.

Our musical acts this year were: Gordie Tentrees Band, Sophisticated Cavemen, Ben Mahony and friends, Ryan McNally, Alex Machidon, Sasquatch Prom Date, CHS and Nemesis. Jeff Brewster was MC for the evening.

A full list of those who volunteered time, money, silent auction items, etc. would make this post sound like a long and boring Oscar acceptance speech. But our main sponsors were Triple J's Music, Yukon Brewing, CKRW and Omni Productions. On behalf of the Humane Society and all the dogs and cats currently in the shelter, thanks for your support. If we could write and thank you all individually, we would.

Don't forget that we will be at Sunstroke again in the summer.