Blog

May 28th, 2020

The Life Cycle of a Baby Raccoon

Guest Blog Post from our friends at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control!

Raccoons are wildly independent creatures. With their impressive foraging and climbing skills, there is little need to rely on one another for survival. With that in mind, what exactly does the early life of a raccoon look like? At Skedaddle, we hope that understanding the stages baby raccoons go through from birth to full maturity will also help us understand when it’s important to leave them be, and when to call a professional for help.

May 22nd, 2020

KWSPHS May 22nd Update

Here's another weekly update from KWSPHS. This time from our Animal Control Officer, Brittany Hennessey as she talks about the removal of 14 cats from a residence in Kitchener.

May 15th, 2020

KWSPHS May 15th Update

Check out this update from Linzi Bahat, Adoption Counsellor at the Kitchener Waterloo Humane Society as she talks about the 10 puppies finding their forever homes and the latest Foster Fail!

May 8th, 2020

Breed Specific Legislation: Our experience & research

Guest Blog Post by Amanda Hawkins, Senior Manager of Animal Care

As a charitable animal welfare organization, we are at the front line in enforcing and managing dogs that fall under Ontario’s Breed Specific Legislation. In 1997, a law was passed in Kitchener and Waterloo in that any dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics substantially similar to a pit bull terrier, a Staffordshire bull terrier, an American Staffordshire terrier or an American pit bull terrier is prohibited from residing in these cities. When the provincial ban was enacted in 2005, this law now applied to all of our communities.

The following article talks about some of our research and our experiences with the Breed Specific Legislation.

May 5th, 2020

Breed Specific Legislation: Our position on BSL

Guest Blog Post by Jacqueline Watty, Vice President of our Board of Directors, KWSPHS

It is no secret that the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth believes in a kinder, safer Ontario (and Canada) for all. Breed specific legislation is a hot topic and has been for decades as it seeks to generalize a ‘look’ or ‘type’ of animal. In my mind, it can be easily translated to how humans discriminate against one another – based on how someone looks, talks, dresses etc. It simply isn’t okay for us to be judging ‘books by their cover’ whether it be of fellow humans or animals – all of us are individuals.

Breed Specific Legislation discriminates against one breed, instead of looking at each dog as an individual. We felt it was time to dig deeper to better understand the issues surrounding BSL, its enforcement, the scientific evidence and the concern that has been spread due to a lack of understanding, education and inconsistent messaging on the topic.

May 1st, 2020

KWSPHS May 1st Update

We are preparing for kitten season! Here is an update from our Senior Manager of Animal Care, Amanda Hawkins.

April 28th, 2020

Resources for Pet Owners in Need

Our pets are some of the most important members of our family. But what happens when they need veterinary care, food or medication and you are struggling? It’s a question that pet owners face in difficult times and particularly in the face of the recent pandemic.

There are many options out there, but it can be hard to know where to start. So we’ve rounded up a few items that you can research in your area to find the best solution for you and your pet.

April 26th, 2020

Raccoons out during the day - Should I be Concerned?

GUEST BLOG SPOT from our friends at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control!

As most of us know, raccoons are nocturnal creatures - nocturnal animals are normally most active at night. Because of this, we often see a raccoon walking around during the day as a cause for concern. It is a commonly believed myth that a raccoon wandering your neighbourhood during daylight hours must be very ill, however, there are many reasons that these mammals might be wandering about while the sun is shining.

April 24th, 2020

KWSPHS Update

Here's an update on our emergency pet food bank, emergency boarding program and our upcoming events from our Senior Manager of Finance, Juana Galian.

April 22nd, 2020

Happy Tails: Update on Sarge!

Sarge was adopted back in January of this year from the Kitchener Waterloo Humane Society! Here's what his family had to say about his time at home!

April 19th, 2020

A Letter of Thanks: Volunteer Appreciation Week

We are so appreciative of our volunteers and all they do for our animals. Typically our departments take turns baking delicious treats each day to show our thanks. Since we are social distancing this year, some of our staff have prepared thank you's to share! Stay tuned this week as we give thanks to our dedicated volunteer team. We couldn't help as many animals as we do without you!

We're kicking the week off with a letter of thanks from our volunteer coordinator, Stacy. Here's what she had to say...

April 17th, 2020

Thank you to our incredible foster families!

Our foster families have been an INCREDIBLE support during this time, and as of earlier this week, had accepted 56 animals into their homes for an indefinite period of time. Here's a thank you from our Foster Coordinator, Stephanie Schamber!

April 10th, 2020

KWSPHS Update on the Emergency Pet Food Bank

Our Senior Manager of Development, Nick Burke and his furry companion Fitz have an update regarding the Emergency Pet Food Bank program.

April 9th, 2020

Foster Testimonial from Foster Mom Gillian

We are so thankful for all of the foster families that open their doors to animals in need throughout the year. Whether it be nursing moms and kittens, bottle feeders, puppies, or animals with medical needs who need a little extra time to heal – they’re there to support them.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we have needed our fosters more than ever – around 50 animals are safe and cared for because of our foster families offering temporary housing, love and attention. To all of our foster families – thank you!
We wanted to share a fantastic story of one of our foster parents, Gillian. Here’s what she has to say about her time fostering for the Humane Society: