Although I've been back for brief visits since the awful, tragic slaughter of the innocents by the repugnant SPCA (Society for the Perpetuation of Carnage to Animals), it has not been for any appreciable length of time. The first time I walked through the now spacious corridors of the dog rooms, it was with tears streaming down my cheeks while the ghosts of my beloved dogs (dearest Peti, I still ache, darling Smokey, I haven't forgotten) gazed mournfully and accusingly at me from behind locked cages, drifting through the bleached corridors of their former home, sad little spirits whose souls were unable to move on, but were fettered and trapped by broken promises and lies.
For that first year following the Change, raw and aching, I stood back, sceptical and dubious, watching the sway back and forth between different factions, each with their own vision of the Toronto Humane Society . Heartsick but goaded to action, I voted in the last General Election to ensure that former President Tim Trow did not regain his throne yet had serious concerns about the direction being taken by the new guard.
I continue to entertain some doubts and questions about the THS, while acknowledging the commitment and passion of those now at the helm.
Some of the new innovations are quite wonderful; both dogs and cats and small animals now have more spacious quarters, softer more homelike surroundings. Cats have their very own "home" where the public is invited to interact with them in a more natural setting. The foster parent program continues to grow while preparations and fundraising for the low cost spay/neuter clinic is shaping up. Staff are caring, involved and constantly training and learning new and better ways of dealing with the animals. The K9 division, run by Shas, provides myriad services which enhance and support adoptions. Highly experienced and trained volunteers and K9 staff coach volunteers and work with dogs with various issues, ensuring a healthier and happier animal and one which is eminently more adoptable. Staff is also eager to work with new owners to ensure a smooth transition to forever homes and to help deal with the inevitable issues which arise when any new family member is introduced.
The volunteer department is impressively organized and pro-active, with the new CEO a hard line advocate of recruiting even more. As it stands, there is an incredible number of caring, committed and hardworking volunteers who have become an integral part of the new vision, many of whom have hung tough through the heartache and tsunami of the past several years.
I continue to worry about the fact that the THS cannot accept strays however, for as much as I admire Toronto Animal Services and the amazing strides they have made in creating a healthier, kinder and more proactive environment for Toronto animals, they are subject to the viscitudes of city government, council imperatives and the reality that they are in fact not a "shelter" but a pound. Certaintly, under the meanspirited current mayor there is much to worry about.
I worry too that there are (to my mind) too FEW animals at the "new" THS, as the number of intakes is deliberately kept at a lower level. Even more so, the animals of yesteryear that I remember so well - the older dogs that were neglected and abandoned, the sick ones that no one else wanted, the frightened, angry abused ones - seem to be in short supply (yet I am assured that is not accurate - that in fact they are just sometimes behind the scenes).
I have now been away from the THS for almost 2 years (hard to believe!), the first year while the Shelter went through new birth pangs, massive changes, philosophical earthquakes and a considerable change in management, the second because of a stupid accident which relegated me to a wheelchair for 6 months and has left me learning to walk again with a left leg that is largely steel.
But today is the day of reckoning.
Today, I'm taking that first step - walking back (well, ok, I'm limping slightly still) through the doors as a Toronto Humane Society dog walker ...
- Dog coat (impervious to drool, artistic teethmarks already imprinted, tough material for muddy paws and mouthy dogs)
- Leash - oddly, the very same one I used for the three years I walked at the THS
- Poop bags - crucial!
and MOST importantly...
- Cut-up chicken wieners .. the best motivator, reward and distraction a walker will ever need.
Wish me luck.
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