Mae Bachur Animal Shelter

Actually went, for the first time ever, the other day. A friend is pondering adopting a cat or kitten and I and my partner went along for the ride.

Small and crammed with animals, toys, cages, food bowls, climbing gyms, radios, towels, kitten beds, rags and chewy bones, the shelter is a very welcoming place. The lady at the front was very friendly and cheerful, and went out of her way to show us the cats that were available for adoption, spending a lot of time with one she felt was very special, 'Lemon' who was a tortoisehell cute fat cat. Lemon is pictured here.

She then took us to the main cat room where other cats were waiting for adoption. One cat, a rather sad looking and sour orange tabby, sat in a high-up cage looking down at us. Rusty had been abused by a former foster home, our guide told us.

Another cat named 'Leo' batted at my head from his cage to get my attention. He got it all right!

A small grey cat in a bottom cage had just been returned, as she was demonstrating stress behaviour and peed on her new owners bed on occasion. The owners, showing their rather callous nature, returned their new family member after 2 weeks looking for a 'replacement'. Sorry, the shelter doesn't do replacements. After all, if your child turned out to be a bed-wetting fire-starting psychopath, do you think you could turn it in for a better version?

Little grey was not happy. Hissing and cranky. Who could blame her? It's like being at an orphanage, the joy of being adopted by a loving family, and then getting returned back to the orphanage unceremoniously.

Oh, went back today and played with the kittens--they were licking my feet! Hahah. I think the one little fluffy grey and white kitten had a foot fetish.

A review of MOONSTROKE

You know, it was great.

The venue had me alarmed in the beginning. The Mt. MacIntyre recreational centre isn't traditionally the venue for a rock-out fest, but as the night went on, it got more awesome.

Along one wall was a dizzying arrangement of items available for silent auction. Energy drinks, board shorts, carwashes, Raven paintings...you name it, it was there. The best part about the entire night- the $5 beer, the silent auction, the rockout music? It all goes to support the Mae Bachur Humane Society. Never have I attended an event that supports a charity I overwhelmingly agree with!

I unfortunately was designated driving, so no animal-supporting beers for me!
We dropped in for the opening of Crash the Car, which was definitely an interesting and trippy set.
The John Taylor (I honestly can't remember this band's name, so my best guess is this..) came up next, and all I could think was, what about the dueling banjo's, a la 'Deliverance'
Next was Speed Control. At this point, everyone was still dance-shy, so they squashed themselves along the main corridors, making it hard to get around. The dance floor was so empty you could host a ballroom dance on it.
Speed Control sounded quite a bit like a bunch of bands that I like, gone acoustic. Think Dashboard Confessional...
The main dude of Speed Control had stage presence. He pranced, flung, rocked, jumped, squirmed and left the stage. I think this band is really going somewhere. CHS came on next with some awesome covers. From A-Z (ending with Led Zeppelin) they rocked out with everyone's favourites. Biggest surprise of the night? The Beatles 'Twist 'n' Shout' had everyone swinging on the floor. I still can't believe the Beatles did that one.
Finally, Sophisticated Cave Music showed up to close Moonstruck. They surprised me, being a reggae-roots-cajun kind of swingy band. Very danceable.

In short, Moonstruck was totally worth the $10. C'mon, it was $10 and entire night of fun and frivolity. You missed it? You missed OUT!

Owning a pet in the North

At first blush, not really that different from owning a pet in the South (Alberta, BC...etc)

But then, are there any real pet stores in Whitehorse? As it turns out, there are two 'tack and feed' stores that cater to raw dog food enthusiasts, riders who aren't really picky about good riding boots and incredibly expensive compressed-paper pelleted bedding for small critters (does $21 for a 20lb bag of Yesterdays News sound like a good deal to you?!). Rabbit food is fairly cheap, everything else is pricey.

C & D Feeds Phone: (867) 633-4620
Duffy's Pets &Tanzilla Harness Supply Phone: (867) 668-6350
Mitzi’s Closet Pet Boutique Phone: (867) 456-2900
The Feed Store / Pet Junction Phone: (867) 633-4076

Now, one of these stores actually sell pets. Duffy's Pets sells guinea pigs, rabbits, fish, birds, chinchillas, degus, rats, hamsters, mice and ferrets. Availability of any animal is limited so call ahead. It is an awesomely random little pet-shop, old house, many rooms.

Adopting a dog, cat or small animal from the Mae Bachur Humane Society is a pretty good option, although I have checked out the society's website and they don't specifically mention adoption of small pets, they may know someone in a position to give away a rabbit or rat.

For animal toys and affordable bedding? Walmart. I know, I know. I hate relying on it, and unfortunately when options are limited--that's where you go.

Dogs wear booties and jackets, and when it is -whatever...those walks are more like runs! Unfortunately people seem to abandon sled dogs once in awhile, but for the most part those dogs are very well treated and rightly so-they are people's livelihoods!

ps. I hope to never read this again, but in last week's Whitehorse Star someone had put in the classifieds Pets section: "Pet rabbit, living under neighbours house for the past month. Come and save him." Also, the newspaper has an advertisement suggesting to people that although horses are tough animals, the cold can be really hard on them. If they have shelter, it should be 3-sided. This is surprising to anyone?

Yikes! Do you know how cold it has been over the past month?

Upcoming Concerts!

Yes, there are FUN events coming up!

Moonstruck is on January 30, tickets $10, $15 at the door at the Mt. MacIntyre Rec Centre. A whole whack of bands from 7pm-2am, liquor sold on premises and all proceeds go to the Mae Bachur Humane Society, what could be better??

Hey Ocean! a very popular and funky Vancouver band is coming in February. Something awesome to break up those strings of endlessly boring work days, and gives a little something different at Coasters. Usually Coasters is over-priced, lame music and questionable clientele. Hopefully Hey Ocean! will invigorate the scene a bit more...

And in the far away future, The Constantines and The Weakerthans are coming to the Yukon Arts Centre. Tickets were being sold in December, so can't vouch for any remainders. Sounds like it will be an awesome show. "I hate Winnipeg..." Or any city that is this cold. Whitehorse included!

Enjoy enjoy!