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Me: TAS had Bart from Quebec as well but he got adopted already. Buddy is a lot like him: always happy. He looks like he's got a big smile on his face all the time.

The Other Guy: You're anthropomorphasizing.

Me: Anthropomorphizing?

The Other Guy: Yeah, you're anthropomorphazating.

Me: You mean anthropomorphizing?

The Other Guy: Yeah, anthropomorphisazing. It means to give animals human characteristics.

Me: Yeah, I know what it means but it's anthropomorphizing.

The Other Guy: That's what I said. Anthropomorphasizating.

Me: No, you just said ... I don't know what you just said.

The Other Guy: Anthropophizzing.

Me: You know I might be anthropomorphizing you too much.

The Other Guy: Whuh?

Me: Like when you smile. How do I know you're actually smiling because you're happy? I don't know that. You might be doing it as a learned reflex. You might not be experiencing happiness at all and you're just doing it because you've learned that when you pull up the corners of your mouth, people respond to you more positively.

The Other Guy: Yeah, well, usually when I smile it's because I'm happy.

Me: How do I know that? I don't know how you feel. How do I know when you're really happy? I mean prove it. Prove you're happy. Wag your tail.

The Other Guy: I don't have a tail.

Me: Exactly. So, how do I know you're actually happy? Now Buddy - I know he's happy. He's wagging his tail all the time.




Buddy is one of four dogs who recently arrived from Val d'Or SPCA. Val d'Or is a community hard hit by the economic downturn and so the SPCA there is severely underfunded. When the dogs arrived off the truck in Toronto after their all night drive from Quebec, the driver removed their grungy collars and when James asked her why she was doing that, she replied they didn't have any more collars back at the shelter - which is pretty sad.

So, we're having a leash/collar drive for them. If you've got any old, unused collars or leashes lying around the house, please consider dropping them off at Toronto Animal Services South (15 Nova Scotia Ave. on the CNE grounds) where they'll be collected and sent off to Val d'Or or you can mail them directly to Val d'Or SPCA at:

SPCA de Val d'Or
1700 Rue de l'hydro
Val d'Or, Quebec
J9P 6Z2

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.



1 Comment to “Buddy - Golden Retriever mix”

  1. deva says:

    Buddy is a cutie. Looks like his grandmama might have come from the Pyrenees! Here's hoping his real family comes forward soon.

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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