Norton is all about the chillin'. He's got a pokey little walk at an open throttle speed of half a snail's pace. There are too many blades of grass to smell, so what's the hurry?

Norton is your afternoon nap partner-in-waiting.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

From the owner of Mabel (now Gracie):

I've sent a couple of updates to the staff at TAS, but I'd love to see a happier photo of Mabel (now Gracie) on your blog. Your blog is responsible for this wonderful new addition to our family!

A friend posted your entry on Basquiat to Facebook, which drew me down to TAS in person, but I found he'd already been adopted. I toured the other cages and found Mabel off by herself, pacing endlessly in her enclosure. She didn't throw herself at every newcomer like many of the other dogs; it was obvious I would have to work for her trust, and I sat with her for some time. I returned the next day with my partner and our two other shelter dogs - a 13 year old lab mix and a 10 year old spaniel mix. The staff at TAS (Korey) helped us set up a meet and greet outside which went incredibly well, and we knew that we had found the newest member of our family.

We were off work for a week with her at our house, and Gracie's favourite place to be is still outside in our large back yard. For two days, the time she was outside was spent underneath the bushes. Each day thereafter she made measurable progress, becoming more comfortable with her surroundings, with us, and with our other dogs. She loves to be outside, loves to run full-tilt across the yard, and though she is still quite timid and easily scared, she is absolutely a new dog. We're working one-on-one with a reputable trainer, and have even been taking Gracie on some leashed walks. Our vet and trainer think she is about 5 years old.

She is an amazing creature, extremely loving after all she has been through, and we can't wait to see the dog that she becomes in time.

I love this photo. It captures a perfect moment:

Someone breeds them then can't take care of them. These three guys and one girl (the tri-colour one) are all available. I'll let the pictures and video do the talking.

The best way to check on the adoption status of these pups (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the pups are no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because they've been adopted already.

(Warning: this post contain a somewhat graphic image. It's the first image in the post, so scroll by that one and look away if you don't want to see it. The rest aren't so bad. All photos in this post were taken by E.J. Lazaga unless stated otherwise.)

I've been having a hard time with this for a few months now and usually when I have a hard time writing something, it's because I'm uncertain about it.

In February this year, I became a director of the Toronto Humane Society. This is a temporary, appointed position to fill in a vacancy left by a departing director and this position will last about another three weeks when the Annual General Meeting will be held and where, if I am to stay on the board, I will need to be voted in by the membership.

The last time I was elected for anything was when I was ten and chosen by my cohorts to throw a snowball at the high school bully down the block who had caved in our snowfort. The following action resulted in a fat lip. Hopefully, these elections will be less exciting.

But the elections aren't what I'm uncertain about. I'm offering my services and if the membership chooses to accept the offer then I've got more work on my plate. If they choose a better prepared candidate over me then I can finally catch up on "Game of Thrones" - people at work are talking about the show and I've got nothing to add to that conversation.

The thing I was uncertain about, with regards to the THS, was the same thing a lot of people in Toronto are uncertain about when it comes to the THS and that is whether or not the THS is a worthwhile enough agency to contribute one's time, energy and money. The THS does good work - there's no doubt about that - but a lot of individuals, rescue groups, other agencies - like Toronto Animal Services - do good work. With the THS comes significant overhead costs, funding issues, constant rumblings of internal discord and then there's that matter of trust. The bad taste left behind by the scandals of the previous administration (who are all gone now) still keeps the public doubting the sincerity and efficacy of the organization.

So, given my own doubts, I kept asking myself, Do I really want to get mired in the politics of the Toronto Humane Society?

Then, I heard about Angel.

Angel arrived at the THS in early February of this year.

She was an owner surrender. The owners could no longer take care of her or her medical bills. The demodex mange which had taken over her entire body seemed relentless, allegedly made worse by an improper prescription of steroids by a vet. Angel was bleeding. She was in pain. Almost all her fur had fallen out or had been scratched off. Her feet were so swollen, they looked like they'd been skinned. Parts of her face looked like hamburger.

Eric Jensen, a THS staffer at the front desk saw Angel when she was brought in. He said he'd never seen an animal look worse.

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly given what we know about dogs, Angel still managed to walk up to him and wag her tail.

The THS took Angel in and Eric volunteered to foster her. Angel turned out to be a six month old pup, a probable mix of Bull Terrier, Boxer, Collie and others. Her initial regimen was two medicated baths a week to treat and relieve her mange ridden skin, daily doses of medicine and supplements, bi-weekly skin scrapes to check on the progress of the mange, along with shots of antibiotics.

Three hundred mites were found on Angel's first skin scrape. I've seen skin scrapes. It's only a very small patch of skin from which the vet samples.

The following photos, taken on each of Angel's visits to the THS vets over the next three months, tell the story better than I possibly could. Start from the first image above then scroll through all the following images. If these don't renew your hope for whatever goodness in this world you seek, then I don't know what will.

