Do you have a Happy Tails Story about a pet you have adopted from us?
Send it to us and we will post it.
You may include up to three pictures or two pictures and a short video.
We would love to hear from you and your pet.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year !

You may send as comment in Blog or Email to pawsofgold@live.ca or mail to PO BOX 422, St,. Paul, AB T0A 3A0

The shelter is turning away cats and kittens as we are full. So for a limited time all cat and kitten adoption fees are reduced to half. This is to make space for the other cats and kittens out there who need it. A cat or kitten adoption is now 75.00 with 50.00 refunded upon proof of spay or neuter.

We wish we had the resources to have all spayed and neutered before leaving the shelter but are not able to at this time. We can however take your new pet to the St.Paul Vet Clinic and have you pick them up there and pay for their neuter/spay at the clinic, then there is no deposit.

We are a registered not for profit agency and if you would like to make a donation, or sponsor a shelter pet (cat or dog) for a spay or neuter we would be happy to issue a tax receipt. Donations can be made through the website, at the shelter or through the mail.

Here are just a few of the pets looking for forever homes:

Have a wonderful Christmas.

RANT : pet peeve, you may not agree but...

Okay, so you have a pet you no longer want....take responsibility, the pet did not pick you,and even if it did,  you chose to keep the pet. This is not a couch or a lamp, you do not have the luxury of becoming bored with it, or deciding it is no longer wanted and then dumping your problem on someone else. Putting an animal out is not kind, it is cruel, how would you like to be put in the middle of no-where, knowing no-one, with no resources of your own. The small charge a shelter or rescue asks for on intake is to help the pets get the very basics of what they need to survive, immunization, food, shelter, and it is the least you can do for them. Placing them in danger because you do not want to spend a couple of bucks is insane, and others may pick up your tab, but, if everyone did that there would be nowhere to bring them as all he shelters would have to close. I would think life means more than dollars. Even better, do not get a pet in the first place, if you can not commit to the pet for it's lifetime and you are not willing to sacrifice a few dollars for it's care when you can not longer care for it, then you should not have gotten it at all.
Before getting a pet you may want to ask yourself a few questions such as Why do I want a pet? Am I able to care for a pet for it's lifetime? Am I willing and able to be responsible for another life? Have I put aside some funds for emergencies, whether medical or in case I need to put the pet in care, if no longer able to keep it? Do I know what it costs to keep a pet, and can I afford it? Can I house it, feed it, care for it, train it, keep it up to date on medical needs, am I prepared for an emergency? What will I do if I can no longer care for my pet or find I have made a mistake? Am I able to be a responsible Pet Parent? If you can not answer these questions then you definitely need to re think your options, maybe start with a fish and see how that goes first before jumping in with a dog or cat you think will fill that spot in your life.
Cats and Dogs are wonderful additions to our lives, they love you unconditionally and ask for so little in return, they have worked for people, played with people, saved peoples lives, provided therapy for people and so much more and ask for so little in return....Being a good pet parent is not a right it is a responsibility. Pets are not products to be used and tossed aside, The way a person treats their pets is directly linked to their view of all life, including other people. Think about it.

Still looking for a home: many cats and kittens, Duchess, Shade, Moksha, Daisy and Amber, Amber really needs a home before winter as she has a strong prey instinct so we may not be able to bring her in and are also looking at possibly transferring her to another shelter or rescue.
The ASPCA annual conference in Calgary was very interesting and informative. It was great to network with other shelters and get new ideas and information.

Our Feature pet of the week was Ajax, a 3 month old male orange tabby with a massive purr. Very sweet.
 


 Update: Outdoor Dogs:


Amber: Australian Shepherd cross: 4 yrs old, female, spayed. Energetic, good on a leash and very people oriented. Very good if no other animals are wanted in the yard.
Daisy: Black Lab, energetic and active, she likes to run and climb. Very people oriented and good off leash, still jumps up a bit when excited, about a year old. (not spayed )
Moose: Black Lab cross: Large, very sweet, loves people, easygoing and well mannered for his age: about a year old. (neutered)
Shade: curly coated lab, possibly some water dog, Medium size, short coat, short tail. Very people oriented. about two years old, eager to please. (not spayed)
Lucy: English Mastiff cross: Very, very people oriented, nice dog, very short coat, eager to please. She is dominant with other animals. Eight months old.
Marla: Golden Lab, small for her breed. Very people oriented, good with cats and other dogs, very eager to please, not sure why she is still here as very nice personality. Female, Spayed, about two years old.
Moksha: Pointer mix, good calm personality, between five and eight years old. (we were told five but she may be older. Short coat, nice looking dog. Female (not spayed).

