Hi Everyone:

Another full-on busy year for all of us at PAF and we thought you'd like to see some of the PAF stories to let you know of our work.  Thank you for your continued support. You are part of the PAF team assisting these little ones to better circumstances and we couldn't do it without you.

TILT-A-WHIRL – ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

All kidding aside . . . . just as our public officials ask us to prepare kits for any possible earthquake emergency, we must remember to pack a kit for our furry friends too! Take a few minutes to pack a knapsack for Fluffy or Fido so you aren't in a panic at an emergency time and put the pack nearby your own kit.   Being prepared ahead of time will give you peace of mind for your faithful companion.

Take a peek here to see some good ideas and tips to pack . . . .   
 

	Your pet emergency kit will vary depending on whether you have a cat or dog, but it could include: Bottled water. One to two weeks' worth of your pet's food. A note reminding you to grab any pet meds if you have to leave the house. Collapsible food and water bowls. Blankets. Cat litter and pan. (use dirt if unable to take litter) Leash, collar and harness. Cat and/or Dog Carrier Pet life jacket and paw protectors Animal first aid items - bandages & self-adhering wrap, scissors, antiseptic wipes, eye wash

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CALICO GIRL

This little beauty showed up in a North Vancouver backyard and hung around. Chelsie's family assumed she was a neighbour's kitty but, after a few days and nights when kitty didn't leave the yard and begged for food, the family started making enquiries. No owner turned up or lost poster matched.

For a few weeks she wouldn't let anyone touch her so Taylor took a trap over and set it. Wouldn't you know . . . little one finally cooperated as if she knew we were trying to help her and she let Chelsie put her in a carrier for the trip to the vet clinic on the very same morning.

Norgate Animal Hospital told us there was no ID on her; no tattoo, no microchip and she was unspayed so likely abandoned. We fixed that by getting her spayed, vaccinated, tattooed, defleaed and dewormed. The family had grown to love her so they wanted her back. They named her Padme and welcomed her, although one of their other two cats was kind of 'unsure', shall we say about the new interloper! Other kitty loved her.

All was well for about two weeks and then Chelsie noticed Padme was lethargic and not really eating. We arranged another vet visit and a blood test indicated little kitty had a serious blood problem. Prognosis wasn't good but we were all determined to give little Padme every chance. After some serious veterinary work and some scary days, Padme was released back to the family and we all held our breath for days and weeks. Gradually little girl got stronger but she was required to be monitored with regular blood tests for several months and a bit of medical tweaking. She was a little fighter and all indications are she is in good health now.

A Merry Christmas card to PAF from all three kitties (oh, and the family) says she is a sweet, precious little girl and thanks PAF for saving her life.

Your donations allowed us to pay for her initial spay and vet care and then continue to help Padme when she was in such desperate need of further life-saving vet care. So . . . all of you . . . take a bow and THANK YOU. YOU helped rescue and support Padme to a wonderful life !

See Padme  here

THREE FEISTY FELINES !

. . . . never mind that they were only about 9 weeks old and less than 2 pounds ! Bared teeth and hissy spitting greeted poor Laurie S. when she agreed to foster some orphan kittens from Melina of Cat Therapy and Rescue Society in Mission. (https://cattherapyandrescue.com/ ) The little fluffballs weren't your usual sweet-tempered, playful little beings. Laurie had to cover her hands when she reached in to change bowls and litter and try to touch them. When you have feisty little ones like that it's best to have them confined in a relatively small space so you can try to start stroking them and getting them used to human touch. Two became relatively ok to stroke within a few days but the third kitten had a real attitude! Laurie triumphantly emailed us one day to say she had “touched her tail with her hand” and didn't get nailed ! Even less than two pounds of 'feisty' can be intimidating sometimes ! We honestly didn't know if this group was going to have to be barn kitties because of their feralish tendencies.

With other pressing rescue commitments, Laurie asked PAF if we could assist with another foster home. And, of course, we came up with cat whisperer, Danielle, and her side-kick, Texas . . . . her sweet and patient male feline who just loves to babysit and teach the ropes to orphan kittens !

Texas went to work right away, along with Danielle's two tiny dogs, and the kittens immediately began to blossom in a menagerie of pals. The most social two began to let Danielle handle them and we felt sure they could be tamed enough to be adopted. The third little tabby girl was the challenge! She played hard with her siblings and friends and was too cute for words but the attitude toward humans was 'hands off'. Until brave Spencer (Danielle's boyfriend) went for it and started to stroke her and she let him! Guess he passed the test in her books.

Soon good homes were lined up for the first two but we needed a very special and kind person to understand little tabby girl's 'rules for being adopted'. And . . . along came Laurie L. who has been in the rescue world network forever and decided that a feisty little girl was just what she needed in her home! Miracles happen . . .

Click for photos of the little trio here

THANK YOU TO THE DISTRICT OF NORTH VANCOUVER

As many of you know, the District Animal Shelter moved from its old location on Masefield Ave to a new location this year. Back in April when they were clearing out the old shelter building, PAF contacted them about a few items from the old cat room.

Not only did the District donate those items to PAF BUT they asked us if we could use more animal items that they still had. Guess what ? They had about 5 or 6 Kuranda dog beds of various sizes !! These things are great, especially for older dogs. https://kuranda.com/

We called Brenda of A Voice for Paws right away and, wouldn't you know it, she just had had a call from a rescue colleague on the Island asking if she knew of any Kuranda beds! The Island rescues she looks after are all elderly and have many health issues.  This was just the right place for these beds to be donated.   http://avoice4paws.com/

So, a big THANK YOU to the District Animal Welfare Shelter ! Check out the photos here !

