A Time to Remember

While we enjoy the freedom and luxuries available to us each day of the year, November is the month to honour and respect the sacrifices made by people in times of war. Without their sacrifices we would not live the privileged lives we are so fortunate to live.

“But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for, is their monument to-day, and for aye.” Thomas Dunn English

Millions of animals also fought beside those that served in the military. Animals used include horses, dogs, birds, rodents, donkeys, reindeer, elephants, cats, rabbits, glowworms, etc. BC SPCA General Manager of Humane Education, Craig Naherniak said, “The number of animals who have been used in war is actually quite staggering. In World War I alone, eight million horses were killed and another 2.5 million injured transporting soldiers, arms and supplies into battle. Countless animals, named and unnamed, have served and saved human lives in the process. This Remembrance Day, let’s remember and honour them all.” 1 

Today, animals are still working closely with people to help save lives and change the world. The close partnership between humans and animals started over 40,000 years ago and shows no signs of waning. Thank you to all that served and made our world the place it is today. We will remember.

INTERVIEW: Dr. Krista Foreman - Innovation Showcase Scholarship Applicant

Dr. Krista Foreman is a veterinarian at South Paw Animal Hospital in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Dr. Foreman enjoys surgery, especially soft tissue and orthopedic. She co-chairs the provincial Safe for Pets Too program which arranges veterinary care and temporary fostering for animals belonging to women escaping domestic violence.

InfoStream (IS): The pet experience is clearly very important to you. Tell us about how this came to be.

Dr. Krista Foreman (KF): I have been an animal lover my entire life. Through support of my family I was able to grow up with dogs, cats and horses. I followed my dream and became a veterinarian. I couldn't imagine being in a situation of having to choose between my safety and my pets. Now as a mother of three girls I appreciate how much harder it would be to adjust in any situation if we were to lose our pets.

IS: Tell us about the Safe for Pets Too program. What should we know about it?

KF: This program helps to remove a barrier for a woman seeking to escape domestic violence. Some women will delay leaving, or not leave, if they can't ensure the safety of their pets. We provide veterinary care and fostering for pets while their owner is in a transition house until they find a safe place to live.

IS: What are the most critical problems faced by New Brunswick pet owners in an abusive situation?

KF: Most of the transition houses are unable to accommodate pets and it can be difficult to ask friends to take pets as it can put them in a bad situation. Once the woman has left the situation it can also be difficult to find pet friendly affordable

housing.

IS: How were these problems handled before Safe for Pets Too?

KF: It was not addressed in any official manner. Good hearted staff at some of the houses would keep pets occasionally.

IS: Safe for Pets Too is supported by several large organizations including the New Brunswick SPCA, New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association, police, New Brunswick Chiefs of Police Association, New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, and Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick. How was cooperation and support created across so many organizations?

KF: The timing was perfect when we looked at starting this program. A meeting had been arranged by the Public Legal Education System to bring together groups that had an interest in learning about the link between domestic violence, animal abuse, firearms and alcohol. A committee was formed from that meeting.

IS: How is the program funded?

KF: The New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association covered our legal cost to get

started. The association also donated $5000 to help us to get underway. Veterinary

examinations, vaccinations and deworming are provided complimentary by participating veterinarians and any other medical costs are billed to us, although usually at a discounted rate.

We have received several other smaller donations including a recent one of $500 from the George Street Middle School grade 6 Entrepreneurial Club.

IS: Is there an experience that helped you see the importance of the Safe for Pets Too program? What in your history has taken you to where you are now?

KF: I have fortunately not been in the situation of seeking refuge from violence. I see on a daily basis in my work how important pets are too people. Hurricane Katrina further demonstrated this as people clung to rooftops resisting being rescued because they had to leave their pets behind. When a person loves someone, be it human or animal, they may put their love for the person or pet above their own safety.

Interview with Dawn Rault PhD(c) - Research Poster Scholarship Nominee

Dawn Rault was one of the Research Poster Scholarship Nominees at the Western Adjudication Event. Rault’s Research Poster is entitled “A province-wide qualitative study of animal bylaws: Promoting population health and equity by redressing and preventing pet related nuisances in urbanized environments”. Read more about Rault’s research here.

InfoStream (IS): Tell us about an important pet experience that helped bring you to where you are now.

Dawn Rault (DR): It’s hard to choose one. I think the acquisition of your own pet is a good place to start. Growing up we couldn’t have anything other than fish because my brother, sister, and dad all had allergies to cats and dogs. I always wanted a pet and it wasn’t until I was an adult with a house of my own that I was able to get a pet and I was so excited to get one. My husband and I went to the humane society with the intention to get one cat but there were two from a litter that were left. They were 4-5 months old and bonded so we went home with two cats. It’s amazing to finally have some furry friends.

