A little Wiki-Knowledge about the THS

[from WikipediA]

The Toronto Humane Society is a Toronto charity that operates animal shelters and animal rescue operations. It was founded by crusading journalist John J. Kelso after he added the comment “Why don't we have a society for the prevention of cruelty?” to a November 1886 letter in the Toronto World about a horse in distressed condition. Subsequently, a total of $74 in donations was sent to the newspaper which was used by Kelso to found the Toronto Humane Society in 1887 as an organization dedicated to promote both children's aid and the humane treatment of animals. The Children's Aid Society ultimately became a distinct organization in 1891.[1]




The THS was originally located at the intersection of Bay Street and what is now Wellesley Street in downtown Toronto. It is currently located on River Street.[1]


[FROM THS website]


The inaugural meeting was held on February 24, 1887. In his book, Early History of the Humane and Children's Aid Movement in Ontario, published in 1911, John Kelso related that the meeting was “quite successful” and the name “Humane Society” was chosen “because its mission was to be broadly educational – better laws, better methods and development of the humane spirit in all affairs of life.” The following week, an organizational meeting was held and Kelso was elected secretary.




“At that time” he recalled, “there were only six public drinking fountains for horses in Toronto, and three of them were owned and controlled by saloon keepers.” Securing hundreds of drinking fountains for the thousands of working horses in the city was one of the Society's first priorities.


From its beginnings on Bay Street to Wellesley Street (formerly St. Albans St.) and now River Street, the Society has had a 125-year journey and continues to demonstrate its commitment to the humane treatment of animals, with an adoption centre on Victoria Park near Van Horne.

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Last night's Annual General Meeting was slick, professional and thankfully largely absent from the nasty undercurrents of last year's meeting, when emotions ran high, and anger and anxiety culminated in some ugly behaviour, exacerbated by meanspirited letters from both sides sent during the weeks leading up to the elections.  The change of venue helped, bolstered by the slide show, regular meeting materials and a strong leadership which clearly delinated acceptable behaviour and the consequences of indulging in unacceptable behaviour.

Candidates, for the most part, kept to their 3-minute guidelines and with a notable exception, more or less successfully concentrated their speeches on why they would be a good choice for the Board of Directors.

Scrutineers were increased to five from last year's two and judging by the wait we are all experiencing to see the results of the election, votes are being carefully and thoroughly tabulated before results are posted. 

A fairly respectable percentage of THS members made the effort to have their voices heard - 700+ proxies were legally provided to the Scrutineer by 5 p.m. last Friday, and apprxoinately 179 people turned up in person at the Primrose Hotel to exercise their right to choose the direction the THS will take.

More on this once the results are in.