a birding trip to Cape Breton with my dog Macy

Atlantic Canada, Barks, Birds, Canada, My Dogs

I took a few vacation days this week to go to Cape Breton to meet my brand new nephew, George, and also do some hiking with my dog, Macy, which I call birding. I also did a few store visits of course since I was there but I digress. Birding actually goes quite well with the dog on leash unless there are squirrels for her to chase.

One thing I realized during this trip that I think is interesting is that once you start running out of birds to “tick off your list” as lifers or species for your province, etc. you start to photograph butterflies, plants, etc. I’ve known for a while that many long time birders do this and now that I have the urge to do so I understand better why as my “Nova Scotianers” are stacking up. By the end of this Fall migration I think I’m going to hit a plateau that will make it difficult to find new birds afterwards. And so I will include a few photographs of different flying things from here forward. And liberal photos of my fine companion, Macy, of course.

Somehow I’ve never really seen a Piping Plover (well maybe somewhere as a kid) and so I stopped at a known location in Pictou County to see some. It was a learning experience for me as I didn’t realize how skittish they are of humans and after a very long time watching for them I texted my friend Keith for advice and he said it you are standing close to the signs back up because you are too close. As soon as I did they ran out onto the beach and I managed to see three of them. The photos are virtually impossible as a result but I did get a nice shot of my four legged-friend.

Macy at the Big Island Causeway where some Piping Plovers nest

One of my target bird for this trip were Mourning Warblers so I made a quick stop at a known location in Marshy Hope but it turned up empty. However, I got a lovely show from some young Barn Swallows begging their parents for food. And a few other of the usual suspects made nice appearances.

Overall on this trip I didn’t see rare or unusual birds or a lot new to me, but some nice first looks at juveniles and generally awesome sightings of birds just being birds in wonderful natural habitat and a great sighting of a family of four fox in the early morning.

Red Fox in North River

Common Merganser family this was the first time I’ve seen their babies

Most of this was observed on my day in the Cape Breton Highlands. I arrived in Ingonish at 7am Wednesday morning and the rain stopped just as I got there. Macy and I had a short walk up the Warren Lake Trail and turned around when I heard something making a noise like a horse snuffing which I figured may be a moose. I’m not afraid of wildlife but Macy is probably going to be terrible in a situation that involves wildlife as she chases things and barks so better safe then sorry I figure. Perhaps someday I can leave her home and go birding with friends in the Highlands as there are some birds up there you don’t see elsewhere in Nova Scotia, namely the Bicknell’s Thrush.

Dark-eyed Juncos are eternally cute don’t you think?

Hermit Thrush singing by the beach at Warren Lake completely not bothered by humans

I still can’t figure out how they figured out Macy was going to visit Warren Lake

As we were just driving out of the parking lot from Warren Lake a little family of Ruffed Grouse were feeding and they definitely won the cute award for the trip.

Anyway, after that we meandered up the coast toward Cape North where I had another spot to check for Mourning Warblers (nope) and also to have a little hike on the Pacquette Lake Loop (part of the Glasgow Lakes Lookoff Trail) to see if I could find any Bicknell’s. These are really scarce birds who do breed in the highlands but only in a few locations and I don’t think this is one of them. But you never know when they might right? These birds are best identified by voice and I didn’t hear a one in the hour or so I was up there. I did hear a number of Hermit Thrush on the drive in, which is the birdiest part of this area I think. Once we reached the highest elevation of this loop we encountered a lot of fresh Moose poop all concentrated in one stretch of the trail and since the path was narrow as it was freshly cut I decided I didn’t so much want to be caught off guard with my dog so we turned around.

Macy found fresh moose poop and since this was only one of many close together piles she said “let’s get the heck out of here!”

