WagstoWhiskers,October18th,2014

Happy Holidays 

FROM GVAC Winter Newsletter 2014 

Myname isDexterand I reallydoknowhowbeautiful Iam. I amaragdoll, but I have some of the quirky siamese traits. I ambig andbeautiful,almost18pounds.IwanttobelovedforwhoIam,notjustwhatIlooklike.WhoamIlookingfor?Well,myperfecthappily‐ever‐

afterisahomewithoneortwoolderpeepsand no kids. I am ok with other cats, butjust leave memy space. I like quiet, I likecalmandIreallydont'likechange.IwillrubagainstyourlegsandIcanbeveryplayful.Icould take a fewmonths to realize this ismy forever home, so if you give me timeandpatienceIwillbeyourfriendforever.

Adoptable>>

StacyRossfromCHEKNEWSwasourMCforthenightandshewas,asalways,amazing.

Wags to Whiskers  .03

HowtokeepyourpetsafeduringtheChristmasseason.

Seasonal Info  .05

 

Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders – Winter Newsletter 2014 

2

Ayoungerwomanwaswithherandshowedherimpatiencewithheavysighsandanunfriendlyexpression.Sheuttered,"Mom,let'sgo,youaresoslow".Myheartwentouttothisolderwoman,whowasquiteobviouslywalkingasfast she could. I quickly held the door for her, and much to the youngerwoman’sdismayIstartedchattingandintroducedhertomytwodogs.Hereyes brightenedwhenshe toldmeofFancyandMae,herdogandcat sheloved so dearly, but now she was in assisted care and couldn't have anyanimals. I felt such a connectionwith this woman,who gently huggedmydogs and kissed their muzzles and it was evident the arthritis caused hersomediscomfortwithmoving freely. The eye‐rolling daughter stood4 feetawaywaitingatthecar.Whenwasitthatagebecamemoreofaburdenandlessofloveandempathywithsomepeople?Italsoextendstoouranimals.Iwent home and sat in my high back chair and snuggledwith Kasey. A 16year‐oldbeautywhowasdumpedbyherfamilybecauseshehadanaccidentinthehouse.Afewantibioticscleareduptheinfectionanditwasallfine,butthefamilydidn'twantherastheyfigureditmighthappenagain.Howdoyougiveupafamilyfriendof16yearssoeasily?Yet here I sit with this beautiful soul, Kasey. She is old, arthritic and a bitcranky. Everything she has ever known was taken away, yet here she issharing her space with these two drooling dogs and people she doesn'tknow.ButshesnugglesupandshowsherloveandIreturnittenfoldtoher.Shewalksslowduetoherarthritis,butmovesabitmorefriskilywhenIbringoutthetemptationtreats.TheverynextdayIcalledmymomandtoldherIlovedher.Ijustsmiledandlaughedwhenshetoldmethesamestoryforthe3rd time.That isok, becauseoneday Iwillbe there, hopefully. Ihopemykidssmilethroughtherepeatedstories,andhelpmeupwhenIamstuckintherecycler.Ihopetheyslowdownalittletowalkinthemallwithme,andhavepatience.The same goes for our animals.Whenwe adopt, we adopt for life, soweneed to ensure we can take care of them right through the senior years.Havepatience,begentle,celebrateage,lovethemdearly.Righttotheveryend.Betheamazingpersonthatreflectsintheireyes.Betheirvoice.Warmly,Heather

A fewweeks back, Iwalkedwithmy daughter tomy localStarbucks for amorning coffee. Iwent in togetourdrinksandtherewasanolderlady,perhapsinher80's,makingherwayslowlytothedoor.

MessagefromthePresident

ThankyoutotheincrediblygenerousdonationoftimeandservicesfrombothSteveand

MelissaGuy,ownersofInvisionWeb.

Wearethrilledwiththenew

websitethatfeatureseverythingfromoureventstoadoptableanimals!!

Checkitoutat

www.GVACrescue.com

InvisionWeb(invisionweb.ca)isawebdesignanddevelopmentstudiobasedoutofVictoria,BC.

Withover13yearsexperienceSteve,theleaddesigneranddeveloperandMelissa,whobringsitalltogetherasthe

projectmanager,workedwithustodevelopasitethatfitsour

uniqueneeds.

