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theconcordian
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 pets
The SPCA is a dog’s best friend Rescuing a pet is not a walk in the park, but it’s the right thing to do Jenna Cocullo Staff writer
J
oan Coull may have just become a dog’s worst enemy on Nov. 27, when she wrote an article published in The Gazette ranting about why she would not want to adopt a pet from the SPCA. For those who don’t know, this organization rescues animals who are unwanted or abandoned by previous owners. It takes a certain kind of person to be willing to take in one of these creatures and it seems to me Coull just wasn’t up to the challenge. In my opinion, putting the SPCA down and implying that someone should not purchase a pet from the organization is like telling them not to adopt a child from an adoption agency because one of the kids might have a learning disability or emotional issues that came from their previous guardians. It is unacceptable and morally wrong. I believe it is our responsibility to take care of animals in need just as much as it is our responsibility to take care of any other living thing in society. I understand what she is getting at when she says “I defend my right to know what kind of animal I am bringing into my family.” However, there are many volunteers at the SPCA who can help potential owners find the right dog to suit their lifestyle and the needs of their family. Furthermore, if the animal of choice does not work out, the SPCA always
has return policies and guarantees. As Nicholas Gilman, executive director of the Montreal SPCA, stated in his response to Coull’s article, “we can guarantee that each animal with preexisting medical issues is covered by our 30day health guarantee. We do allow animals that have untenable behaviour issues to be returned to us.” There are also many animal professionals out there, from veterinarians to dog trainers, who can help with certain health and behavioral issues. Coull claimed that a friend’s dog, who was also purchased at the SPCA, would not stop peeing, her son’s dog used to fight other males and her daughter’s had to be kept in a cage in the garage for most of his life because he used to snap at her kids. Nowhere in her article did she mention that they actually sought out professional help for their dogs. It seems to me they were too lazy to properly train their pets, so they cruelly shoved them in cages or sent them back to where they came from to be put down instead of actually dealing with the issues at hand. I have a lot of respect for the Montreal SPCA and I don’t think they would allow an animal with permanent issues to be adopted. “We evaluate each and every dog placed for adoption for temperament, behaviour and medical issues,” said Gilman. I strongly believe that these poor animals could have integrated better with their new adoptive owners if proper measures had been taken. If you are not willing to put the time and effort in to properly healing and training your dog, then do not bother getting one. What makes me angry is that Coull has reportedly bred puppies twice. If she is not a certified breeder, she has no business bring-
Image by Jennifer Kwan
ing puppies into the world. Who is to say that her puppies won’t end up with behavioral or health issues as well, like the others dogs, and will end up in the SPCA some day. Coull claims that she is “tired of hearing what a terrible person [she is] from holierthan-thou, self-proclaimed animal lovers.” Well I’ve got news for you; I am not one of those animal lovers, but even I can agree
that they are better off if potential owners adopt from the SPCA rather than buying from pet stores, indirectly supporting puppy mills or uncertified breeders. Those creatures have been abandoned and they need to be taken care of by pet owners who will go the extra mile for them. Honestly, if Coull isn’t an animal lover herself, she doesn’t deserve to take care of one.
politics
Everything you say can be used against you
Photo from Flickr
Justin Trudeau being haunted by old comments is only fair Christina Rowan Staff writer
Liberal MP and candidate for Liberal leadership Justin Trudeau has recently been criticized in the news regarding quotes he said around two years ago which are now labelling him as “antiAlbertan.” Here’s what happened: In 2010, Trudeau attended the Télé-Québec television program Les
francs-tireurs (The Straight Shooters) for an interview and said Canada wasn’t doing well “because it’s Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda.” The comments from the interview, especially the above mentioned, set off a reaction from Conservative MPs on Parliament Hill resulting in, what some would call, an exaggerated amount of attention. Trudeau wasn’t running for the position of Liberal leader at the time he said it, making it easier for him to get away with it. Now, all of a sudden, it’s resurfaced, and it’s making headlines. So, is what he said two years ago really relevant in the news now? The truth is, it is... now that he’s in the spotlight and vying to be the Prime Minister of Canada. Being in the public eye has its ups and downs, especially when it comes to politics. Politicians’ words represent who they are as a leader and what they want to achieve with their power. Every single word a politician utters is jotted down and recorded, making the ‘thinking before you speak’ rule absolutely key at all times. Unfortunately, with good press comes bad press. In this case, Trudeau is experiencing some bad press. It appears Conservatives have been putting a lot of effort into looking back and beyond in the Justin Trudeau files to expose some negative dirt on him to the public. Since Trudeau announced that he was running in September, the man has mostly received positive feedback from the public. He’s been called a front-runner time and time again. He’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s son, he’s young and, lest
we forget, handsome; an idealistic political figure. With a reputation like that, he’s a favourite to many, except, of course, the opposition, who now see him as a threat. As the age old saying goes, the only way to bring an enemy down is to make them look bad, in this case by digging deep into their past and finding something juicy to terrorize them with. We’ve seen all kinds of dirt brought up about politicians in the news before, some of the more common ones being affairs, bribes, inappropriate behavior... and the list goes on. Since the issue made headlines last week, Trudeau has appeared in front of the media in Vancouver apologizing, for the second time, for the unintentional offence. “I’m sorry I said what I did. I was wrong to relate the area of the country that [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper is from with the people who live there and the policies that he has that don’t represent the values of most Canadians,” said Trudeau in a public statement. “It was wrong to use a shorthand to say Alberta, when I was really talking about Mr. Harper’s government, and I’m sorry I did that.” Trudeau greeted the reporters happily with a smile on his face, and no visible shame whatsoever, indicating a sense that the matter to him isn’t as serious as the news media is making it. Although the situation may not have worried Trudeau too much, he has officially been warned. Trudeau, I hope you’ve learned your lesson and won’t be making the same mistake in the future. I rest my case.