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Interview with Anlina Sheng – Pet Advocate
November 17th, 2009
"Anlina & Violet"
K9 Cuisine: What is your story-how did you get into saving animals?
Anlina: As a child, the only pets we had were goldfish, which were pretty to look at but pretty boring and hard to get passionate about. Then, our neighbour across the lane passed away. Her cat, Kitty wandered over to our house and just never left, and my passion for cats was born. Over the years we adopted a lot of stray cats and I developed a real affinity for cats with socialization issues or other problems that makes them poor candidates for adoption.
For several years after I moved away from home I didn’t have any cats, as my husband was allergic. When we finally decided to adopt I started looking into our local Humane Society. I spent a lot of time at the shelter getting to know the cats and picking out one to adopt. From there it was an easy decision to start volunteering.
K9 Cuisine: What is the secret to your success with the your organization-how have you gotten to where you are today?
Anlina: When I decided to adopt from the Thunder Bay & District Humane Society, I also filled out an application form to volunteer. I made volunteering with the cats a regular weekly activity and took on tasks that weren’t getting enough attention from other volunteers, such as brushing, dematting, claw clipping and working with the shy or poorly socialized cats. I also volunteered my professional services and offered to create a new website for the Humane Society.
Being a regular volunteer with additional useful skills, one of the current board members suggested that I join, which I did. I’m now in my second year on the board. There’s no secret to it – I’ve gotten where I am by being committed and dedicated, by making my time and skills available, and by being willing to do tasks that needed to be done. Charitable animal organizations need good people that they can rely on, so if you can be that person, it’s not hard to get recognized for it.
K9 Cuisine: What makes you different?
Anlina: My other passion (and my day job) is marketing, advertising and design, so I’ve been able to bring those skills to the table to help the Humane Society. Having a passion for animals is essential, but being able to bring diverse skills and interests to the organization is extremely helpful, as there is so much that needs to be done beyond just caring for the animals.
K9 Cuisine: What is it about cats that you love?
Anlina: I love pretty much everything about cats. They’re great companions and extremely fun and entertaining to have around the house. Each cat has a unique and endearing personality, and I really enjoy getting to know them (even the cranky or shy ones.) I love that cats are independent, curious and fast learners. I love that they’re extremely clean, their fur is soft, they’re beautiful and they smell nice – I couldn’t imagine a more aesthetically pleasing animal.
I love that cats are like little people, but without all the failings of humanity. Cats are never malicious, mean or dishonest. They’re loving and loyal and forgiving and they’re sensitive to your moods.
Whenever I’m feeling lousy, I know I can count on my cats to give me comfort. And cats don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves. I have one cat with a missing eye and one cat with only three paws – they don’t let their disabilities hamper their lives and they don’t mope about or wallow in self pity. They adapt and continue to make the most of life. There are a great many lessons we can learn from cats.
K9 Cuisine: What is the neatest part about your work?
Anlina: The neatest part of my work is socializing cats that are really timid or have really bad fear aggression and seeing the progress that they make.
I worked with one cat who was removed from a house during an investigation. When I came to him, he was hunched up in the corner of his cage with his ears flat back and he’d stopped grooming and so was covered with a thick layer of loose fur. If anyone approached the cage to clean it or feed him, he would turn into a little ball of fury and launch himself at the bars, spitting and clawing. He was genuinely scary and was just not doing well being around humans.
Once he trusted me enough to come right up to the side of the cage to get his treat, we moved on to touch. Rather than approach him with my big, scary hand and risk undoing the progress we’d made (and getting clawed up), I’d touch him on the back of the paw with the spoon. It was very non-threatening and we built a strong positive association with touch. The spoon would touch his paw and it’d leave behind a treat for him to lick off.
From there, we made slow but steady progress, feeding him with the cage door open, leaning in to touch him, petting him with my hand and eventually coaxing him out of the cage.
It took several weeks of almost daily visits, but by the time he left the shelter to go to his new home, he would sit in my lap, cuddle and let me brush him & pick him up. That kind of success feels so good.
You can’t ask for a better pay off than taking a fearful, aggressive cat and turning him into a loving, cuddly kitty.
K9 Cuisine: Where do you see the humane industry going?
Anlina: Current attitudes, in the humane industry and the general public, are undergoing a shift right now, both with regards to pets in general and homeless pets. There’s a very positive shift toward viewing animals’ lives as valuable and viewing animals as unique individuals, even members of the family.
We can see already that shifting attitudes have influenced the humane industry. The no-kill movement has made huge strides and I think it will continue to make progress. More and more shelters are going no-kill with great success.
More gentle and humane euthanasia methods are replacing things like gas chambers, which used to be considered by many to be just fine for strays and animals that no one wanted. Animals with injuries, diseases or behavioural issues that would have guaranteed euthanasia in the past are now being treated and rehabilitated.
Shelters are working to improve their image and environments, with more comfortable, harmonious spaces for both humans and animals. We’re recognizing more that the mental and emotional health of animals is just as important as a bowl of food and a roof over their heads.
People in the humane industry are taking a more positive outlook, too.
Rather than seeing pet over population as an impossible problem and the public as the irresponsible enemy that is compounding the problem, we’re seeing greater recognition that there are enough potential homes for all the homeless pets out there, and it’s a problem that can be solved if we work with the community. More humane workers realize that the general public may be uninformed but they are generally not malicious or deliberately negligent – people want to do what is right for animals in their community, but they don’t know what needs to be done, they don’t understand the scope of the problem or the services needed to enable people to be responsible pet owners just don’t exist (such as low cost spay/neuter clinics). No one thinks solving these problems will be easy, but it’s no longer written off by everyone as “impossible”.