KOOTENAY KAPERS !

. . . . of course, caused by Kats ! What else ?

From time to time PAF works with other groups around the Province. Kootenay Animal Assistance Program is one of them. http://www.kaap.ca/

When we were talking to Laurel, one of their super duper trappers, she mentioned she was just having the hardest time trapping a particular feral barn kitty that was having continuous litters of kittens. We suggested trying with a drop trap but KAAP didn't have one. So PAF provided a donation for equipment and a link to Tomahawk Traps which have the best feral cat traps ever!

A few weeks later Laurel emailed to say the drop trap had arrived and “I'm excited to try the drop trap at one place where the cat is avoiding the standard trap like nothing I've seen. She needs to get caught and fixed!”

And then the email that made everyone's day . . . . . “Whoo hoo! Drop trap worked like a charm after months of trying to capture this little girl with a regular trap and failing. Here are a few pics. The dark one is my hay fort that I hid in until I got her last night. We left the trap open for a few nights til she got comfortable eating in it, then I hid and laid in there until success!   The days of this little cat having kittens out in the wild are over. She's being spayed today and will go back to her farm home as soon as she's recovered. Thanks again!!”

Way to go, Laurel !  Good hunting !

See photos of wily little feral cat here

A 'SIX PACK' and MOM

. . . make a full and crazy foster room ! Danielle to the rescue again with a semi-feral mom and a brood of six babies, about 4 weeks old. Her friend, Liz, managed to get mom and the babies out of a North Shore backyard but they needed to be kept together as mom needed to nurse them. Two of the babies had red, squinty eyes and we were wondering about upper respiratory but, with warm water compressing, Danielle reported they had improved.

With a warm, cozy room, good food and TLC, everyone flourished and the babies were soon playing up a storm chasing each other around and getting into mischief. Mom didn't exactly want any touching and was aloof, but she fed, groomed and taught her little kids well.

When the kittens were 7 weeks old, Mom went in for spaying, vaccination, deworming and tattoo. She spent time recovering at Danielle's and then the chubby babies went in to the vet clinic for their first exam and vaccinations when they were a full eight weeks old.

At the beginning of December, wonderful homes were waiting for all these healthy and adorable little ones and some of the photos of this group growing up and in their new homes are at the link below. After mom was fully recovered, a barn in Cloverdale was eagerly waiting for her. We knew she would be happiest having her freedom as she was an independent girl but we made sure she had a warm space, specially set up for her and a kind and caring person to give her food every day.

Have a look at the little family here.

ANIMAL TESTING - SOME WELCOME NEWS !

It's ok . . . you can read this; no graphic photos . . . but we want to tell you of a lot of ground-breaking progress. If you know about the advances, then you can tell others and, the more people that hear of these alternatives, the faster the days of using animals for tests for products and medical research will be numbered.

Just as technological advances have been pushing so many varied industries into a bright new 21^st century future, news comes of incredible advances that are bringing us to new frontiers using human-based cells, organs-on-a-chip, and computer modelling.

Pennsylvania School of Engineering has even developed a blinking eye-on-a-chip and are using it as a drug testing platform ! 

The validity of animal use in research and testing is questioned, given the differences between human and animal biology. Did you know that 95% of drugs tested to be safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials?

In fact, hundreds of the drugs that were tested on animals and given approval for use in humans have had to be withdrawn from the marketplace, citing negative consequences for humans that were not discovered in clinical trials using animals.  Just a few of these examples are listed in the links below:

List of Withdrawn drugs click here

Recently, Vancouver City Council held a Public Meeting on October 22^nd, 2019, regarding the zoning of the potential new site for the St. Paul's Hospital to be built in 2026 in False Creek Flats. As well as many other site issues, several groups expressed concerns to Council about possible animal testing research facilities that might be built within the hospital complex.

A very informative website created by Patricia Kendall called “Rezoning for Animals” laid out valid reasons why animal testing should not be included. See http://rezoningforanimals.com/

And, as Canadians, we should be proud that we have the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Non-Animal Methods located at the University of Windsor, Ontario. http://www.uwindsor.ca/ccaam/

A really dedicated group called ADAV – has been a leading light with stellar information challenging the medical reasons and ethics of animal testing. http://adavsociety.org/

PAF's letter to Vancouver City Council is at this link here.

And a recent announcement from the US Environmental Protection Agency -

"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a directive to prioritize efforts to reduce animal testing.  Administrator Wheeler also announced $4.25 million in funding to five universities to research the development and use of alternative test methods and strategies that reduce, refine, and/or replace vertebrate animal testing."

Let's hope we see a total end to animal testing research as soon as possible!

 FELINE FUNNIES

And now some lighter moments from rescue . . .  ! 

For some chuckles click here

THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT !

Thank you immensely to our veterinary partners on the North Shore, Mosquito Creek Veterinary Hospital, Norgate Animal Hospital and Westview Veterinary Services, as well as the other veterinary partners located in the Fraser Valley, Apex Animal Hospital, and Murrayville Animal Hospital.  Together, all of us have helped so many dogs and cats in 2019.

To our wonderful volunteers who do SO much and give SO much of their time to help the little ones (and big ones)  . . . .   you are the backbone of PAF.  "Thank you" just isn't enough!  You're terrific  . . .

 And a big shout-out  to Laurie Lerner from Pet Pals and Lisa Brasso From Walkies who spearheaded the Christmas "PET DRIVE" for the 15th year in a row ! 

Happy New Year to All from PAF !