By Deborah Binns, Kingston Community Animal Welfare
Some of these pictures and stories may not be so easy to look at and read, but it's the reality for so many of Kingston's dogs and cats that live on the streets. Thanks to AKI donors, I can feed them, get them spayed, get them treated by a vet when needed.
In mid-May, I was driving along Spanish town road. There is a huge cemetery where stray dogs have their litters. Most don’t survive but some do, like this little one. I spotted her rummaging through the rubbish heap and finding nothing. It was just a mound of burnt tyres and chemical bottles. She looked desperate. I pulled over and moved slowly as they are usually terrified of people and run away and I really wanted to get her. She was so small I knew she wouldn’t last much longer. I only had a tin of cat food left and some grains as I had just finished my feeding rounds for the day and was on my way to work. I hoped it would be enough to entice her. Well, it sure was. She ran over and began gobbling! I picked her up and left her with one of my dog people downtown until it was time to head home. I searched around for more of the litter but she was the only one. I named her Squat.
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Othello-my latest kitty rescue. I was driving a couple of Saturdays ago, just starting my dog feeding rounds. Luckily my windows were down and I heard a loud meowing! Then I saw this wee little thing running to me. That was a first, usually they run away and I have to chase them. I kept calling and he continued coming towards me. He was desperate to reach me. Now what to do with him! I was miles from home and had a trunk load of dog food. I eventually found someone to keep him until my day was over. When I got him home I treated his eye. Swollen and infected. It is fine now! And he put on weight in a few days. He's happily playing in the cat section of KCAW kennels.
This semi-wild dog is on my feeding rounds. One day I arrived to feed him and he had been hit by a car. I had to trap him to take him to the vet for an assessment. He will not regain his sight. He is now blind in one eye. Undaunted as he enjoys his meal courtesy of KCAW and AKI!
This is a new set of cats I discovered downtown when I went to visit an old friend-she's 92 years old! She told me about the cats, said they're strays, and people normally don't like them. I was able to check the gender. 3 females. Will use the cat trap and will get them spayed. Left a good amount of cat food and my friend promised to feed them. I'll be taking food for them as often as possible.
This dog, still intact, got badly bitten by some other males who were all interested in the same female in heat. He developed a bad maggot infestation.
I took him to the vet to be treated. He's perfectly fine now.
Some pet owners are so poor but they still really try to take care of their dogs and cats as well as they can. With donations from AKI, I can help them out, when needed.
The owner of Old Boy called me because his dog came home with bad neck and eye injuries. His owner has no money for a vet. I took him to the vet I use, and he was treated and recovered and I brought him home. He and his owner were both very happy to see each other again.
This sweet dog lives at a car repair yard. She was hit by a car and has permanent spine damage. When I took her to the vet, they suggested euthanasia, but I said no. I help Paulette, who works at the yard, look after her. She loves fried chicken! Her favourite. For now, she receives daily medication-pain killers that I leave with Paulette who makes sure she gets it.
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I was driving on my feeding rounds and saw this dog sitting on a street corner. When I got out of the car, he went to his yard and I followed him. I talked to his owner about treating him for mange. Together we gave him a bath for mange and I de-wormed him and went back to continue mange treatment until he was recovered.
These dogs live in a yard in a lower-medium income area. The owner is a gentleman who was recently deported back to Jamaica and can barely support himself. I saw the dogs on the road looking really awful and skinny when I drove past one evening and stopped. They ran back into the house. I knocked on the gate and the man came out. He was very nice. We had a short convo and he asked if I could help with food, I said sure. 3 are females, I spayed them already.
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That's only a small sample of the many cats and dogs I feed, de-worm, de-flea and de-tick, spay, and get treated by my vet when needed. I couldn't do this without AKI.