Fundraising Calendars

Fundraising calendars to support Oshawa's off-leash dog park are now on sale.

The Oshawa Durham Area Walkers Group -- a volunteer group that looks after the park -- organized the fundraiser to support improvements, such as new benches, stair repairs and extra garbage bags, at Harmony Valley Park.

The calendars feature photos of local pets and sell for $10 each or two for $15.

They are available at Global Pet Foods (789 Taunton Rd. E.), D and D Exotics (1188 Simcoe St. S.) and Karon's Groom Shoppe (367 Wilson Rd. S.).

For more information, visit www.harmonydogpark.ca.

Wildlife in Durham

I came across an interesting article on Durham Region's news site. It was about the lack of help for sick and injured wildlife in Durham. In most cases if a wild animal is found injured and brought to animal services or a vet's office it has to be put down. There simply is't the funding or expertise to treat injured wildlife.

The closest centre is the Toronto Wildlife Centre which is a one of a kind facility in the GTA. As you can imagine they are inundated with calls.

Barriers in developing a wildlife rescue centre in Durham are funding, permits and licences. And, probably awareness that this is an issue.

Oshawa resident Tanya Harrington is making an effort to bring attention to this issue, in the hope that a wildlife centre gets established in Durham. You can find more information on Tanya's facebook page called Ontario's Wildlife in Crisis.

More problems with plastics

When I first got Elli, I didn't know which dishes were best for her. So for awhile she was just using small plastic tupperware bowls for her food and water. They worked okay, until she became scared of them. Now, of course she dines out of Royal Doulton ceramic dishes.

I recently read some research that suggests dogs and cats can develop acne from eating and drinking out of their plastic dishes. Plastic attracts bacteria, especially once it starts to get scratched up. Some pets can have an allergic reaction to plastic surfaces. Often people don't clean their pet's dishes as frequently as they should. It's recommended that glass, metal or ceramic is used for pet dishes. And, daily washing will also help prevent bacteria.

Purple Poppies

Remembrance Day just passed again, and this year, along with the annual discussion of changing the design of the red poppy, a new idea popped up.

The distribution of purple poppies to honour animals that served in war zones first appeared in England. This year the purple poppy debuted in Edmonton to mixed reviews. The controversy is the concern that having a "competing" poppy will detract from the traditional red poppy and what that represents.