February 22, 2013

March 2, 2013 (notice her duck boots to keep her from scratching herself)

March 15, 2013

March 30, 2013

April 13, 2013

April 27, 2013


Not surprisingly, Eric has decided to adopt Angel. The way he describes her now, Angel sounds like so many other nine month old puppies: tons of energy, happy and friendly with everyone, tail wags so hard it's like a weapon, loves fetch, has started carrying a ball around. And, her last skin scrape yielded no mites.

Eric also has another foster dog and a sixteen year old palliative care foster cat. I ask him about the other staff, if they all have fosters in their care as well and generally they do. The care of animals started out as a responsibility for most of them long before it became a job.

This is what amazes me most about the Toronto Humane Society: all these people who have gathered together to help animals. People don't go into animal welfare as a career expecting to get famous or rich or powerful. Salaries are not great and job security is uncertain. There aren't even the lavish, more publicly celebrated accolades associated with other charities of a more anthropocentric nature to look forward to. Animal welfare work is a compulsion to do good for those creatures who will probably never be able to say thank you but who thank you nevertheless with their good health and better lives.

We need the Toronto Humane Society because it's not just a shelter for homeless animals but it also provides inspiration for those who believe people are capable of looking beyond themselves and that compassion for others extends to compassion for the most vulnerable.

The Toronto Humane Society is and needs to be a good and better role model.

Going forward with Pound Dogs, I'm going to start occasionally posting more in-depth profiles of some of the dogs who arrive at the THS looking for shelter. I'd like to share their journeys with you from their intake to, hopefully, their adoption.

If you don't already, I hope you'll consider supporting the THS, maybe by becoming a member or making a donation. It's a good thing they do and you know they're going to need your help to keep doing it.


Here are some stats on the THS for 2012:

Almost 3000 animals were adopted out.

Over 2000 animals have been fixed since the THS Low Cost Spay Neuter Clinic was open last summer.

Over 36,000 volunteer hours were logged.

Over 1000 palliative, special needs and juvenile animals were placed into foster care.

Sebastian is a rotund waddler. He's had a few too many cookies and while it's kind of cute watching him roll around, it's definitely not healthy for him to be as heavy as he is. His new owner will have to have some will power on Sebastian's behalf when it comes to dieting. This may be easier said than done, though, because Sebastian has got those Beagle eyes that can hypnotize you and have you under his control tout de suite if you're not careful.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

From the owner of MacDuff:

As promised, here's a photo of MacDuff - I think he's enjoying life in the big world. Today I introduced him to a Kong and he's really having a good time with it!

I think he's going to make a great companion.

From the owners of Dallas, now Finnegan:

We cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to adopt “Dallas” (now known as “Finnegan”) in mid-February 2013. He is proving to be a wonderful addition to our family- smart, eager to please, and so loving. He LOVES walking the off-leash trails in High Park, chasing balls with friends in dog parks, and is always willing to come when called. His leash manners have improved immensely with patience and positive rewards for eye contact instead of pulling. He has completed 8 classes of obedience and is ever eager to learn more. Our only challenge with him right now is to slowly work on overcoming separation anxiety-- we are working with the vet and obedience instructor to desensitize him to our comings and goings in the hopes he will be able to stay calmly by himself in the future. We have seen him overcome short term fears (new food dish, balloons, and kitchen fan) and feel he will be successful in this larger issue. He is such a wonderful dog that every change to our lifestyle is worth it!

We’d also like to express our appreciation for the “care package” you sent home with us- he drinks from his portable water bowl every day while walking in the park, drives us crazy with the plastic moose squeaky toy, and still wears his collar (+name tags, phone numbers, and i.d.). although we’ve gone to a harness for daily walks. The time James took to allow us to become acquainted with him and the on-going support from Ashley have also been most appreciated! You are all a wonderful team doing wonderful work!

Here I was about to go on about what a fantastically toy obsessed dog Lolita is and how she'd be an excellent search and rescue dog when I hear she's been short listed as candidate for search and rescue work. A month ago, Lolita was running around on a reserve destined for a short brutal life and now she's potentially going to be a hero dog. And if she's not chosen for search and rescue work, then she can still be someone else's hero, yours perhaps.

I'll put an update here with the test results once they come in.

Update (2013-05-05): Assessment was taking too long to schedule so instead of keeping Lolita waiting around in a cage, she is being put up for general adoption.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

(I blink and the ten IFAW dogs from up north are almost all gone already. Here's one, Boomer, who got adopted yesterday.)

I'm terrible at smiling for photographs. If I don't feel like smiling and have to force a smile for a photo, it's a grimace, or at least it feels like a grimace. I really should take lessons from a dog like Boomer who can't help but smile.

Now when some dogs look like they're smiling, they may not really be smiling on the inside. They might be hot or anxious or they might have just been born with a smiley face. Not so with Boomer. Boomer is a very happy boy inside and out and that kind of happiness is contagious - which makes me smile, naturally.

Ripley is like one of those dogs who will leap through fire, climb barbed wire fences and dodge trucks on the 401 to come to your rescue if you are ever tied to the railroad tracks by a wax-mustachioed, top hat wearing villain.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.