2010 Summit Speaker Series Part III

The International Summit For Urban Animal Strategies Presents:

Homing Practices in Calgary 
Speaker: Patricia Cameron

The Calgary Humane Society has two homing goals:

1) Ending euthanasias based on time and space constraints, and
2) Finding responsible homes for all adoptable animals in the City of Calgary.

This presentation briefly reviews the development of the Calgary Humane Society’s homing philosophies and approaches, then discusses the important role collaborations play in the success of homing efforts, and then outlines some recent innovations in homing practices that have increased the number of animals adopted. 

2009 Summit ReCap #2: Cats Our Biggest Opportunity

Highlights from the Panel Discussion at the 2009 Summit

The panel discussion on the last day of the National Alumni Summit For Urban Animal Strategies always provides opportunity for lively discussion and information sharing. In effort to remind alumni of the importance of this dialogue, and to keep these issues top of mind, here are a few powerful quotes excerpted from the session:

On the issue of managing TNR Colonies:

“[With many feral cat colonies] people don’t realize that there is a community caregiver. Occasionally the cats are trapped and taken to Animal Services… and we go and pick them up. [Upon their return to the colony] we distribute pamphlets in the neighbourhood, to let people know these community cats are being cared for, with tips on keeping the cats out of their yards if they don’t want them there.”

Debbie Nelson ~ MEOW Foundation, Calgary

“Sterilization may be the key [to controlling the number of unwanted cats and kittens] but in our minds, the biggest issue for feral cats is finding someone to be the caretaker of that colony. If we just spay and neuter cats and then turn them back out on the street, there could be health issues immediately after surgery. There is also a concern with neighbourhood acceptance. Some people don’t necessarily care whether the cat will reproduce or not… they still consider them to be a nuisance.”
Tim Dack ~ (Retired) City of Winnipeg Animal Services

On the issue of feral cats, as an ‘invasive’ species:

“In one of the presentations, cats were referred to as ‘second only to rats’ in terms of being an invasive species. Since cats are not [technically] native to Canada, there are concerns about predation on migratory birds and the fact that they may be a food source for coyotes, etc. Have any communities looked into this?”
Patricia Cameron ~ Calgary Humane Society

“In Calgary we studied coyote scat and discovered that [judging from the fecal analysis] inner city coyotes had minor predation of cats. More often, they ate bird seed and garbage. Coyotes are inherently lazy and would rather eat garbage than chase cats. Foxes, on the other hand, are a concern since they can follow a cat over a fence. TNR cats are well aware of predators. The real victims here are the household cats that are put outside every night… and they think every animal is their friend!”
Bill Bruce ~ City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services

Delegate Feedback Appreciated

Your Summit organizers were thrilled to receive several congratulatory emails from satisfied delegates within hours of the event wrap-up on October 16.

Here is a snippet of what some people had to say about the event:

"I just wanted to send along a quick thank you on the this year's Conference. Again PetLynx has gone over and above on this event."

G. Potter ~ Alberta Animal Services

"I can’t tell you how many delegates were raving about the Summit! The most frequent sentiment expressed was that the event just keeps getting better and better. Congratulations on a great event!"

P. Cameron ~ Calgary Humane Society

"On behalf of everyone who worked so hard to create and deliver the [Summit] programs, thank you! By all accounts, it was an excellent Summit. Our thanks to PetLynx for providing national leadership. Everyone is looking forward to 2010."

K. McDonald ~ Ontario SPCA

While we really appreciate this unsolicited feedback and show of support, we still encourage all delegates (who have not already done so) to complete the 2009 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies Delegate Survey.

Yes, we work hard to make this event better each year, but we can't do that without your honest evaluation. The deadline to provide delegate feedback is Friday, November 6.

We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage those of you who wish to have the complete North American Urban Animals Survey (NAUAS) for the Canadian and/or US markets to contact Cindy Kreutzer (cindy.kreutzer@petlynxmail.com or 403.219.1088).

Cindy will provide you with the NAUAS Subscriber Contract and the discount voucher you will receive as one of our important clients.