| Keeping in Touch With You |
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| Happy Holidays! |
| Around this time of year, I always get worried about the animals who are lost and alone in our community. Cats who have nowhere to call home, dogs who may have slipped a leash and runaway, and perhaps most heartbreaking, pets who were abandoned outdoors when their owners couldn’t care for them any longer and didn’t know what to do.
Worried as I am, there is comfort in knowing that you and other caring people are here to give animals in need a warm, safe place to rest and recover. This past year, we emerged from COVID along with evolving needs for our community’s pets. Our pet food bank has seen increasing demand and the number of animals coming into our care isn’t slowing down.
Through it all, you’ve been there for the animals and have helped make life-saving care and second chances possible. Thousands of animals have a brighter future, because you were there. Thank you for making Ottawa a safer place for our community's animals.
Happy holidays to you and your family. I hope they are as warm and full of love as your heart is for Ottawa’s animals.
Sharon
President & CEO |
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| Doing More for Our Community’s Pets |
| In our recent community survey, Ottawa identified affordability as the biggest issue facing Ottawa’s pets and their people. The OHS works to not only help homeless animals, but also to ensure pets can stay in the homes where they are loved.
We’re expanding support for pets in our community and one of the ways we’re doing that is by introducing new volunteer roles.
This year, we’ve seen an increasing need for our pet food bank and to help meet the need, we recruited a volunteer, Gayle Carrozzi, to help coordinate the service. A huge thank you to our volunteers new and experienced who are helping to build a more humane and compassionate community for all.
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| Foster Homes for the Holidays |
| Our incredible foster volunteers help make so much more possible for Ottawa’s animals. Dogs who have complex behaviour needs have a place to receive one-on-one attention. Animals recovering from surgery can enjoy the comfort of home while they rest. And animals who find the shelter a bit stressful or scary have a more comfortable place to stay while they wait for their forever family.
As we've seen our need for foster homes increase, we appealed to our community for support and so many people responded! As a result, we have increased the number of animals benefiting from foster care by an additional 30 animals compared to last year. Thank you so much for your support and giving animals in need a foster home for the holidays.
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| Pictures are the First Step to a Forever Home |
| Our volunteers are amazing and talented people. A goal for all of our volunteer programs is to align purpose with passion and make magic happen. One of the many great examples is our volunteer photographers, like Marty. Marty takes photos of our adoptable animals, at our events and more.
You’ve probably seen some of his work in our newsletters or on our social media. The right picture can help an animal be adopted that much quicker or even get more people interested in animal welfare. Our staff also can focus on other tasks to help animals get into their new homes as soon as possible!
A big thanks to Marty, our volunteer photographers, and all of our volunteers who make a difference for the animals.
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| Santa Paws is Going North |
| We’ll soon be wrapping up another great season of Santa Pet Pics!
If you haven’t seen the photos, take a look, they’re adorable.
We’ve seen a huge amount of interest in the program this year which goes to show the deep connection our community shares with their pets.
This program is only possible thanks to our volunteer Santas, assistants, photographers and more. Thank you for the gift of your time during a busy time of the year, for making another year of Santa Pet Pics possible and for bringing holiday spirit to our community's pet owners.
P.S. There is still one more session of Santa Pet Pics at the OHS tomorrow. Walk-ins are welcome!
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| Better Impact – Feedback and Questions |
| You will receive your login and training information in the next couple of weeks for the new volunteer management software, Better Impact. We know that new IT can be scary, but we promise it will be more efficient and effective for all of us! Watch your email for more information.
Please email Heather K. with any thoughts, concerns or questions you have about the software!
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