Some Special PFA Success Stories

PFA intake volunteers have to make a lot of tough decisions when it comes to certain animals who come into our care with behavioural problems that usually result from abuse, neglect, horrid circumstances, which lead to problems such as terror of humans, separation anxiety, and aggression. These behavioral problems make it very unlikely that the animal will be be adopted.

We have to weigh the potential for rehabilitation and adoptability of the animal against our limited resources and how much of those resources might be consumed to rehabilitate an animal, while juggling the heart-wrenching emotions that go with doing street rescues.

Thankfully, our partnership with the wonderful team of Laureen and Laurisa at Prairie Animal Assistance makes these decisions much easier because we know that we have a safe and caring place for special needs animals where they will get the care they need to be rehabilitated and ultimately find loving homes. Some of our proudest success stories are summarized below.

As with humans, many behavioural problems can be corrected through rehabilitation and a continued environment of love and support. In 2009 began a partnership with Laurisa Osheski and Prairie Animal Assistance Corp., a Registered Charity that rehabilitates rescued animals. Laurisa has over 23 years of training and rehabilitation experience. She uses positive motivation through clicker training to rehabilitate and solve behavior problems in animals.

This partnership has been amazingly successful, first with Ranger (pictured above) a PFA dog suffering from overwhelming separation anxiety issues, Melvin (formerly Malcolm) - the cat who was once described as a nightmare and now has a best friend in young Ryan, who takes him with him for rides on the ATV. More recently an incredible success story of six little feral kittens each found wondering the means streets of Regina at only a few months of age in the cold months of late fall. These wild little kittens had no mother or colony to help them so were scooped up by some caring individuals and sent to live with Laurisa when it became apparent that they would never be tamed without rehabilitation and socialization.

After many months of intense care with Prairie Animals Assistance theses cats are now well on their way to being social and loving pets and they will be ready for adoption to some wonderful special homes in the near future. One sweet and handsome boy, Slick (above), is ready to go and is now available for adoption. We are looking for adopters who will be willing to work with Laurisa to make the transition to new home as stress free as possible.

You can go to HYPERLINK "http://www.prairieanimalassistance.ca" www.prairieanimalassistance.ca and view the UTube videos to see Laurisa at work with rescue horses, dogs, and cats.

Please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com if you are interested in adopting one of these special, well-trained and socialized little cats.

-Alanna

Spring Time Health Hazards for Pets

Spring is a great time for people and their pets, but it also bring with it certain hazards. Click here to read the ASPCA's spring safety tips for pets.

-Alanna

Cats Solving Crimes!

Now there is another upside to owning a cat - they can help solve crimes, too. Click here to read about how cat hair is contributing to world of crime-fighting!

-Alanna

Rocky the rampaging cat

A note from one of our wonderful pet rescue volunteers, Brittany:

"Just wanted to share something funny with you! We have a boy named Rocky...We have child-proof locks on the food cupboards because of his antics with ravaging through them (he was a starving kitten when he was found at my work 2 years ago). Last week I forgot to lock the cupboard and we went out for dinner. This is what I came home to...(I took these pictures before anything was touched...treated it like the crime scene it was...) He looks so innocent doesn't he? He's one of our 5 babies - to avoid looking psychotic I didn't send photos of all of them, but I was tempted to."

-Sarah

A Good Time Was Had By All!

PFA had a fantastic night at Brewsters (South Albert) tonight - food, fun, and fundraising! We raised much needed funds for our spring Trap/Neuter/Release projects and enjoyed visiting among our friends, family and supporters.

It was truly amazing to share such a fun evening with fellow animal lovers! Thanks so much to all who attended.

-Alanna

Such Pretty Little (Stray) Kitties!

Spring is always super busy for PFA. In addition to our spring Trap/Neuter/Release projects, the stray cats keep coming in droves. In the last week we've rescued 3 young, scared and hungry female cats who were all literally sheltering under doorsteps or decks in various areas of the city.

Little miss Kitty Cat (orange tabby) and XIIna (grey tabby) join Marnie as PFA's latest spring rescues. Thankfully we got them before they were pregnant with kittens!

We are in the process of getting these 3 girls spayed, vaccinated and listed for adoption. Now we just need to find them loving permanent homes.

For more information on these sweet girls, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals.ca.

-Alanna

A special rescue by some special people

Two nights ago, I received a phone call from a young man about a cat. He had a kitten that he said had been found under a building, and he was hoping that PFA could help. I arranged to go over the next day and pick the cat up. I had very little information - just that they couldn't keep her, as they were only allowed one pet, and they already had a cat, and that this cat/kitten was thin, hungry and seemed like it had been homeless for a while.

The next morning, I went to the apartment complex, and discovered that it was a supportive living complex for special needs adults. These amazing people had found that Marnie, a small black female cat, about 7 months old, had been living in a crawl space under their building. Braving scratches and bites from this frightened little girl, they dragged her out, and took excellent care of her until I got there. They checked her for an ear tattoo (she didn't have one), cleaned her up, and even called all of the ads in the paper for lost cats! Not only had many of the residents been involved in this rescue, but they did far more for this little lost cat then most people that PFA deals with. I was touched and impressed. The residents also quizzed me at length about what would happen to Marnie, to ensure that she would be safe from euthanization and any future homelessness.

Marnie is now already spayed, had a wound over her eye treated, and is in loving foster care with Gayle. Once she has had some time to recover and learn to trust again, we will be listing her for adoption.
-Sarah