Whatever Happened To....

The frustrating part about working at a shelter is not knowing where the animals go when they leave.

It's always a good thing when an animal is adopted. TAS South is a great shelter, but that's what it is - a shelter. And that's never ideal for an animal in the long term. When they leave, we assume that their new people are taking them to a home where they will be loved and spoiled, and hopefully, we'll never see them at a shelter again.

There is always a nagging doubt, however. The people who adopt from shelters are wonderful, especially for small animals because so many people go to pet stores. But they can't all be perfect, and every time an animal goes home, you think - do they have a good vet? what if they don't have the right cage? do they really know what they're doing?
And then you never hear from them again, and you have to simply assume the animal went to a loving home or you'll go nuts.

The photo above is of Mikey, a baby cockatiel who showed up at the shelter. Birds disappear within a few days normally, which is good, because they are especially not suited to the shelter environment. The first day I saw Mikey, he wouldn't let anyone near him. I assumed he would be gone soon like all the other birds, but the next week he was there again. I worked with him for hours until we had built some trust with each other. For the rest of the day, he was my buddy, and sat on my shoulder while I worked with the rabbits and cleaned.
Because I only go on weekends, normally my animals disappear while I'm not there. I happened to be there the day Mikey was adopted. A family took him home; they weren't very experienced with birds, but they seemed to genuinely like Mikey and have interest in him. And cockatiels are great beginner birds.
I think about Mikey all the time, especially when cuddling my own cockatiel, and hope with all my heart he got a great home.

Every time one of our animals gets adopted, I am thankful. Thankful that the animal has found a home, thankful that someone chose a shelter over a pet store, and thankful that we have room for another rescued animal. I will also, however, always wonder where they went and if they're happy. In the end, you have to have faith in the shelter's people and policies, for weeding out the bad apples, and in the kind-hearted people who adopt from shelters, for being good pet-owners.

Strange Encounters

I put Linus up on the table to take a look at his teeth, and he wiggled away to go check out the new canary. The canary fluttered over to meet him. I was ready to pull him away but they seemed to be innocently interested in each other. They spent a few minutes chirping and nose-wiggling at each other before Linus lost interest and came back to me for some attention, and the canary went hunting for food.
I love seeing different species like this. You have to wonder what they were thinking.

Mmmm Veggies!

Alice is a Giant Chinchilla rabbit, and yes, she is giant. I adopted her a little over a month ago from the shelter and she promptly took over the house and garden. Especially the garden.
Rabbits LOVE to eat! They can eat endlessly. As any good rabbit book will tell you, a rabbit that isn't eating is sick.
Anything that's green and growing is food in a bunny's eyes. The problem, of course, is that not everything is healthy for them, and many things are downright poisonous.
Alice loves to come out on our balcony with us and chow down on the garden, just like any wild rabbit. Unfortunately she has long lost her wild rabbit instincts and eats anything, poisonous or not.
House rabbits should be fed anywhere from 2 to 5 cups of greens and other veggies a day, depending on their size. It makes up most of their diet, along with fresh Timothy hay. Pellets should NOT be the main course despite common opinion - they can be a part of the diet, but not the only one.
Since they eat so many veggies, it's much more convenient to simply grow your own, rather than buying a bunch of arugula every week. If you have a garden, planting and growing your own herbs can save you a lot of money!
Which brings us to the million dollar question...what plants ARE good for the bunny, and which are poisonous?
Here's a list of some easy herbs, and some plants that should be kept far away from your rabbit friends. I'm by no means an expert and this isn't a comprehensive list, so any suggestions or warnings would be welcomed!

Good Ideas:

• Parsley (contains Vitamin A, which is important, and almost every rabbit in the world LOVES it...that's what Alice is devouring in the photo above)
• Sage
• Mint
• Dill
• Chives
• Arugula
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Dandelions
  

Really Bad Ideas:

• Morning Glory
• Poppy
• Impatiens
• Hyacinth

It's quite a little adventure, figuring out what's edible in your garden for your bunny. There are a lot of great, comprehensive lists of both toxic and non-toxic plants on the Internet.
For toxic plants:
http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/health/poisonous.html
http://www.allearssac.org/poison.html#anchor147129
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/Toxic_plants_en.pdf
For non-toxic plants:
http://www.3bunnies.org/non_toxic_plants.htm#h

Then we have the question marks. There are some plants that have varying reports - some sources say they're toxic, some say they aren't. I've never been able to figure out snapdragons, for instance. And while it's generally agreed that marigolds are safe, I've seen some places say that they can cause skin problems.
The bottom line is better safe than sorry. If you're not 100% sure it's safe, it's best to keep your rabbit away, at least until you get a chance to ask a vet.

A Brief Cat Interlude

Snoopy would love to be your friend! (For the record, I'm not choking him, I'm petting him!)

I know this is a small animal blog, but I do visit the cats at the shelter once in a while, and these guys were being so sweet today I decided to share the love.

Arlo has beautiful blue eyes. He looks rather conniving here, but I assure you that in real life, he is quite lovely.
Fiona is like a supermodel cat. She has gorgeous, silky fur.