IS: Tell us about what prompted this study and how it developed?

DR: The study has a bit of a history behind it. When I was interested in starting my PhD I was introduced to my supervisor, Dr. Melanie Rock. Dr. Rock studies the benefits and challenges of pets in urban areas. When I was an undergraduate student I worked for four summers in a joint program between Bylaw and Calgary Police and became familiar with the work that bylaw officers do. Because of my background in Criminology and working with Bylaw it was a serendipitous fit with Dr. Rock and her focus. There was an opportunity to explore the legal aspects of animal bylaws and the work of Bylaw Officers.  Dr. Rock was able to get funding for the researh from the Canadian Institues of Health Research. We’re looking at a very understudied population, that being Bylaw Officers

IS: While you’ve partially answered this question, what in your history has taken you to where you are now?

DR: I did my Undergrad in Criminology and my Masters in Human Security and Peacebuilding. For my PhD I spent quite a bit of time looking at different programs to see what would fit and marry my interest in criminology and public health. What also interested me in studying this area was that I also work at Mount Royal University as an instructor in the Department of Justice Studies and we place third or fourth year students in an intensive practicum placement. Some of these students are placed in bylaw positions and it was really interesting to hear about their experiences in bylaw and I felt bylaw positions were also really undervalued and underappreciated. They’re really multifaceted and quite important for animal bylaws, noise complaints, etc. They serve a really important role in urban environments.

IS: Your research seems to be geared towards reducing pet-related nuisances; are you hoping to change how pets are viewed in communities?

DR: It’s hard to answer that question. Personally, living in Calgary, I think that people have healthy attitudes towards pets and pet ownership. This is reflected in the high licensing rate of pets. The Calgary model can be seen as the gold standard of responsible pet ownership bylaws. It’s not that I’m attempting to change peoples’ attitudes. What I do think is that each municipality is unique in terms of how they approach their bylaws because they each have their own challenges and environments. I’m hoping to facilitate dialogues and lessons learned and to bring to light some of the amazing and progressive work that these municipalities are doing in reference to pets.

IS: Your research also requires ride-alongs with bylaw offices. Can you tell us about those?

DR: I’ve done ride-alongs in four municipalities. Some municipalities I’ve done interviews with. Over the summer I’m planning to do more ride-alongs. It’s been a really amazing experience because I think it’s important to see the work of Bylaw Officers and the work they do with animals in context with their other responsibilities. Working with animals is only part of their responsibilities so I think it’s important to understand the full spectrum of their work.

IS: What are your ultimate research goals?

DR: With qualitative research, sometimes you start with some goals in mind and sometimes the research takes you in a different direction. The good thing about qualitative research is that you can take it where it needs to go. For example, when we first submitted our proposal for funding some of our goals were interagency collaboration, to gather best practices, lessons learned, and have some case studies. As the research progresses those goals could change based on what the agencies need. One agency has asked for staff training sessions (communication skills around challenging animal-based complaints). I’m hoping to marry my teaching experience witht the needs of the different municipalities.  

IS: Many people are familiar with quantitative research, can you tell us more about qualitative research?

DR: I think a traditional lab experiment where you go in with a hypothesis, have a control group and an experimental group makes more linear sense to people. What method you choose depends on what you’re studying. This study has an exploratory quality to it. There’s very little literature on the work of Peace Officers. There’s some information on smoking and other infractions but there’s nothing about the work of Bylaw Officers pertaining to animals, which leads to exploratory research. I went in with an open mind and the flexibility to ‘go with the flow’. When I go into my ride-alongs I don’t have much structure, I anticipate that the officers, their work, and their responses will direct the flow of conversation. I think when there’s so little known about people’s work and you’re exploring what they’re doing then having that flexibility and using a qualitative design is really advantageous. It gives you the ability to ask the questions you need to ask depending on the context.

IS: What draws you to the work of bylaw officers in regards to animals?

DR: I think the work of Bylaw Officers is really misunderstood and in my opinion underappreciated. I don’t think that people have really recognized how important Bylaw Officers can be in terms of mediating conflicts people may have with pets, and in regards to public health concerns. I really want to validate the work of Bylaw Officers and how important they are and how they can really be an effective actor in mediating concerns that we have with animals. Animals are lovely and important but they can also cause problems and Bylaw Officers are critical to that equation.