Announcing the Release

of our New Website!!

 

Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders – Winter Newsletter 2014 

3

The2014 Wags  to Whiskers Dinner and Auctionwas held at the Royal Colwood Golf Club onOctober 18th, 2014. It was a wonderful nightfilled with lots of delicious food, auction itemsandfungames.StacyRossfromCHEKNEWSwasour MC for the night and she was, as always,amazing.WesWraggettplayedhiswonderfulcooljazzguitarforourguestswhichsetthemoodandagoodtimewashadbyoneandall.Thank you to all  the  volunteers (including all of our boardmembers) thatmade the event come together ‐withoutyou,wecouldnothavesuchasuccessfulevent!Thankyoutoallofourguestsanddonors.A special thank you to Lillian Szpak for bringingthedoorprize!

StacyRossfromCHEKNEWSwasourMCforthenightandshewas,asalways,

amazing.

WagstoWhiskers,October18th,2014

 

Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders – Winter Newsletter 2014 

4

Nullaneclectus.Praesenttortor.Praesentdui.Duisidorcinecmagnapretiumeleifend.Utnibhlacus,placeratet,dignissimut,volutpatsed,sem.Insodalesporttitorquam.Utlectus.Pellentesquemattisnibhsit

ThankyoutoChrisBarker,owner/operatorofCB’sAutoTech(www.cbsautotech.com)forapplyingfora grant from Enterprise Rent A Car CanadaFoundation to support the programs and servicesthatweprovidetothecommunityandtheanimalsinit.

Enterprise Rent A Car Canada Foundation and CB’s Auto Tech bring GVAC a $2500 donation!!!

MeettheBoard–DelanaS,DirectorofFundraising,FeralCoordinatorIbecame involvedwith rescueapproximately9years ago when I applied to adopt a specialneeds cat through GVAC Rescue. I hadspecifically chosen a cat, Yoyo, who neededextrahelpasIhadjustbecomedivorcedandfeltthatcaringforhimwouldfillanemptyplace inmyheart.WhenIwenttothefosterhometopickupmyYoyocat, I saw abeautiful and sadlookingyoungmamacat that I justhad tohelpas well. So they both came to join my littlefamily consisting of myself and one other cat,Sammy.MoveaheadalittleintimeandIstartedhelpingoutslowlywithGVACRescueandbeforeI knew it I was a full board member and wasinvolved with a group of board members whoreallyputthe“working”into“aworkingboard”.Althoughsomeofthosemembershavemovedon, one thing has never changed.Our board isnot the mamby‐pamby kind of “executiveboard” where you direct others around andsupervise.Ourboardrunstheentireinner

workingsofthisrescueeverysingleday.SinceIstarted with GVAC Rescue I have had quite asuccessionoffostercats,allofthemincrediblyspecial. I’ve had pee’ers, semi‐ferals, crackhouse rescues & so much more. I’ve neverforgottenanyofthem&eachonehashisorherspecialplaceinmyheart.

Thankstoyou,in2013,GVACfacilitated:• 162CatSpays• 120CatNeuters• 34DogSpays• 26DogNeuters• 1892OtherVeterinaryProcedures• 110AnimalsAdopted• 40FosterHomes• 31AnimalsinGVACFosterCare

2014numberscomingsoon!

Statistics 

Withoutthethoughtfulandgenerousdonations that companies andindividuals have made to GVAC, wereally could not do the work in ourcommunity we do. GVAC is 100%volunteer run and all donations godirectly to the animals that needeverythingfrommedicalattentiontoawarmforeverhome.Thankyouforallowing us to continue our workthroughyourdonations.

 

5

The BC SPCA website gives precious Holiday Safety Tips. For more information, click here. 

How to keep your pet safe during the Christmas season

1

Thingstoconsiderinsideyourhome

1. No Bones Please:Avoidgivingbonestoyourdogsorcats,particularlyturkeybones.Poultryboneseasilysplinterandcancauseseriousinjury,whilebonefragmentscancauseintestinalblockagesorlacerations.

