Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 08/00) - Family pets give us everything they've got -- unconditionally.
So when the chance comes along for people to show how much they care about their dogs, cats and other critters they literally snap it up.
For its latest pet calender, the NWT Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received 262 snapshots.
In all, 317 animals are pictured in the calendar. Given pride of place is "Indy," a Burmese Mountain Dog. "He made the cover," Sandy McPhee said.
"He likes to play king of the hill and he's always posing. He's a camera ham," McPhee said.
"We received two times as many photos this year compared to last. We included every photo we received," said SPCA board member Janet Pacey. "One person has ordered 30 calendars. She has eight animals in there."
Pacey said as well as contributing a photo, the SPCA asked people to write a story about their pet.
One participant wrote from the family pet's perspective. The animal took the opportunity to "thank my standiuppy people for support" referring to humans as "two-legged cats."
Pacey said some of the stories were heartbreaking while others were hilarious. Some were touching. One woman wrote about how she came to get her puppy.
Recalling the story, Pacey said the woman, when she was just eight years old, saw that the pup was being abused, so she "picked up the puppy and said to the owners, 'look, you really don't want this puppy do you? I didn't think so.'" She took the puppy home. That pup is now 16 years old.
"One of the birds, I believe, is 52 years old. A woman in Kugluktuk rescued it from the Charlottetown Humane Society," Pacey said.
There's even a shot of Pacey's dog "Winnie."
"She's a frisbee dog," says Pacey, who photographed Winnie zeroing in on a frisbee in flight.
The calendars are available at various stores around town. Proceeds will go to SPCA initiatives like its spay/neuter program, researching claims of animal abuse, education about pet safety and health issues, medication and treatment of abandoned animals, and finding new homes for animals.