Sweet Pea (I think, I could be wrong on the name) is still listed as a 'lost animal' so hopefully her owners will show up soon!

And that concludes your cat interlude.

Skip & Misty

Skipper and Misty are two budgies that came to the shelter about two months ago, along with a handful of other birds. They were rescued from an apartment fire, but after a few weeks, the 'protective' box was checked on their forms, and it was decided they would stay at the shelter.
They were a bit skittish when they arrived, which was to be expected, but unfortunately their stay at the shelter has only increased that skittishness. They aren't hand-tamed and don't really want anything to do with people, but they like treats and with the right amount of attention, I'm sure they could be trained.
The pair of them love to sing, especially Misty (the female). She chatters away all day and has to comment on every thing that happens.




Misty loves to put on a show and flutter around the cage, hanging off all the toys, although she was very coy when I brought out the camera.





Skip on the other hand is madly in love with his own reflection. He is torn between his love for his mirror, and his bond with Misty. It's a tough life.

These two are very attractive birds and they do love to serenade you. The shelter rarely gets birds and when we do, they usually disappear in a few days - either claimed by frantic owners, or adopted. These two have somehow managed to stay with us for two months, so hopefully they can find a home that will offer them lots of treats and attention soon!
Skipper's Adoption Page

Feathered Soap Opera

I have three parrots. They, along with the rabbit and the humans, have formed their own, mismatched little flock. I don't think they've really accepted the hamster. The drama that occurs in this little flock is incredible from day to day, and I really think it could appear as an award-winning daytime drama.
But first, some background!

We started with Loki, the cockatiel (see above), and a few years later we brought in Bailey, the hyperactive lovebird. Loki loved us completely. Bailey did not, but he was quite interested in Loki, who wanted nothing to do with another bird (ew, birds, humans are so much more civilized!). We had a little triangle going on for about a year. Bailey loved Loki who loved us who loved both of them, though Bailey did not love us back. The two ignored each other, although Bailey would occasionally chase Loki around the room in a misguided campaign of love.
The dominance issue was a weird one. I was head of the flock, but I expected them to establish some kind of second in command. They never really did. Bailey was the more dominant one - he's excellent at pushing people and birds around. He was, and is, however, completely in love with Loki, and he tended to let her get away with whatever she wanted.

About a year and half later, we brought in yet another bird (Loki still hasn't forgiven us). This was Tchaikovsky, the conure. Tchai was...not very good at interacting with other birds. He didn't know how. He was very earnest in his attempts to meet them, but he somehow managed to offend Bailey to no end. After their first meeting, during which Bailey firmly gave him a preening (grooming) to put him in his place (seen below), our tyrannical lovebird has not tolerated his presence. Bailey now took over the dominant position, although really it's more like Bailey's the boss, Loki's the boss' girlfriend, and Tchai is the new guy everybody wants to kick out.

We had assumed that perhaps Loki and Tchai, the two human-obsessed birds, would team up against Bailey. In typical parrot fashion, they proved us totally wrong. Loki and Bailey united against the newcomer. They now come as a pair. Loki still can't stand Bailey. She uses him as protection, because she has a baseless fear of Tchai, who wouldn't know how to pick a fight if he tried. Bailey, who is completely smitten with Loki now, is content to follow her around, occasionally doing a mating dance, and once in a while getting to preen her, which is the happiest moment of his day. We tell him he's rather pathetic, but he doesn't seem to care.

What a touching scene..........or not. Note: Loki doesn't actually attack Bailey, she doesn't have the guts. She just throws a big hissy fit and occasionally puts her wings in the air to show how tough she is. We are rarely impressed.

Tchai, meanwhile, is perfectly content to attach himself to the humans, who are much more willing to scratch his head. He's mostly given up trying to make friends with the older two, although he still occasionally tries to preen Loki. This of course sends her into a panic, and her bigfooted little boyfriend rushes to her rescue. It's no wonder Tchai's given up.

So let's review! We have:
* Unrequited love
* Action (in the AIR)
* Damsels in distress
* Big bosses
* Lots of noise (did I mention that? That's an integral part of the show.)
I think that is the formula for an award-winning soap opera right there!
Honestly, sometimes it's worth it to just sit back and watch your pets, because they are, besides being loving, loyal companions, excellent entertainment. Also, it's always good to know where everyone stands in your 'flock' (and trust me, if you have a bird, in their mind the whole household is part of the flock). Understanding flock dynamics means that you are understanding the bird's relationships with everyone else, and you can't go wrong with that!

How Does This Make Sense?

I have never understood why hamsters and gerbils get surrendered to shelters. I mean, sure, occasionally there must be the extraordinary circumstances that warrant their surrender, but it happens all the time.

Hamsters, gerbils and mice (often known as 'pocket pets' although that phrase always annoyed me so I refuse to use it) are not exactly high-maintenance animals. They are small, and they don't bark or growl - in fact they make very little noise at all. They need a cage, some toilet paper rolls, a toy or two, a water bottle and a food dish. You should, of course, socialize and play with your rodents, but they won't waste away if you don't. They'll amuse themselves with the toilet paper rolls.

