From: Michelle Cowie
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 5:12 PM
To: John Gray;
Brian Nicholson; Robert Lutczyk; Nester Pidwerbecki; John Henry; April Cullen; John Neal; Maryanne Sholdra; M
Petrie; Louise Parkes; Joe Kolodzie
Subject: Oshawa Animal Services
Hello Mr. Mayor and Regional and City Councillors,
I am writing to you today to express my concern regarding a recent
decision/action facilitated by Oshawa Animal
Services.
As you may or may not be aware, there is a small colony of cats living at
the Lakefront in
It was approximately the same time in which AVA (Action Volunteers for Animals)
became involved that I also found out about these cats. At that time
(approximately two and a half years ago) there were over sixty cats and kittens
at the Lakefront. A dedicated AVA member single handedly managed the
population so that there are now less than fifteen cats remaining. She
has spent hundreds of hours at the Lakefront humanely trapping these cats,
taking them for veterinary
assistance, having them vaccinated and spayed/neutered.
Aside from one cat that has proven extremely difficult to trap, all of the
remaining cats are no longer able to reproduce. AVA was solely
responsible for the financial cost of the spaying/neutering
and vaccinations of the cats.
In addition to population control, the AVA member humanely trapped all of the tame cats and kittens
and found foster homes for them until they could/can be adopted. At this
time the cats that remain at the lakefront are considered semi-feral (to
varying degrees) as although they are domesticated, they have become or
have been born wild.
The AVA member has done all of this work without any assistance by the City of
There is a large number of dedicated community members (of all ages)
who visit the cats regularly and who assist in their care by checking on them,
providing food and shelter, and informing AVA of injured cats or "new
arrivals/dumps". Community members visit the cats daily and take
much enjoyment out of spending time with them and caring for them.
As a community member, I am extremely grateful for the assistance of such an
organization as AVA and am very thankful that the population has been
controlled and that it has all been completed without any harm done to any of
the cats.
A significant issue that remains however is that irresponsible citizens
continue to "dump" their pets/cats at the Lakefront. New
tame cats have been found as well as boxes of kittens and a cat that
was declawed on the front and back paws rendering it
helpless to fend off predators/other cats and to climb etc. AVA was
contacted and immediately took action by removing these cats and kittens
and finding homes for them.
All of this information leads me to my concern with
However, I do not understand why one community
members' complaint would have so quickly led to this kind of response
when I would submit the shelters were not causing harm to anyone. I
would also like to add that they could not be considered as an
"eyesore". Further, the shelters were not located in an area of
the park that people frequent or utilize (especially at this time of
year).
Perhaps I am misguided, however I have been under the impression that the Lakefront property
is for the community to utilize and enjoy. I believed that the
property is generally considered to be a communal place for
people/families to visit. If this is the case, I would
respectfully suggest that as I am also a community member and that my enjoyment
of the property is now hindered. I consider myself an involved and
productive member of the community in that I pay taxes, am employed
full time as a social worker, vote, volunteer in my community, and take part in
various community activities.
I believe that as a community, we should all have compassion for all
living beings and should respect the value of life both human and
animal. I am entirely discouraged and saddened with the City of
From my understanding, these cats were forced to make the Lakefront there home
due to people's decisions to discard their pets when they no longer wanted to
care for them. As previously mentioned, many of the cats at the Lakefront
have simply been "dumped".
I have read in newspapers and seen on television a number of articles/stories
in the media in the Greater Toronto Area (for example) in which community
members have banded together assisting animals in need (by providing shelters
and/or by feeding). In these cases, these types of acts are acknowledged,
celebrated and appreciated- as they should be. I believe that this promotes
community togetherness and respect and pride in your community and it's
members.
Again, I am saddened by the City of
I would also like to add that it is concerning to me that it appears that
there is less concern for the illegal activities such as drug use/trafficking
and prostitution that takes place in that area (Lakefront), then there is over
a few items to protect cats from the elements in the winter. The
shelters have a time limited lifespan in which they are needed, which
corresponds to when the lakefront is the least visited/busy. As already
mentioned earlier, I propose that the shelters would in no way hinder
other's enjoyment and were not located in commonly used or frequented
areas.
It is my opinion that much like the person/people who made the complaint about
the cat shelters, I am also a community member and I would expect that my
complaint be taken just as seriously. My concern is that the cats
will literally freeze to death as they are now forced to be exposed to the
winter elements.
I am respectfully requesting your support in this matter by asking
you to assist with this issue and request that Oshawa
Animal Services and
For your information I have also sent a formal letter of concern to Oshawa Animal Services with attention to the manager, Kathy
Duncan.
In closing, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read this and
I truly hope that you will be an advocate for the helpless and neglected
animals in
On behalf of
Thank you again,
Michelle Cowie