IS: Is there anything else you would like us to know?

DR: Sometimes this topic seems a bit foreign, why would one study Bylaw Officers when you’re in a Public Health program? I think especially with the number of people that have pets, sometimes upwards of 50% that it’s very important to look at some of these issues. We know that the human-animal bond is very important but on the other side there are some really negative things that can happen. In the media we hear about high profile cases such as dog bites and we really need to look at mediating some of the conflict between people and within communities. 

Interview with Cheryl Wallach - Digital Journalist Scholarship Nominee

Cheryl Wallach spent over twenty years working in the animal welfare industry doing everything from animal admissions, to volunteer recruitment and humane education, but the vast majority of her career was in communications, media and marketing. What surprises Wallach most is how much communications has changed in that time. Particularly the shift from mass media to online or digital. It's going to be very interesting to see how it evolves over the next ten to twenty years. One thing is for certain, the only limit is the imagination - whether it's used to come up with a great new creative/promotional idea or to develop more exciting technology and applications. One thing Wallach loves about digital journalism, particularly photography, is the creativity involved.

InfoStream (IS): Tell me about your current activities in digital journalism? What attracted you to it?

Cheryl Wallach (CW): I now have my own company, Cheryl Wallach Photography & Communications, where I utilize my skills for individuals and organizations. My approach is the same as it was when I would create adoption videos or advertisements - how can I tell a story in a visual and interesting way. This doesn't just apply to a campaign, it also applies to any event or shot of a person or someone's pet. For me it's all about creativity and storytelling. I've always loved to tell stories from my university degree in theatre to my communications work and now photography. And digital journalism is all about storytelling and creativity.

IS: Your passion for animals is evident in your work; tell us more about how this came to be?

CW: As far back as I can remember, there have been animals in my life. When I was five years old I arrived home with a fat brown tabby that had been hanging around the neighbour's for a couple weeks. "Can we keep him mom? It's a boy." I was allowed to keep him while we tried to figure out where he belonged. 'He' promptly popped out a litter of kittens, one of which we kept and named Sport. That cat lived for twenty years in spite of many interesting adventures. I think because my dad was never allowed a pet growing up, we ended up with whatever was of interest to us. This added up to Sport, two dogs, three ducks, a chicken, and a full-size pig. (Patches, the pregnant stray went home and the rest of her progeny were found homes.) Every one of those animals were with us for life. I've always had a great deal of empathy and compassion for animals, in fact when the old Disney wildlife shows came on and an animal or person was hurting another animal I couldn't watch. I turned and squished my face into the back of the couch and my parents would let me know when the ugly part was over.

IS: What in your history has brought you to where you are now? Do you have a model or idol that inspired you?

CW: It's funny looking back at your life's path. When I graduated high school my dad told me I had to go to college/university even though I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. So I said, "Fine, I'll do something I really enjoy then. Something fun!" It was between theatre or music and I decided on theatre and don't have a single regret because I learned so much. Getting involved in animal welfare was similar. I'd worked in the arts and then at ACCESS television when it was a public education station. After being one of many layoffs from ACCESS in Calgary, I thought - I'm going to volunteer some of my time doing something I love, something fun, and I started volunteering at the Calgary Humane Society working with animals. The rest is history.

One thing about working with animals is that it can become all encompassing. Whether one is involved as a volunteer or paid staff in any animal organization, the compassion and empathy you feel compels you to always go that extra mile, put in that extra time and effort because living, loving creatures depend on you. It's what makes the industry so strong, but also what can drain some of its greatest resources - its people. I've always looked at the people working around and with me and been so impressed by their commitment and passion to make a difference.

IS: How do you use media in the urban animal environment?

CW: Mass media still has a role in the pet industry. A story that you get on television can hit a large segment of the population that isn't connected to your organization and its digital media. What happens now that didn't 12 years ago, is the mass media story is also posted on the TV/newspaper/radio station's digital media and people can jump from there to your own organization's digital media platform. This gives you the opportunity to build up your digital media contacts and from there you can market directly to those individuals, building a relationship and future support.

One advantage the pet industry has over traditional industry, is we have the animals. Animals are hugely popular in social media. Cute, funny and irreverent animal photos and videos are shared in huge numbers online. When you look at animal welfare and rescue, the number of groups doing this work has grown a huge amount over the past decade and everyone is online telling their stories. The trick is going to be to stand out from the rest, to always evolve and try to figure out new and different angles and approaches. This is definitely a challenge.

