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Polar - Siberian Husky mix

Polar is a wonderful Siberian Husky mix who's a bit flaky around cars. He really doesn't trust them much. At one point on our walk, a van stopped just in front of us and someone opened the side door to let some passengers out. Polar momentarily froze and looked over at them like they were a horde of alien zombies exiting their invasion ship and then immediately pulled me away from there just in the nick of time.

I have to admit I thought Polar was a bit stand-offish at first but realized he was just anxious in the parking lot. Once we settled down, away from all the cars, he turned to me and pawed me gently for attention. Despite the car thing, I really liked this guy's genial personality. Along with Lady (the Bernese cross) and Care Bear (the Black Lab), there are some wonderful big dogs at Toronto Animal Services right now.




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.

Saturday, May 26, 2012 · 1 comment

Two ads

Here's a Kijiji ad (click on image to enlarge):



Pictures from the ad:







Notice the mother in some of the pictures. She's keeping an eye on her children. She's attentive, loving, maternal, even gets along with the cat.

Here's her reward:



Rescued by Kismutt.

Lady is now available for adoption through Toronto Animal Services South or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If Lady is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because she's been adopted already.

Friday, May 25, 2012 · 4 comments

Joey - Beagle

Joey has got quite a distinctive Beagle bark when he's trying to get someone's attention. Arf arf. High low. Arf arf. A little like an out of tune horn. He's fine as soon as I get the leash on him. I take him out and he follows his nose but he's crazy about it. We walk to the far side of the building where I take some photos.

He's pretty personable and a natural in front of the camera. Don't Beagles have that eyeliner thing down to perfection? And how can anyone go wrong with those big, floppy ears?

On the way back, Joey suddenly plants his nose into the ground and sniffs up a storm. He starts retracing his steps and walking in circles trying to locate some scent. He pulls me across the grass, across the sidewalk. He's frantic with this scent whatever it is. Then he stops and before I can pull him back, he picks up and eats two little finger nail sized pieces of what looked like pita bread.

Pita bread? I'm like, seriously? You went to all that effort for two lousy morsels of pita bread?

Later, inside, I'm thinking he's hungry so I grab some doggie cookies. He sniffs one, takes it in his mouth, spits it out. If he's still there next weekend, I'll have to remember to bring some pita bread.




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.

Thursday, May 24, 2012 · 1 comment

Unnamed Poodle Shih Tzu mixes - Mother and Son Bonded Pair


Two more puppy mill rescues are at Toronto Animal Services South, this time a bonded pair of mother and son. The son is the larger of the two and at barely a year old, is acclimatizing to people much better than his mother who has been locked up way too long. She is coming around but she's still a little unsure when people approach and neither of them will go outside if I just put them on a leash. The trick is to carry the mother out and say to the son, "Look, mom's going out. You coming?" and then after a moment of consideration, the boy follows.

Once outside, the boy's quite happy to sniff around as long as you don't try to make him walk any distance away from his mother and since his mother won't walk much at all, she has to be carried around if you want to get her son to move around a bit further afield.



These are two very cute dogs but TAS is going to try to adopt them out as a bonded pair, the third such pair in the last couple of months, and it's never an easy thing to find homes for bonded pairs. In this case, there is the added bonus that they aren't quite housebroken although the son is almost there. Maybe at some point, they could be separated if no one steps forward to take them together but for now, they are the only comfort each other have in this brand new world outside the cage of the puppy mill.



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.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 · 2 comments

A beautiful day to spend with a pound dog


Sunday, May 20, 2012 · 1 comment

Milo - Chihuahua mix

(Lost track of this guy. I thought he was still at TAS but he was adopted on Monday.)

Milo steps back and is a bit nervous the first time I meet him in his run. I sit down beside him and wag my fingers in his direction and soon enough he's coming over to check things out and then it's all good.

He's got this world weary look on his face which is offset by his big, fancy ears (maybe a bit of Papillon in him?). I don't think he's going to be at TAS for long, so if you want him, better hurry.




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.

Friday, May 18, 2012 · 5 comments

Bella - Miniature Poodle

Bella is another of the dogs found in the cardboard box outside the Toronto Humane Society and transferred to Toronto Animal Services. She was adopted just this past weekend.




Accompanying the dogs in the box was a notebook with what looked like breeder's comments on each of the dogs. The handwriting was girlish: big round printed letters in different coloured inks with decorative flourishes and happy faces. It was a record of when and how often each dog had been bred and when they could be bred again. There was a sense of affection from the words mixed in with the exploitation diary of the dogs.





It's a strange thing to leave behind. Did the owner think the THS might be interested in breeding the dogs themselves and she was just being helpful? She writes about the dogs like they're family but one doesn't put their family in a box and deposit them at a stranger's doorstep. I wonder what the story was. I wonder if there was sadness here in letting the dogs go or if this was a simple business decision.

Thursday, May 17, 2012 · 2 comments

Tommy - Poodle

Tommy should be a model. Look at that face! This little poodle should have no problems getting adopted with those super expressive eyes of his.





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.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 · 1 comment

Jill - Jack Russell Terrier

Jill is an absolutely lovely little Jack Russell Terrier. For a single breed, JRTs really come in a variety of sizes and Jill is very much on the petite side. She's not a teacup or anything but maybe it's just the way she carries herself, quiet and demure, happy like a spring flower. Oops, update. Apparently, Jill does have a bit of a bark after all. When she sees people going into the adoption room and there's the possibility of some attention, she lets out a few yips.




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.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 · (No comments)

Nene - Miniature Poodle Chihuahua mix

About a month ago, a box was left outside the Toronto Humane Society. Inside there were eleven mini-dogs, mostly Toy Poodles, Chihuahuas and Poodle/Chihuahua mixes. The box of dogs was transferred to Toronto Animal Services South where it was discovered one of the dogs had been ganged up on by the some of the others and had been injured. While getting bullied is never any fun, that particular dog was sent to a vet clinic where someone fell in love with it and adopted it, so, as it turned out, it was the first one home.

Of the remaining dogs, some went to TAS-North and some went to TAS-East. I've seen their photos and descriptions come up on the TAS adoption page over the last month and I think those ones have all been adopted out by this point.

The remaining three at TAS South were just put into adoption last week (due to some lingering medical issues?) and over the weekend two of them were homed. The last remaining dog is this little girl, Nene, and I'm not sure why she hasn't been snatched up.

Maybe her "problem" is that she is constantly chit chatting. I can't remember the last time I've walked a dog with so much to say. It's not barking really, though there is the occasional yip. It's mostly squeaks and purrs. It's like she's talking on a cell phone in some mini-mutt language. I think she's just putting on a show, pretending she's super popular so that someone will like her and take her home.


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.

Monday, May 14, 2012 · (No comments)

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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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