I placed my panting pooch on the table at the Journal booth, then silently counted down. And, three, two, one ... "Oh, she's so cute! What kind of dog is that?" And so it began. The humans I met at Pets in the Park last weekend had no interest in me; it was my sweet, little white Pomeranian they wanted to meet, which is as it should be.
Because of Keesha, I had the chance to meet dozens of Journal readers, pet lovers and pet owners, and hear their stories. The best part, though, was being able to meet their pets: Nova, Charlie, Henry, Jet, Maggie, Bubbles, Homer, Jinx, Ginger, Teddy, Missy and dozens of other adorable furry faces whose names I never learned.
Mouse was a Pomeranian with the saddest eyes I've ever seen, but her story was a happy one. Her human rescued her from a puppy mill four years ago, when she was a skinny, mite-ridden puppy. Sir was a breed of German shepherd I had never heard of before -- and a certain size. His head was the size of Keesha's entire body.
When he swung his muzzle onto the top of the low table where Keesha sat, I held my breath and said a silent prayer, knowing there was no way for me to move fast enough to save my dog from being swallowed whole in a single gulp. Instead, Sir gave her the tiniest of kisses, the tip of his tongue barely touching the tip of Keesha's nose. A gentle giant.
By all accounts, everyone was well behaved during the Edmonton Humane Society's big annual fundraiser, both people and animals.
Even so, Tabbie the cat wasn't about to take any chances. In an open park populated mostly by dogs, he chose to travel incognito, nestled comfortably inside a mesh-like carrier strapped to his owner's back.
Pet-carrying paraphernalia abounded; I lost count of the number of small-dog owners who came by to say hi, their pooches reclining in pet strollers made by Outward Hound.
Speaking of little dogs, Scheri Manson and her Mighty Mutts small-dog off-leash group raised $11,500 in the Fabulous Furballs 2.5-kilometre walk, which was even more than the $10,000 goal they set for themselves.
The walk was among the first events of the day, just after Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel proclaimed the annual animal get-together the city's official pet festival. There was also a major announcement from the Edmonton Humane Society.
Anyone who truly loves pets will understand the importance of this initiative. The humane society has partnered with the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association to develop a program aimed at tackling the ever-growing -- literally -- problem of homeless dogs and cats. The PAL program -- Prevent Another Litter -- is a pilot project that during July, August and September will offer financial assistance for qualifying families who can't afford to spay or neuter their animals, and offer an incentive to others who simply have not yet had the surgery done on their pets.
Those who qualify for financial assistance will only have to pay a $50 application fee, which goes toward facilitating the program. A participating clinic will donate the surgery, and pet identification company EIDAP Inc. is donating microchipping for each animal. Drug companies Pfizer, Intervet, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Merial are donating vaccinations, and Western Drug Distribution Centre is distributing the vaccines to clinics for free.
"This is something we've been working on for a very long time," said Stephanie McDonald, the society's executive director.
She says pet overpopulation is the most critical issue facing pets in our community. Not only do close to 11,000 homeless companion animals end up in the shelter every year, but the humane society also estimates that thousands of others end up with rescue groups and thousands more wander the streets.