You also need to be prepared for your ideas to be used by others. You can create an amazing piece, just to see others post their own photo with your words on it. It happens every day online and most groups don't have the resources to fight this. When I post photos with tag lines or script, I try to protect the photo by having the script go over subject, i.e. over the ears of the pet. People who would steal a photo often tend to be lazy - they want to be able to grab it and just use it. It's a bit more work to have to photoshop out some text. By Canadian law copyright of photographs is owned by the photographer.

The majority of my media work in the pet industry involved mass media along with digital journalism through photography, videography (storytelling) in social media. Over time, the resources pet related organizations put into digital media has increased. This coincides with the growth in digital and decrease in the use of traditional media by the public.

IS: How do you come up with themes for your media work?

CW: There are so many places to draw ideas from…. pop culture, music lyrics, a pet's name, a pet's personality, history, classic movies or sayings are some areas I've used to think up taglines or creative/design ideas.

When working with clients on events, pets or human portrait shoots, I look at individual personalities and interests. What makes them unique? How can I capture that in a photo? I believe that a photo that captures an action, something happening or an emotion can be the most powerful. Something flat or static doesn't really tell a story. I want to capture the viewer's imagination. I like to talk to people and really learn about them, who they really are, in order to come up with themes and ideas.

IS: In your experience, what makes a good video or photograph?

CW: There are plenty of rules around photography and videography that help set parameters for a good shot. I see these as a starting point - the technical foundation. From there a photo needs to capture the viewer's emotions and/or imagination. They need to feel something about the shot. It needs to make them think. People often talk about being drawn into a photo. A great photo will mean different things to different people, they will have a variety of interpretations and every single one of them will have a strong feeling about it.

IS: What is most rewarding about using digital media in the pet industry; what makes it all worthwhile?

CW: For me it's all about making a difference - a positive impact. This would be on an individual animal or an organization. I feel very fortunate that I can look at my career and say I've actually had a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals.

Bill Reintroduced to Protect Victims of Domestic Abuse and Their Pets in the United States

Katherine Clark, a Congresswoman in Massachusetts reported that approximately 25% of women will experience domestic violence in their life in the United States. Clark states, “This isolating experience is made even worse for those who fear for the safety of their pet. Most pet lovers, including me, consider their beloved dog or cat a part of their family. No one should have to make the choice between leaving an abusive situation and ensuring their pet’s safety. I am grateful for the partnerships we’ve formed across the aisle and between organizations working to end both domestic violence and animal abuse. Together, we crafted a bill that will help save lives.”

Clark reports that of that 33% of victims of domestic violence will remain with their abuser for a longer period of time out of concern for their pet(s) and 25% of victims return to an abusive situation out of concern for their pet(s). Currently, in the United States, only 3% of shelters for victims of domestic abuse can accommodate pets.

Congresswomen Katherine Clark (Massachusetts) and Ileana Ros-Lehitnen (Florida) have reintroduced a bill designed to protect victims of domestic violence and their pets. The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act of 2015 will help increase the protection available for the pets of victims of domestic violence and start a federal grant program to help people find a safe place for their pet(s).

Congresswoman Ros-Lehitnen states, “We should continue to work for the day when victims of domestic violence will not be hindered in their decision to leave an abuser.” The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act of 2015 has the support of many local and international organizations.
 

 READ THE PRESS RELEASE

Urban Animal Adjudication Schedule Published

Urban Animal Scholarship Event Travels Across North America

The Schedule for the Regional Adjudication events is published. By separating the Action Initiatives from the Adjudication events the focus shifts to identifying leading thinkers, initiatives and innovations that are candidates for replication, mentoring and recognition across the industry.

ADJUDICATION SCHEDULE
0830 - 0900	Registration
0900 - 1000	Innovation Showcase Adjudication
1000 - 1015	Session Pause
1015 - 1115	Research Poster Adjudication
1115 - 1130	Session Pause
1130 - 1230	Alumni/Mentor Luncheon
1230 - 1330	Digital Journalist Adjudication
1330 - 1345	Session Pause
1345 - 1445	Emerging Leader Adjudication
1445 - 1500	Session Pause
1500 - 1600	Summit Award Nominees Boot Camp
1600	Session Adjourned

Adjudicators are selected for each event from the Alliance for Urban Animals. Individuals adjudicating nominations have achieved the status of Alumni, Mentor and/or Advocate, in the Urban Animal program. Guests attending the Adjudicating Events will also be polled for their votes in each program. Guest registration is $35 in advance or $50 at the door.

Nominees unable to attend an adjudication event should contact Shannon Woodward as soon as possible.