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Nicky looks at me as I wait at the door, not yet opening it. I ask him to sit. He does. I open the door. We go out.

He walks well enough on leash and only pulls when he sees another dog coming toward us. I redirect him away from the other dog and they pass and we continue. He settles down quickly enough back into a steady walk.

Later, before I start taking any pictures, I sit down with him and put my hands up close to his face. He nuzzles them so I give him an ear scratch. I hold his chin in my hands. I ask him to do a down but he doesn't understand so I point to the ground, once, twice, which he does understand somehow and he lies down.

Nicky doesn't like other dogs much but he's a good dog himself. Not sure why he's still here.




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.



Nicola: "Guess why he's called Joe."

Me: "I don't know."

N: "What kind of dog is he?"

Me: "He's a Cocker Spaniel."

N: "Right, so he's Joe ... "

Me: "... the Cocker Spaniel?"

N: "No, he's Joe ..."

Me: "... the lion [obscure David Bowie reference]"

N: "No, he's a Cocker Spaniel so he's Joe ..."

Me: "Joe ...?"

N: "Joe Cocker."

Me: "Oh right."

Sometimes, I'm thick.

Joe Cocker Spaniel is a pleasant fellow with a wide back (which could do with some thinning out). During our photo session, he decided the whole camera thing was rather tiresome so he lay down on the cool grass and happily watched all the people walk by on their way to an afternoon concert booming in the background, the buzzing from the Gardiner for accompaniment.





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.



Buddy, who was at Toronto Animal Services in the spring, is presently in foster and still waiting for a home.

Here's the handsome fellow now:


From Ashley (at T.E.A.M. Dog Rescue):

Adoptions were slow at Toronto Animal Services South and Buddy was getting more and more stressed in the shelter environment so he was transferred out, via TEAM Dog Rescue, to his foster home with Ola, a dog behaviorist who runs Paws Above.

He displays a bit of dominance towards other dogs at first but when introduced properly he is AMAZING. He hasn't had any issues with any of her tons of dogs that board there and go for social hikes on the weekends! He knows his basic commands and has several tricks he can demonstrate on command. He is super friendly with people and VERY smart! He's house broken and he's good with cats. Ola will help any owner who adopts him with introductions to their dogs (if you have any).

To learn more about how you can adopt Buddy please contact adopt@teamdogrescue.ca .






Friday, 150 people waited for the doors to open at 10 a.m. at the Queen Elizabeth Building to be let into the Adopt-a-thon. Saturday, over 200 people waited for the doors to open. By Saturday afternoon, all of the adoptable dogs from Toronto Animal Services were adopted. That was thirty dogs. The Toronto Humane Society had done dozens more adoptions (someone told me around seventy dogs) and they only had a few dogs left.

Cats were doing really well also. Over two hundred adopted so far in total at the event.

A lot of people went home very happy with new bundles of joy. Some went home empty-handed and not so happy (there are always more at the shelters and rescues). I suspect next year, now that the organizers know what to expect, there will be a lot more dogs and people on hand to assist.

Maddie from TAS North being admired by fans

Lots of hands. The dogs were very well behaved considering all the hands and fingers reaching out for them

Kona, waiting for her new owner to finish with the adoption interview

Wolf, a ten year old retired sled dog, with his new family





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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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