In The Loop

I would like to thank everyone for following Trooper's story. We want to keep you in the loop every step of the way as Trooper has touched the hearts of so many kind and caring people. And your outpouring support has touched our hearts as well.

I apologize that some of this information will be repeated updates from yesterday. I missed a few things in the blog and would like to make sure that everyone has the most up to date information directly from us.


Trooper's Current Condition

It has been determined, after Trooper's X-Rays on Monday February 13th, that he has suffered from 3 pelvic fractures and nerve damaged. While his fractures can be corrected, the main concern is the nerve damage that keeps Trooper from having control of his bodily functions. He is currently in veterinary care where he is receiving pain management and is being kept comfortable. While there are still no changes in his condition, he is eating and drinking on his own and is in good spirits.

It has been decided that Trooper will be sent to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, PEI to receive further treatment. Gwen Samms, Shelter Manager, will be accompanying Trooper on his trip to PEI. We are still waiting for the arrangements to be made for their flight and will let everyone know, as soon as we do, when they will be making their trip.

Trooper recently had his blood work done and everything is looking good. He has also tested negative for Fiv/Felv. His veterinarian is estimating his age at a little over 1 year old.


Donations

We would like to thank everyone who has donated to Trooper. We have been receiving donations from as little as $1 and up, from ALL OVER the world! Remember that NO donation is too small! Trooper's medical care costs are continually rising and we could use all the support we can get.

If you are interested in donating towards Trooper's medical costs please see the previous post to see how you can help!


A Sincere Thanks

Again, we are so grateful for all the support we have been receiving. I would like to take a moment to give a BIG THANK YOU to the COMFORT INN in Charlottetown, PEI. They will be allowing Gwen Samms to stay with them free of charge for as long as she needs! We are unsure of how long that will be at the moment. She will be staying for Trooper's assessment and a decision will be made once we know more.


Helping An Animal In Need

While Trooper's story is heart breaking, we hope that something positive can come from it; a chance for people to learn how they can help an animal in need. PLEASE, we beg you, if you see an injured, abandoned, or stray animal DO NOT turn your back on it. YOU can save a life. There is no joy like the joy that comes from knowing you made a real & positive difference in the life of another being.

There are a number of ways in which you can help:

-Provide shelter for strays.

Learn how to build an easy shelter by following the link: Feral Cat Shelters.

-Provide strays with food. What about the dinner left on your plate you were about to throw out? Or the leftovers from last night's supper. There's always a hungry belly that could use it!

-Get in contact with your local shelter or rescue. There are MANY WAYS in which they can use your help. Be it foster care, dog walking, creating promotional material, fundraising or just spreading the word. There's ALWAYS something you can do! The list is endless.

-Start a TNR (Trap, Neuter & Release) program in your area. TNR WORKS! It is the humane way to take control of the feral cat population.

-SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR ANIMAL. This cannot be stressed enough! We all need to take responsibility for our own pets. If everyone would do just this one thing the stray population would be reduced dramatically.

-Don't shop, ADOPT! There's an abandoned animal out there to suit each and every person's needs and wants. Using a website like Petfinder you can find your perfect companion. A rescued animal will be forever grateful and bond with you like no other.

Begin your search here: Pet Finder.

-If you find an injured animal, please investigate. Provide it with food, water, shelter and warmth while you contact your local shelter or rescue. If it is past business hours use your local veterinarian's emergency line, or any other emergency line (such as the police or fire station). They will put you in contact with the right people after hours! DO NOT give up until you get in contact with someone! And ALWAYS leave a message while you continue to search!

If you are unsure of what you can do to help you can always use Google searches to help you find answers. Or contact a local rescue. Or contact us! We will always take the time to point you in the right direction!


I mentioned volunteering for a local rescue earlier and I would like to put out a plea for volunteers in our area, and beyond. SCAPA is only a small collection of volunteers in the Bay St. George area of Newfoundland and we could always use more! If you are interested in volunteering with us please contact us. All of our contact information is listed on the right side of this page.

Please, Help Us Help The Animals!

Trooper Update & Other Recent Events

We, at SCAPA, would like to thank everyone who has donated to Trooper's medical costs thus far and to all of those who have kept him in their thoughts and prayers. A VERY BIG thank you to Scaredy Cat Rescue who has been with us every step of the way in helping Trooper.

Trooper is currently having arrangements made to have him sent to a vet clinic in PEI. His veterinarian believes this is the best facility for him to have the fighting chance he deserves! There is a VERY GOOD chance that Trooper will pull through! Thank you so much to everyone who had kept Trooper in their thoughts and prayers. And thank you to those who have donated. Please keep the donations coming, remember that every little bit helps! This is going to be VERY costly! There are a number of ways in which you can donate:

1) Follow this link to donate to Trooper via ChipIn: http://trooper.chipin.com/trooper-scapa

2) You can make an email money transfer to the following email address: jaimebourgeois@hotmail.com

3) Drop by SCAPA (15 Utah Drive) with your donation.

4) If you are in the Deer Lake area you can drop by Deer Lake Foodland to make your donation.