I think we’re going to continue to see a move toward treating animals lives with more care and respect and will continue to see the problem of homeless pets approached with more optimism, creative problem solving and community cooperation.
K9 Cuisine: How do you fit into that-what are your future plans?
Anlina: I plan to continue working with humane organizations, whether on the board, as a regular volunteer, as an activist or running my own. I’m very interested in getting into rescue, specifically of cats who are “unadoptable” because of physical disability or behavioural problems.
I believe that every cat deserves a chance and inside every problem cat, there’s a good loving cat that needs to be coaxed out. All too often these cats aren’t given a chance, which is really unfortunate.
Many of the cats I’ve had over the years started out as problem cats and with time and the right kind of attention, became extremely loving companions.
K9 Cuisine: How can people find out more about you and the your organization?
Anlina: You can visit the Thunder Bay & District Humane Society’s website. It’s still a work in progress, but there’s lots of information about the organization, our animals and how you can get involved.
You can find me on LinkedIn, or view my CV on my website, or find out more about me and my thoughts on animals at my blog.
K9 Cuisine: Tell us a little about you!
Anlina: I currently live in Thunder Bay, Ontario. At my day job, I work as the creative director at a small marketing agency, doing everything from branding to print design to web design to TV production. I also do freelance illustration on the side, for stock image sites, books and online communities. Cats are my great passion, and in addition to working with the Humane Society, I also have a blog where I discuss various cat related topics. I currently have three cats – Violet, Clover and Cajun, and will be adding to the family very soon. I love good books, good food and new experiences. In the near future, I plan to move to a small farm where I can grow my own vegetables, raise my own farm animals and live humanely and sustainably.
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K9 Cuisine is a provider of premium dog and cat food. We’re committed to providing our customers with the knowledge, and the products, to help their faithful friends be the best they can be.
Tags: cat lover, pet advocate, pet rescue
Posted in K9 Rescue, K9 Stories | No Comments »
Interview with Stephanie Smith – Pet Writer and Advocate
November 4th, 2009
K9 Cuisine: What is your story-how did you get into pet rescue and writing?
Stephanie: I have had a Poodle since the age of four, when my mother gave in to my pleas for a pet. I started writing for pet publications when I was in graduate school. I wrote about dogs because that was what I knew about. I joined the Dog Writer’s Association of America (DWAA) because someone who was a dog writer mentioned it to me and helped me join.
When I got a dog who was more than a little crazy from the local pound, I started in obedience. I then got a Poodle to compete with, and finished a CDX with her. Through the obedience, I met someone and started doing Pointer field trials and hunting tests. I ended up hearing about all the Pointers needing homes, and started working with local shelters. I finally, after 12 years and several moves, had to stop doing rescue because of health problems. That also ended my obedience career. However, I still train my dogs in house manners, and trained my service dog, a Standard Poodle. She acts as my hearing and mobility assistance dog, while my pet dog, an Australian Cattle Dog, provides the comic relief when we are home and watches the house when we are out (usually lying on my pillow).
K9 Cuisine: What is the secret to your success with the your organization-how have you gotten to where you are today?
Stephanie: I am a member of the Board of Directors for DWAA because I wanted to make a difference. Someone mentored me and I feel obligated to give back to others. I train my dogs because that is part of my responsibility as a dog owner. I write because I enjoy it, and it is an excellent way to educate others on a variety of topics. I have lots of opinions, and writing them down is as good a way to express them as any.
K9 Cuisine: What makes you different?
Stephanie: I have a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, write, train my dogs, do woodworking, and am a master gardener. I have lots of trivia swirling around in my brain and can pull up a tidbit on most topics.
K9 Cuisine: What is it about dogs that you love?
Stephanie: They return your love so gratefully and bountifully. I have only met maybe three dogs out of all the ones I have rescued that could not be saved because of behavioral issues, and that was because they had been treated horribly. All the others, even the ones that had been mistreated, responded to love. Not all were placeable – some lived out their lives with me, but they responded.
K9 Cuisine: Where do you see the pet rescue/pet writing industry going?
Stephanie: There are more people than ever that are obtaining animals as pets. Most of these people have no idea what is involved in properly caring for the animal they just brought home. Pet writers must better educate people through general purpose media as well as pet oriented media or more animals will be discarded because they are too much trouble or unmanageable. Rescue organizations are all ready overwhelmed and undermanned. We have to educate people or the animals will pay.
K9 Cuisine: How do you fit into that-what are your future plans?
Stephanie: I intend to continue to educate people through the written word whenever I find someone who will let me. Now, writers have to eat too, so I cannot do it without being paid. I will continue to be creative in finding ways to both eat and to educate people about how to care for their animals whether they consider them family members or livestock.
K9 Cuisine: How can people find out more about you and the your organization?
Stephanie: My website is www.lambdafarm.mysite.com. I do freelance writing on practically any topic. People can find out more about dog rescue organizations through the American Kennel Club website, www.akc.org, and about Dog Writer’s Association of America through their website, www.dwaa.org.
K9 Cuisine: Tell us a little about you!
Stephanie: As I mentioned, I am a freelance writer, have a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, and do woodworking. I am also a master gardener. I live out in the country in Hunt Couty, Texas, with my Standard Poodle, Amber, and my Australian Cattle Dog, Sandy. I read pretty much everything but horror, but prefer forensic mysteries, history, and religion. I write nonfiction articles on most topics.
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K9 Cuisine is a provider of premium dog food. We’re committed to providing our customers with the knowledge, and the products, to help their faithful friends be the best they can be.
Tags: australian cattle dog, pet advocate, pet rescue, pet writer, standard poodle
Posted in K9 Stories | No Comments »
