Heartwarming ‘tails’ at charity pet walkathon

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DYLAN PAISLEY

The Mississauga Humane Society held a pet fair and walkathon in Memorial Park on Saturday to help save the lives of homeless cats and dogs.

“The Humane Society is a registered charity. Our mission is to rescue homeless animals and find them adoptive homes. We are 100 per cent run by volunteers and a network of foster homes,” society president Lily Chan explained.

 

Everyone is ready for the walkathon.

The walkathon was a 20-minute walk around the block with pets and their owners led by Rosie the Clown. The fundraising goal of $20,000 is earmarked for pet supplies, paying for surgery and medication, and to help pay for the main office of the Mississauga Humane Society.

The walkathon wasn’t the only attraction of the fair. There were contests to win prizes, including guessing how many marbles were inside a jar, a raffle and a silent auction. They also had a kids’ corner where Rosie the Clown was making balloon animals, a zumba demonstration and champion canine Frisbee catcher, Karma, showing off his skills among some pet store vendors.

The most heartwarming and wrenching part of the event was the stories, that ranged from animals with no teeth, diabetes, special dietary requirements and cats with FIV  also known as feline AIDS.

The first story was the story of Blue and Debby. Blue was in a high-kill pound until the Mississauga Humane Society rescued him. Blue was sick and could never keep anything down and later he was diagnosed with mega esophagus, which occurs when the esophagus is longer than normal. With Blue’s condition, the only way he can eat and keep food down is if he eats on a special chair that keeps him right up with an assistant for 30 minutes. Now because of Debby and her husband, Blue has gained 20 pounds.

Domino was about to be euthanized when Sue found him. The dog is deaf and can only respond to hand signals. He also has an undiagnosed disease where he cannot digest food without vomiting and bowel problems. Sue combats this by feeding him raw food, chicken and rice. This helps his condition a little bit.

There were other stories including that of a cat that was found by a landlord whose tenants abandoned it and it turned out the cat did not have any teeth. Also there was a story about an old blind dog that was in a high-kill shelter that The Mississauga Humane Society saved.

Visit the website to learn more about The Mississauga Humane Society, if you are interested in adopting or fostering a dog, if you are interested in adopting or fostering a cat or, if you want to learn about more events in Mississauga. Also scroll down to see the photo gallery of the event and then see an adoption slideshow.