The Compassion Experiment

Foster name: California. Earned name: Cobra  "I don't understand, why is she going to be euthanized?" I asked my supervisor. I couldn't believe it when I had spotted an orange card (the orange card of death ) on the cage of one of the cats at the animal shelter where I worked full-time. "She bites. Hard," I was told. "She's bitten a couple employees, very aggressively." The over-weight brown tabby had never bitten me. In fact, she would roll on her side and engage in belly rubs. She would chat and chirp the moment I entered the room and she was always very friendly with me. I was told which employees she had bit and I went and asked them what had happened. I was told that without warning, she would lash out and bite. She didn't like to be handled or touched and would bite when examined. She was not suitable for shelter life. The biting behavior might partially be explained by the fact that she had been declawed by someone i...

On August 21, 2016 TCE held our 3rd annual Garden Party and it was a huge success! The crowd was much larger than expected, the food was super delicious and we raised $825 for the animals of Oakville Milton Humane Society! This was the receipt from the donation. The next day we received another $10 from Frank B . We used the money raised to sponsor 2 Cat Cages for 1 year and the rest of the $$$ was used to buy 30 OMHS lottery tickets. If/when the tickets are pulled, the money will be donated back to the shelter under the name: Garden Party. We could have just handed the shelter an envelope full of money, but we decided this would be a better way to help the animals. If the Garden Party tickets win, so do the animals because the money won't walk out the door. Prior to the party I had said: "If god hates animals, it'll rain." It didn't. Things came together nicely with the help of a lot of friends and especially with the help of my family ...

George and myself at the Milton Mutt Strutt 2016. As some people know, I'm currently being sued thanks to an accident George and I had while still living in our apartment building last year. Though I can't go into details - in this particular case - it wasn't George's fault, or mine, it was just an accident. But someone is trying to take advantage of the fact that we were covered by apartment insurance and they are looking to make a quick buck from my insurance company, State Farm. Living with a reactive dog is rough. Living in an apartment building with a reactive dog was nothing less than a nightmare, every single day. I was physically ill for a year straight due to the stress of having to get George in and out of the apartment building at least twice a day. It was awful, but what choice did I have? After the incident in question, things were even more stressful, would we have another accident? I lived on the 12th floor and couldn't use the elevator...

     I was given advice by a writer who's opinion I respect, Steve Abbott. He told me the best way to get more readers to tune into my blog was by posting more work - at least one blog a week - and that each post should include a picture or two.      I've taken this advice to heart and have written regular blogs ever since, in an attempt to grow my audience. It couldn't get any smaller.      This blog, I call it: The King and Little Surfer Girl, contains a funny poem and a short story that is part of an anthology I re-edited last year.       I'll just keep these coming, it's fun.       Hopefully it's fun for you too.       Cheerio,      Mike, Tito, George and Ghost Spencer      May 2016 The King of the Friend Zone He’s the King of the Friend Zone, He’s a lucky guy, He’s friends with many women, Though he doesn’t know why. Women like him, They...

As promised, The Compassion Experiment is back with a new blog two weeks in a row! I'd like to start out by congratulating Melissa McClelland (Ladybird Animal Sanctuary, Whitehorse) for co-winning the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album - Leave No Bridge Unburned. This marks the first time a Juno Winner and Juno Performer has been in my living room. I've included the video I made of the Ladybird Animal Sanctuary founders - Lisa Winn, Janine Stoll and Melissa McClelland - a couple months after they had first started their amazing rescue.  These days LAS is doing incredible things for the animals of Hamilton and are saving lives every single day, which is completely inspiring. When LAS applied for their charity status they asked if they could use this interview with their application - and of course I said yes!  When they ultimately secured their charity status (meaning: if you donate you can get a tax receipt), I couldn't help but feel a little pride k...