Myth 1: Snakes are slimy.
Snakes are shiny, not slimy! People often confuse reptiles and amphibians. Snakes are reptiles, which means they are covered in shiny scales while amphibians, like frogs and salamanders, have slimy skin. If you ever get a chance to pet a friendly snake you will notice that they are very smooth. Remember to always pet a snake in the direction of their scales, as petting them the other way is uncomfortable for the snake. (more…)
Starting today until the end of the month we’re letting you choose your own adoption fee on ALL rabbits, small critters and exotics! 🐇🦎🐭 All rabbit adopters will also be entered to win 1 of 2 rabbit gift baskets valued at $150 each 🐰
Visit www.calgaryhumane.ca/adopt to see all of our available critters!
*Please note some exclusions on animals may apply.
The truth is, not all cats enjoy being hugged, even if it’s International Hug a Cat Day. Being held in a tight embrace, often above the ground, can be a scary situation for a kitty. You especially shouldn’t hug a cat that you don’t know well. If your feline friend isn’t one for hugs, we recommend trying some of these other ideas to show your cat a bit of extra love.
There’s several explanations as why black dogs might not be adopted as quickly as light-coloured dogs. It could be because black dogs are often portrayed as mean or violent in films or that a stigma against certain types of breeds has put people off of adopting other black dogs. Sometimes potential adopters might pass by a black dog due to superstitious beliefs, similar to the phenomenon surrounding black cats (see our blog post on why it takes so long for black cats to find a home for more information).
The No Fee BMO Calgary Humane Society Mastercard makes it fast and easy to show your support for animals in need. For every dollar you spend on your BMO Calgary Humane Society Mastercard, BMO makes a contribution to the Calgary Humane Society at no cost to you. Plus, you’ll still earn cash back or AIR MILES reward miles.
Apply for a CHS Mastercard today
You can apply for a BMO CHS MasterCard on bmo.com, in any BMO branches or by calling 1-800-263-2263.
We get it! It’s a perfect day for a picnic. Pack up the dog, head out in the car and just pit stop at the grocery store on the way, right?
Things happen. Maybe there was a line-up, maybe you realized you needed ‘just one more thing’, maybe you ran in to an old friend. Pretty soon “only” 5 minutes becomes 10, 15 or 30 minutes. In the air conditioned store, you may not even realize how fast time has passed, but for a dog in a hot car, even 5 minutes can feel like an eternity. (more…)
We were contacted by CBC about a story they were planning to publish regarding the suicide of Jeremy Quaile. We expressed our concerns with the story which makes many presumptions as to the details surrounding Mr. Quaile’s death and the factors that led up to it. We provided a statement which unfortunately was not published in its entirety so we are sharing it here for the benefit of all readers.
Have you ever wondered if spay and neuter works to reduce pet overpopulation? The answer is a resounding yes, and we have the numbers to prove it! That’s right, we’re talking about math!
Now before you press the back button on your browser. bear with us here! An un-spayed female cat who roams and breeds regularly can have kittens approximately three times per year and will usually have between two and six kittens. For this example, let’s assume that our feline couple in this example have kittens three times per year and have four kittens per litter (the middle of the average litter range).
This means that just one pair of cats, in just one year, turn into 14 breeding cats! The next year, these 14 breeding cats each have three litters of four kittens and turn into 182 cats. The year after that, those 182 cats turn into 2366 cats. The year after that, we see an astonishing 30,758 cats… then 399,854… etc.
Now let’s run the same numbers, but assume half of the cats are spayed or neutered by responsible pet owners. Those numbers in the previous example now drop to: 1, 7, 49, 392 and 2744.
Now, we know that the example above is pretty simplified, and it also doesn’t take into account the high mortality rates for outdoor cats and kittens (the average lifespan for an outdoor cat is only 2-4 years and, in some locations, kitten mortality will approach 50-75%). But the question remains… how on earth does spay or neuter do so much to reduce cat overpopulation?
Well this is the wonder of exponents. By spaying or neutering one cat, you not only help protect the health of that cat (spayed or neutered cats are less likely to roam or develop cancer of their reproductive organs) but you also prevent future generations of cats who would otherwise be out and breeding. In just a few generations you can see a significant reduction in the number of unwanted felines, and the same can be shown for dogs.
You bet it does! In Calgary, we have seen first hand how well spay and neuter works. In the 1990s, Calgary Humane Society saw the height of our animal admissions peak at over 13,000 animals per year, a majority of which were stray cats. Today? That number has fallen significantly to less than 7,500 animals per year. We have also seen a huge change in where these animals are coming from. In the 1990s, a vast majority of the animals received by CHS were stray or homeless animals found on the streets of Calgary whereas today the balance of stray vs. owner surrender is closer to 50/50. We are also seeing a lot more animals come in already spayed or neutered, which is an exciting trend!
There has been some recent discussion suggesting Calgary Humane Society should not be allowed to care for the animals it seizes. That we are not empowered to alleviate an animal’s suffering. That we should not be taking animals who have been neglected.
Some have even gone so far as to suggest people shouldn’t donate to our organization. While people are certainly entitled to their opinions, we think people should be able to make up their own minds.
While we did seize 40 animals from a southwest property in January and as the investigation remains active we are limited in what we can say, we can tell you we do not hold animals for “ransom” and we do not provide unnecessary treatment.
Our job as authorized by the Government of Alberta is to protect animals under the Animal Protection Act. Whether that means providing necessary medical treatment to alleviate suffering, finding them a home where they can live safely or seizing an animal whose owner has failed to help them.
This case is far from over and charges are pending against several people in relation to the property in which animals were seized. While some claim they were merely “caught up” in this case, we can confirm that claim is false. As our investigation progresses, we promise to update you with as many details as possible.
In the meantime we ask you to remember, we are a not for profit organization with almost 5,000 animals a year who rely on donor dollars to fund their care, medical treatment, behaviour support and protection.
While we can’t share specifics on this case as it would directly jeopardize the animals in our care, we can tell you for 95 years we have been helping animals in this community and we have no plans to stop.
