Willow needs a home

The Cowichan and District SPCA is trying to find a palliative home (permanent foster or adoption) for Willow, a 12-14 year old super sweet cattle dog whose owners decided they no longer wanted her. Willow has a cancer on her front leg – it is not painful and is not bone cancer, but surgery is not an option so her time is limited. She is affectionate, sweet, a good girl in need of a place to live out her days.

Willow is deaf or somewhat deaf but attentive and tries hard to understand hand signals.  She will be on pain meds for arthritic hips that were once fractured but now healed, and she has just started meds to correct a bit of incontinence. If you can offer her a soft place to rest, please contact the SPCA at 250-746-4646. How can you resist this face?

Some days, like today, I feel completely disheartened and can only question what kind of society we live in that treats its animals so poorly. Coco and Willow, both seniors whose owners dumped them; London and so many other dogs lost, often shortly after being rehomed; rescues and shelters inundated with old dogs, young dogs, dogs with pups, neglected dogs.

Broken Promises Rescue, for whom I am fostering Petey, is also looking for foster and adoptive homes – they have Looey, who is a lovely rotti recovering from surgery who needs a foster or adoptive home ASAP; and they have a purebred Westie whose owners couldn’t be bothered to deal with an untreated skin problem so dumped him, and a little chi with a heart murmer, and an American Cocker Spaniel with four wee pups – fosters or adoptive homes urgently needed.

And, of course, there is the steady stream of dogs and puppies needing help at Turtle Garden’s Rescue. In fact, there are nearly 150 rescue organizations and shelters in B.C. alone listed on Petfinder.com, others on adoptapet.com, some that don’t use either. Most only profile a small percentage of the animals they are dealing with. And, sadly (in my opinion), there are others importing dogs from elsewhere under the name of ‘rescue’ while we are unable to clean up the mess in our own back yard. Each of those dogs takes a space that might have gone to a dog already here.

I am only on the periphery of the rescue and shelter world – I help out a little here, a little there, and yet some days, like today, I find it emotionally overwhelming. I honestly don’t know how those right in the trenches – those dealing with the people who dump their old and faithful companions, those who see the state in which the animals arrive, who pick up the lost dogs whose owners never come looking for them, who investigate the cruelty cases – I honestly don’t know how those in the trenches do it. They have my greatest respect.

That said, please remember that any little thing you do to help – fostering, educating, searching, donating, whatever is within your ability to do – is important. In the big scheme of things it might seem small, but you can bet it is important to the animals that are helped.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." --Ghandi.