These are the dogs who are outside currently, the bad thing is most have shorter coats, some will develop an undercoat for winter.

We are hoping they all find homes before it gets cold as we really do not have adequate space and housing for them all inside once the weather turns. Moose, is very large, Amber and Lucy are both dominant and Daisy and Amber could both easily get out of the indoor kennels. 

We are full again, it seems as though the pets come in as fast or faster than they can be adopted. As fall approaches we lose our outside kennels until we can use them again in the spring. This means that any outside dogs not adopted need an indoor kennel reserved for them. We also have many kittens and five cats who need homes, one of the cats may be pregnant so there goes the rest of the cat kennels, therefore we can not take any more cats or kittens at this time. So far all the shelters I have talked to recently are in the same position, some even worse. If more people were responsible pet owners this would not be such a problem, Pets should not be an impulse, and pets should be spayed or neutered, it is False that having a litter is good for them, it is not...it can harm them not to mention the babies who may never find homes.

Grooming in St. Paul

In addition to Tannas Olsen whom most of you are aware of there is a new place to have your dog groomed in St. Paul. It is located in Wellboys on main street. This is by the medical clinic. I dropped in and saw a very nice set up. Unfortunately, Jodi Mudryk, the groomer, was not in today but will be back on Monday April 18. The name is "Gotta Luv Em" and the phone number is 780-646-2517

Correction to Newspaper Article

The St. Paul Journal recently did a story on the shelter, very nice, except we do not have any reserved funds for a building, the only funds we have reserved is around eight hundred dollars for spaying and neutering of dogs. We had a number of dogs spayed and as they are adopted schedule the next dog for a spay or neuter as we can afford it. 

We will start fund raising for a building and set up a building fund once we have a location to put it. 

As you may have noticed the on line form for the pet registry is not working at this time, we are working on it and hope to have an online form soon., in the meantime a paper form is available at the shelter, or can be emailed to you and returned the same way. Thank you for your patience in this matter., 

Good news, Darby has been adopted and so has Ivan. Unfortunately we are at capacity again as new pets arrive as fast as they are adopted out, sometimes faster and we have to turn many away.

Pet Registry Service

You can now register your pet's information with the St. Paul Animal Shelter. 

This is a free service we are offering to reduce stress both on the pet's people and on the pets themselves.

It works like this: 

• You fill out a form with your information and up to four pet's information including up to three pictures of each pet. (Dogs, Cats, and Other types of pets) (You can register more than four pets but need a new form for each group of four). 
• All information is kept confidential and entered in a secure database.
• If your pet ever goes missing you just call the shelter and we pull up the pictures to match with any found pet calls. (Much more accurate than trying to visualize a description over the phone). 
• If someone calls with a matching pet they have found we then (depending on your preference) call you to call them, give them a number you have approved to call you, or can even have them meet you at the shelter to return your pet home.
• It also makes it quicker for us if a pet is brought to the shelter, we can match the found pet to a picture in the database and voila your pet is back home. 
• Right now we can only do paper but are working on an online form that hopefully will be available soon on our website.

This service also include a no charge pick up of your pet if it is picked up the same day it is brought here and is in the database with accurate information and picture.

What do you think about this service? Do you think we should try to get other shelters involved in offering a pet registry?

One other item of note: Although no personal information would ever be given out the statistics of how many and what types of pets are in our community and surrounding area could be released and maybe we could finally get an off leash dog park and other pet services in our area, if we can show the numbers and a need for it?

VOTE in Bissell's MVP photo contest

bissell.promo.eprize.com/mvpcontest/
 Help win some funds for the critters at the shelter, Bissell is having a MVP (most valuable pet) photo contest and the winner gets to donate 10.000.00 to their favorite registered non-profit pet charity. If I win obviously you know that will be the St. Paul Animal Shelter of course. One picture of one pet per week is allowed.
You can enter your own pics or vote for our entries.
To find our entry to vote for this week go to the link above, click vote (register) and search Toodles. His pic will come up and vote for his pic please.
We will be entering one pic a week until the end of the contest. (weeks voting goes Wednesday to Wednesday)
And Yes, Toodles was adopted from the St. Paul Animal Shelter.

Vaccination

To clear up some of the confusion surrounding vaccination of pets:

Dogs require three immunization shots, one around eight weeks, next around twelve weeks and the third around sixteen weeks. 

Cats: First one at eight weeks with a booster thirty days later with one type of vaccine OR the same schedule as dogs if the other vaccine is used, your vet will let you know what schedule to use based on the vaccine the vet uses. 