***We ask that you donate through SCAPA (Bay St. George Animal Shelter), SCR (Corner Brooke Scaredy Cat Rescue) or at Deer Lake Foodland. Please do not donate through any other organization. If any other organization would like to collect on Trooper's behalf please get in contact with us.


In other news...

We recently had a Valentine's Bake Sale to raise money for SCAPAs vet bills. We asked the public to make donations of baked goods and we set up in the Stephenville Plaza with these items. I would like to give a big thank you to those who have donated: Rhonda Barry, Samantha Young, Kelly Flynn, Karen Pike, Ann Marie Gaudet and to the other anonymous donors! We made $230 from this bake sale and every penny of it will go towards SCAPAs vet bills.


Remember that real change happens in small steps, with individuals, small groups and big hearts! We CAN change the world!

What To Do In An Emergency Situation

On Saturday Morning (Feb. 11th) SCAPA got an emergency call regarding a cat who was believed to have both legs broken. This cat had spent all night, unable to move, in someone's driveway. When Dolores and Gwen approached, the cat hissed (as any injured animal would do), but once they gave him some food and showed them they were there to help by petting him gently and speaking to him softly, he was more than happy to accept their aid. What they then came to realize was heart-breaking.

The cat was literally frozen in the ice on the driveway overnight. Both of his back paws/legs and rear end were frozen in ice. Several buckets of warm water were required to free this poor creature. Once freed they wrapped him in a warm blanket and rushed him off to the veterinarian.

Once at the vet clinic he received warm saline solution via IV and was wrapped in blankets and heating pads. The circulation has begin to come back to one of his hind legs. Here he was aptly named Trooper. Trooper will be heading to Corner Brook tomorrow for some X-Rays where it can be further decided what medical care he needs.

The story of Trooper brings up a point well worth discussing: What do you do when you find an animal in desperate need of help.

Whatever you do, DO NOT just leave the animal there to fend for itself!

You can:

-Get as close to the animal as possible to see what the issue is. A hurt animal will most likely give you a warning (hiss or growl) in an attempt to protect itself. You can take the time to approach slowly, with food, to show you mean no harm. If it's cold and exposed to the elements you can cover it with a blanket while you get help.

-Contact SCAPA. 643-2811 and LEAVE A MESSAGE! But don't stop there...

-If it's after hours and you cannot get a hold of SCAPA there are other places you can call that will get in contact with SCAPAs volunteers any hour of the day/night.
These places are:
Police Station 643-2118 or 643-2119
Fire Station 643-2176
Local Vet Clinic (they have an emergency line!) 283-3200


PLEASE, whatever you do, do not leave an injured animal to fend for itself. While we are a small shelter and cannot help every animal in need, we will NEVER allow an animal to suffer the way Trooper did. We will ALWAYS find a way to help.

Trooper's story could have had a very different ending. And his fight isn't over yet. We will keep everyone posted on his situation. If you would like to donate to Trooper's medical bills you can get in contact with us or do so one of the following ways:

Anyone from the Corner Brook area wishing to donate money can drop it off at Alteen's Jewellery on Broadway, in an envelope labelled with his name.

You can call the vet clinic at 709-283-3002 to make a credit card donations over the phone.

Or send an email transfer to janh1@nl.rogers.com , sending a separate email with the answer to the security question. The same email can be used for PayPal transfers.


We will be updating the paypal and email information some time tomorrow. This is a trusted volunteer's account being used temporarily while we set up our own Paypal.

Help Us Help Trooper!

Dog Behaviour at SCAPA

It has recently come to my attention that there is a common misconception about our dogs at SCAPA and their behaviour. As someone who is very interested in dog training and behaviour I would like to address this issue and clear up any concerns that may prevent people from adopting one of our great four-legged friends.

Misconception: Our dogs bark when people approach therefore they are aggressive.

This is not the case. Yes, our dogs do bark when people approach the shelter. This is typical dog behaviour and is NOT a sign of aggression.

Dogs bark for a number of reasons, some of the main reasons our dogs bark are as follows:

Territorial Barking: Bottom line, SCAPA is their territory. Their home. They bark to alert others (dogs and workers) to the presence of visitors. While there isn't a single aggressive dog at SCAPA, we do have a few shy dogs who are afraid of strangers due to their past circumstances. These shy dogs engage in territorial barking as a way of alerting you to stay away from them. However, with a little attention and showing them you mean no harm they will warm up to you.

Attention Seeking Barking: This is as straight forward as it sounds, some dogs bark at people or other animals to gain attention or rewards, like food, toys or play. Rewarding this behaviour will encourage this type of barking.

Greeting Barking: Some dogs bark simply to say hello. You can generally tell this is a greeting bark by his body language; relaxed, wagging tail, excited behaviour.

Socially Facilitated Barking: Some dogs will bark because they hear other dogs barking. Dogs are social animals and this is very natural. At SCAPA we currently have 14 dogs. So when one begins to bark most of the others begin to join in. They may even do this when they hear dogs barking off in the distance.


