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.