All pets should then get a booster yearly (bonus a health exam is included)

If you have a kitten or puppy and been told it is "up to date" on vaccination this does not mean it has all its required shots, it just means at that point it is up to date, ask  when the booster is due.

Your vet can also tell you what vaccines or treatments are needed if you take your pet on holidays.( for example: heart-worm is very bad in some areas of BC and Ontario, the preventative treatment should be started three months before taking your pet to a hot spot. )

WHY VACCINATE?

Simple, to protect your pet from diseases that could permanently harm or kill your pet and to protect other animals from contracting a disease from your pet. For example some virus' take years to get rid of in the soil and  other animals (especially the very young) can catch it and die. (Parvo virus is one example of this) If your pet goes outside or has contact with animals that do, or if it has a chance of coming into contact with wildlife, it should be vaccinated against Rabies. There is no cure for rabies, it is transmissible to humans and it kills.  If you request a rabies vaccination for your pet at the same time it is getting it's regular booster shot it is only a few dollars more. Furthermore if your pet ever bites another animal or person you can show that it has it's rabies vaccination. If your pet is not immunized against Rabies and bites, it can be seized, placed in a ten day quarantine and if further testing is required the only way to do so is to euthanize the suspect animal and send samples of the brain for testing. (I think I would rather pay for the vaccination)

WHY USE A VET CLINIC FOR VACCINATIONS?

Good question, some drug stores sell vaccine, some people vaccinate their own dogs and may offer to do your pets, some breeders vaccinate their own pets and those they sell and some (very few as it is illegal) even charge a small fee to do follow up booster shots.  You may think you can save a few bucks but...ask some questions...\

Where did the vaccine come from, how was it transported, how was it stored, did the person vaccinating take the pet's temperature, are they giving it correctly and what about the health exam??? Do they have credentials, formal training?

You may think this is not a big deal but. 

The vaccine could be a forgery and useless, If transported or stored incorrectly either at the place of purchase or after purchase, it could be useless, If the pet has a temperature the vaccine may not take, If given incorrectly it may be ineffective. 

When you take your pet to a veterinarian for vaccination they perform a health exam, this is like your yearly physical, they can answer any training or behavioural questions you may have, check for worms and do a de-worming and let you know if there may be beginning signs of any health problems. As well a Rabies shot can only be given at a vet clinic, 

You could take your chances, Parvo can cost over a thousand dollars to treat, Rabies is fatal, Distemper can be fatal, and those that survive it may have permanent neurological problems, some apparently healthy pets can be carriers and transmit disease to others, some diseases are transmissible to humans and some can remain in the soil for years just waiting to infect an unsuspecting pet. Vaccinations prevent a lot of the more common diseases, if administered correctly, and proper health care for your pet by a trained professional can prevent a lot of heartache.

Deciding not to use a pet doctor for your pets is equivalent to deciding your child's babysitter can treat and diagnose your children ...

CBC had this on TV and it was very good and informative. It is a documentary but very well done and has Alberta and Canadian content. Click on Cat Crazed link below to go to CBC site and watch on your computer. It is about stray and feral cats in Canada, Alberta and elsewhere and what some organizations are doing about the problem. We would like to read your comments on the show. The second link is to a good site for more information on the Year of the Cat

Cat Crazed : CBC

Year of the Cat: Canadian Federation of Humane Societies

 Momma Cat had five kittens on December 19/10. Their eyes are now open and we can take deposits for those who are interested. They will not be available to leave the shelter until they are fully weaned and have an immunization shot.

They and their mother will be available for adoption around the middle of February. 

A 100.00 deposit will hold any of them for an adopter. 

The deposit is refunded upon proof of spay or neuter by a set date. 
(A hold deposit will not be refunded if the adopter does not adopt the pet on hold)

Happy New Year to all 

Thank you to EVERYONE who donates funds and supplies to the shelter. The animals had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying their treats, blankets, beds and toys!! 

Thank you to all the individuals and companies that donate funds and time to help the animals at the shelter receive care until they can find their forever homes. Thank you to those who choose to adopt their pets from shelters.

Special Thanks to 

• Anita Hellquist DVM

• The St. Paul Veterinary Clinic 
• 1310 Cat County Radio 
• the St. Paul Co-op 
• H&R Block
• The Legion
• The Town of St. Paul
• The St. Paul Journal
• All our volunteer board members
• All shelter members

for all their ongoing contributions to the shelter. 

We would like to thank SPAN who made the St. Paul Animal Shelter the recipient of their Christmas drive this year. The toys, treats, food and supplies for the animals is much appreciated.