2. Healthy Treats:Chocolateandothersweetsshouldnotbegiventoanimals.Chocolatecontainstheobromine,achemicalthatcanbedeadlytocatsanddogs,thoughnotharmfultohumans.Thebestthingyoucandoforyourpetsovertheholidaysistokeepthemontheirregulardiet.Lookforspecialanimaltreatsinsteadofgivingyouranimalscookiesorsweetsmeantforpeople.

3. Poisonous Plants:Manypopularholidayplantsarepoisonoustoanimalsincludingmistletoe,holly,ornamentalpepperandChristmasrose.Remembertokeeptheseplantsoutofreachofpets‐especiallybirds.Poinsettiasarenotpoisonoustopetsorpeople.Thishasbeenalong‐standingrumourperpetuatedfordecades.Havingsaidthis,somepets,thathaveasensitivitytothelatexcontainedintheplant,maygetdiarrheaor

2

evenvomitiftheyconsumeapoinsettia.

4. Avoid Tinsel:IfyouhaveaChristmastreeandpets,youhavearecipefortrouble.First,makesurethetreeiswellsecured.Trytoplacedecorationsabovepawheightandusestringtohangthebulbsinsteadofhooks,whichareeasilydislodged.Ifpossible,usenon‐breakableornaments.Avoidusingtinselorangelhair.Catsanddogswillingestboth,whichcancauseintestinalproblems.Cordsforlightsshouldbemadeinaccessibletopets‐especiallyfromchewingpuppiesandexploringkittens.KeepinmindthatthechemicalsaddedtothewaterreservoirofyourChristmastreetokeepyourtreelivinglongerwon'tdothesameforyourpet.Thechemicalsaretoxictoanimals,sokeepthereservoircovered.

5. Watch Toys:Avoidpurchasingpettoyswithsmallorsoftpiecesthatcanbechewedandswallowed.Nylonbonestendtosplinterlessthanplasticones.Besuretoinspectpettoysregularlyanddiscarddeterioratingones.

Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders 

PO Box #28166, Canwest Mall Victoria, BC, V9B 5E0  

info@gvarescue.com 

Interestedinhelpingout?JustfilloutourGVACVolunteerApplicationFormandemailitbacktoinfo@gvarescue.com.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of you for your past support of the Animal Crusaders. We do not receive any government funding, so we depend on compassionate donors like you to help over 1500 stray and abandoned animals each year. We are so very proud to be a local rescue, we believe in community and want every penny raised to help the animals from our community. There have been exceptions in the past, but generally, we don’t bring in animals from out of Canada or even off the island. We know there are so many animals here that have no voice and we want to focus our energies to give them one. So what exactly does GVAC do? I want you to know that every rescue has a happily ever after. Even those we had to say goodbye to, they left this world with no pain and with someone who loved them, even briefly. Remember..... saving one animal won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one animal. GVAC helps with spay/neutering of owned and feral animals to lessen the suffering of unwanted animals. We work with Animal Control, the CRD and other rescues when they need us to take on tough cases or they just have too many. We help those with financial need get their pets in to see a vet. We trap ferals and strays, and if there are kittens, they are tamed and then put up for adoption. Adult ferals are put into barn homes, strays are checked by a vet, cared for and then we find their own “happily ever after”. We have over 40 foster homes and they are always full, and often over full. Fundraising and education is key to our mission. We are very proud that we don’t pay salaries, are 100% volunteer run and have foster homes, amazing and generous people to fuel our passion to help animals in our community that would otherwise suffer. Christmas is just around the corner, and with it comes the cold, windy and rainy nights. We work very hard to get many of the strays out of the cold and into warm loving homes. Please meet Hope, she was kept in a shack with a few others cats in the backyard of her owners for the first years of her life. Vet care, good food and a warm home fixed her up physically but it took 6 months for her to realize people can be good and wouldn’t hurt her. She is named appropriately as she now has become accepting of people and knows she is safe. This is what we do and without us all working together her life just wasn’t a life.

From myself - and the entire Animal Crusaders’ Board of Directors – Thank you for helping, Thank you for giving a voice. Thank you from Hope, and so many others. Warmly, Heather Nielsen President Remember animals aren't our whole life, but they make our life whole.

Creating Happily Ever Afters for Abandoned Pets

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