The little guy in the photo above (and in the blog's banner) lives at my house now, much to my parrots' amusement. He was somehow given the unfortunate name of 'Johann Richard Strauss Jr' by some friends of mine with strange senses of humour. He's the the three famous Strausses in one, which is impressive considering he's about 3 cm long. We just call him Strauss to make it simpler.
Strauss is a dwarf hamster, and he is the friendliest hamster I've ever seen. He loves to be held and he is content to simply sit on your hand - he seems to lack the twitchy looking-over-the-shoulder every other dwarf hamster I've met possessed. That probably doesn't bode well for his survival instincts, but since the birds can't get into his cage, I think he's safe.
Strauss was surrendered to Toronto Animal Services by his owner. This little guy makes no noise, no mess, is perfectly friendly, and has a maximum lifespan of 3 years. He's also the size of my pinky finger. How much trouble could he possibly be?

Maybe there was a good reason for Strauss' surrender, how should I know. But hamsters, mice and gerbils show up at shelters all the time. Honestly, they are not difficult pets. They are not much trouble. Is it so hard to keep the little guy healthy for a few years? Buying a hamster doesn't require the life-planning needed for the purchase of a dog or a parrot. Is it so hard to make a commitment for 2 or 3 years?

Often, you hear stories of parents getting rodents for their children as their first pet. That's a great idea - it can teach kids responsibility and compassion. My first pet, after fish, was a gerbil, and she taught me a lot about how you shouldn't make creatures with teeth angry. What isn't a great idea, however, is expecting the kids to take complete responsibility for the animals.
Children are not going to always remember to feed the pets, they are not going to be willing to clean the cage every week, and they will not be able to pay for food and toys. I can't stand hearing about parents buying rodents to teach their kids a lesson in responsibility, only to have the kids fail the lesson, and have the rodents end up at a shelter. Kids should have to take some responsibility for their pets, but if they fail to live up to that, the rodents shouldn't have to pay. After all, it was the parents who got the rodents in the first place.

Many people don't consider hamsters, gerbils and mice 'real pets'. In most people's minds, they are a tiny step above fish on the 'interesting pet scale'. Of course, as any guy with a 20-year-old goldfish or clicker-trained gerbil will tell you, that scale is 50% perception and 50% nonsense. Either way, however, they are still living animals and they are still your responsibility, and as with any other pet, it should be your responsibility to keep them out of the animal shelters.

Tucker

Tucker was at the shelter when I started volunteering there late last year. He was a very handsome bunny, sort of on the big side, and completely unsocialized. He'd arrived in September of 2008 as a stray.
Tucker was always there, every week, as the other rabbits came and went. He had his two-cage spread at the top, right in the middle of the window, but he never got adopted. Probably because he wouldn't let anyone touch him for more than two seconds. He didn't want to be cuddled or scratched behind the ears, he wanted you to leave him alone with his beloved cardboard box. He was also not very photogenic despite being so handsome, and this is the only flattering photo I have of him for that very reason. Refusing to look at the camera 99% of the time may have been a part of this.
If you did get him outside for a run, however, run is exactly what he did. Run like a madman, complete with a few jumps and twists. That bunny had so much energy to burn, it was nuts. The staff let him run in the dog rooms when they could to give him more room.
Tucker was at the shelter from Sept 08 to May 09. After 9 months waiting around for a home, the kind people at Rabbit Rescue Ontario decided to take him and find the right kind of home for him themselves. The handsome boy is now up on their website, and hopefully he'll be able to find some people of his own, and lots of room to run.
Rabbit Rescue Scroll down to find Tucker.

Welcome!

I am fairly sure that no one's reading this, but that's probably a very good thing, as I have no idea what I'm doing.
I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Laura. I volunteer at the South location shelter of Toronto Animal Services, which is located on the CNE grounds. I'm not a professional or expert or anything, I just like to go and play with the animals once a week, because they get love and attention out of it and I get...well, to play with animals. I'm also a certified music nerd, and therefore if you do happen to read this, you'd better brace yourself for classical music references and jokes that only a select group of nerdy people will find interesting.
On a much more fascinating note, I share my house with 5 animals of varying degrees of insanity.
The most normal of the group is the dwarf hamster, who also adorns the heading of this blog. Then there are the three parrots, and the rabbit which is the size of a cat. Three of them came from the shelter, one came from a woman's purse, which is a story for another day, and the oldest one came from a breeder.
So what is the point of this blog? I like to take photos, and I like the animals at the shelter. Genius that I am, I like to combine the two and take photos of the animals at the shelter. I've wanted to post the photos and bring more attention the small animals for a while now, and blogging seemed the way to go. In short, the point of this blog is to post photos of the rabbits, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs and reptiles that end up at my shelter, and hopefully bring them some more love and cuddling from some new people. And ideally, in the future, get updates on how the little guys are doing in their awesome new homes.
Enjoy!