Siris and Jabba suck at posing

Brindle dogs unite! Jabba is my pal Ola's 12 year old french bulldog.

This was taken at Woofstock '09 courtesy of my friend Heather Reilly.

Rally to reform the Toronto Humane Society!

It rained the day of the protest. Which sucked. But still, two hundred people showed up. We stood under umbrellas in the rain, listening to speakers, holding signs, chanting "Tim Trow Must Go!" It was very peaceful. We collected tons of blankets, towels, toys, food, kitten formula, and other donations for the animals inside the shelter.

Ran into a friend that used to work at the Toronto Humane Society and wow, was it ever a reunion of ex-shelter workers and volunteers. When the chanting began, one of the ex-employees said to him "I'm scared to say anything. I don't want to get sued." She hadn't worked there in years but had signed something on her departure and wasn't sure when it "expired" and she was legally able to participate in something like this. She said there were current shelter workers there who were basically incognito. Hoodies up, sunglasses on, wanting to support the protesters, wanting to rally for change, but scared out of their mind for their jobs.

All this just reaffirmed that there is something definitely wrong at the Toronto Humane Society. A lot wrong.

Some good reading on the subject:

Globe and Mail article: Inside The Raid on the Toronto Humane Society
Toronto Star article: THS Chief Admits "I'm no saint"
Toronto Humane Society Protest Blog
Association for the Reform of the Toronto Humane Society Website

Perspective

Today, I went to visit Sue's husband in the hospital. On Wednesday, he had a below the knee amputation after stage three cancer was diagnosed in his right foot. He's known the diagnosis for almost six months now, and decided pretty quickly amputation was the way to go. The type of cancer, synovial sarcoma, is rare and the prognosis with chemo and radiation in his case wasn't very good. Amputation was the best case scenario to squash it and prevent any spreading. He'd been on a waiting list for surgery, on standby, and got about a week's notice that it was time. It's been a rollercoaster for him and for Sue, these past few months.

When I walked into his hospital room at Mt. Sinai, he was alert, smiling, chatting away, and surrounded by friends and family. He was up on his crutches, doing things for himself, studying the exercises he's gotta do, lining up his rehab and physio options, and ready to take on the world. Whatta guy. I can't see him sitting around, wallowing, watching the world go by. Not him.

Watching him, I felt strangely proud. I was inspired by his positivity and motivation. And especially by the outpouring of support around him. I was reminded of what really matters in this life, of all the simple stuff we take for granted everyday.

Xrays and tests confirmed no spreading of the cancer - which he'll have to monitor regularly for the next few years, but things look very good for him. And once he gets fit for prosthesis, through his therapy, and adjusted, I know that he'll be unstoppable. What a journey that awaits him. Go Rahim!