All of these behaviours are also seen in most dogs, not just shelter dogs. While training can reduce the amount of barking, it will NOT eliminate barking altogether. Barking is a way of communication for a dog, like speaking is for us, and to expect them to never bark is not only unrealistic, but it is a denial of their very nature. For those who expect a dog never to bark I suggest that you re-consider owning a dog. Please keep in mind that certain breeds are more inclined to bark than others. For some it is part of what they were bred to do. It is hard-wired within them, it is instinct. And training NEVER trumps instinct.

(Please note that because of the number of dogs we have and the nature of a shelter we do not do barking related training with our dogs. This type of training is best done once a dog has been adopted into a forever home.)

If you are interested in adopting any of our dogs and have concerns about their behaviour please inform us so that we can address the issue and clear up any misconceptions you may have. Often times meeting the dog is enough to show you how friendly and harmless our dogs are. If you would like to meet one of our dogs we can set up a time to do so. You can even take the dog on a walk to get to know him/her a little better.

If you do not know what a behaviour means, do not assume. Find out!

Safe and Sound

While there are currently no long term placements available at SCAPA for abandoned cats it doesn't stop the volunteers and caring individuals from finding a warm and safe place for these, otherwise hopeless, animals.

By reaching out, not only to the Bay St.George area, but to the entire province and occasionally beyond, SCAPA is able to continue helping animals in need.

Some recent success stories:

Allie, the kitten rescued yesterday and featured in our previous post, is now safe in a foster home with Julia in the Corner Brook area.

This is Shawna, who was recently abandoned outside in this cold weather. She was originally thought to be pregnant, but after her vet check up we were relieved to find out that she wasn't. She tested negative for Fiv/Felv, has been spayed and vaccinated. Shawna is now warm and safe in foster care with Sonya in the Corner Brook area.

Remember Cloud? Here she is in her foster home. She has recently been tested, spayed and vaccinated and returned to her foster mom, Hollee.

Thanks to Sonya & Julia for taking these animals into your home and keeping them safe. And a special thanks to Hollee and her boyfriend, who met Gwen half way to Corner Brook to transfer these beautiful girls to their foster homes!

Now a tale of a forever home. Meet Smokey, a 5 year old indoor, male, neutered cat who was recently tossed outside without a second thought because a child had come into the picture. Smokey lived in the warmth for 5 years until one winter's day he was tossed outside and never permitted back indoors. It wasn't long after we caught wind of Smokey's story and people began to share it through the online community of facebook, that Viola stepped forward and gave this gorgeous little guy a forever home. Smokey is now living well with Viola and her family, passing his time watching the fish bowl, following his new family around and taking turns sleeping with the 4 children despite having his own bed. Thank you for opening your heart and your home Viola!

Thank you to everyone who made the lives of these 4 cats better with your kindness. What could have been 4 very sad endings have become 4 hopeful beginnings.

When you think on the successful endings and new beginnings created because of SCAPA, I urge you to remember that this is only possible because of individuals, like yourself, willing to give something back and care about the life of another.



“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it. But I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.” -Anonymous

URGENT: Foster or forever home needed.

Meet Allie:

Allie is a 6 month old female cat that was rescued just this morning by SCAPA. Allie had been tossed out, as her owners were moving, and left behind to fend for herself. SCAPA got wind of her situation this morning and rescued her from the cold. She was immediately brought to the vet clinic where she tested negative for Fiv/Felv and then vaccinated.

Allie is very sweet despite her situation. An immediate foster or forever home needs to be found for Allie. If you can open your heart and home to her please contact us. If you cannot, please spread the word.

A sincere thanks from SCAPA & Allie!

A Trip To The Vet

While the season of spending more than you have has ended for most, it certainly hasn't for SCAPA. For each successful re-homing of an animal, there are many more that need our help. Visiting the veterinarian is part of keeping the animals healthy and ensuring the best possible chance for them at a new life.

Anyone who has owned an animal knows how costly vet fees can be. With animals both in the shelter and in foster care needing check-ups, shots, tests, and surgeries the bills pile up rather quickly.

We have 6 animals currently needing veterinarian care, their appointments are set for January 25th. These animals are as follows:

Ozzie, 6 month old male cat, needs: Test for Fiv/Felv, vaccination, neutering, and worm treatment.

Neko, 6 month old male cat, needs: Test for Fiv/Felv, vaccination, neutering, and worm treatment.

Sissy, 1yr old female cat, needs: Test for Fiv/Felv, vaccination, spaying, and worm treatment.

Bella, 6 month old female, cat needs: Test for Fiv/Felv, vaccination, spaying, and worm treatment.

Cloud, 6 month old female cat, needs: Test for Fiv/Felv, vaccination, spaying, and worm treatment.

Roxy, 2 year old female dog, needs: Check-up, vaccination, spaying, and worm treatment.


As SCAPA is a 100% volunteer organization we do not have such luxuries has having a veterinarian on staff. These vet visits will cost SCAPA approximately $1200. I have included some donation information on the right hand side of the page for anyone inclined to donate. There are several options listed. And all donations are tax deductible! We also are planning a bake sale around Valentine's to help with some of these costs (more information on that when the details are ironed out).

Please remember the support of the community and SCAPA volunteers allows us to keep saving the lives of abandoned and abused animals in the Bay St. George area!