I was pretty disappointed as I figured the higher spot would be better (although when they are talking about elevation I expect they don’t mean a few feet like this) and to add insult to injury I lost my footing when the dog pulled forward at one point and landed flat on my face, knocked my glasses off, and dropped the dog leash. Ungood. But she stayed close to make sure I was okay so I got up slowly to make sure none of me was out of place and when I looked up a Thrush was in a branch right in front of me carrying a bug. Naturally I thought this was the universe delivering a Bicknell’s sighting but upon close examination I really think this is just a Hermit Thrush. It really could have been a better story eh?

Thrush (which I believe is a Hermit)

Thrush (which I believe is a Hermit)

We stopped at a few other spots just to be tourists for the day and poke around different types of habitat quickly to get a feel for what might live where. I did look for Shearwaters in a number of spots but didn’t see any but see they have been spotted by someone else this week. Maybe next time.

Macy saying “what do you mean they were going to put up an atrocity of a statue in this beautiful wild place?” Green Cove, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Highlands National Park a treasure for generations to come (there had to be a political statement in here somewhere right?)

Overall a lovely day and my first time exploring the area. Usually I just drive through with friends to see the fall foliage, or as a kid we camped at Broad Cove and did day trips to Warren Lake to swim. Can’t wait to spend some more time birding at some point down the road.

The next morning David McCorquodale took me birding in Loch Lomond to help me find some Mourning Warblers. I realized as we arrived that I left my camera battery back at the house so of course we got a lovely show from a male Mourning Warbler, and also heard 4 more singing. I was disappointed not to get the photo as the bird was in plain view but it was still amazing to see him and when he flew it was nice to watch him as well as the black head really stands out.

As a reward for being a gracious birdie host David got a great shot of his own 🙂

great capture of a handsome Mourning Warbler by David McCorquodale – well deserved sir! great capture of a handsome Mourning Warbler by David McCorquodale – well deserved sir!

Now that I know how to find them someday I’ll get another chance and it’s always great to learn something new and bird with good folk.

On my drive back to Halifax I didn’t really have time for birding and it was also kind of rainy but I did make a 10-minute stop in Marshy Hope and was immediately greeted (more like under siege as one flew right under my car) by a family of Evening Grosbeaks which are always a treat to see in Nova Scotia.

Evening Grosbeak - July 8, 2016 Marshy Hope, NS

male Evening Grosbeak always a showstopper

I’m quite satisfied with how things turned out, and look forward to shorebird season which will be ramping up any day now.

PS – see below for my new subjects…

Happy Birding,

Angela & Macy

me and Macy birding the Rock

Atlantic Canada, BEYOND, Birds, Canada, My Dogs

Birding photography is somewhat of a bust with Macy in tow, but the experience is just as good and the company is even better.

Me and Macy just spent a few days in Newfoundland. Mainly working, but trying to bird here and there after work and on the way to and from the ferry. Mother Nature was not very cooperative but she did throw out a few half ways sunny moments.

I started out with a target list and got exactly none of them. Having read up on Bruce Mactavish’s blog about the seabirds I had high hopes of getting a sighting of some Manx Shearwaters as the Capelin are running but the day I finished up work for the day in St. John’s it was very foggy at the coast so I didn’t even bother to go to Cape Spear.

The day before had been extremely windy and rainy so I thought there was a slim possibility there would be some Petrels in Holyrood and had to drive through that area on my way to a sales call so took a peek but no dice.

Clearly I have to return for seabirds.

We were staying at a B&B in Clarenville (thank you so much Patricia!!!) so Witless Bay was a short detour on the way home from work that day and I was not to be deterred so stopped for a quick peek out to Gull Island where I could hardly see my hand in front of my face let alone the water.. Macy stuck here tongue out as if to say, yeah no birds just fog let’s go hiking!

Macy at Witless Bay, NL in the fog

And so we were off to a nearby hiking trail that eBird suggested as a hotspot, Mickeleens Path. Much like the rest of Newfoundland it is highly under-reported and an excellent opportunity to view both woodland birds and sea birds. Another time I’d like to do the full 7km in to get a land view of Gull Island. Time constraints are the bane of business trips 🙂

Macy at Mickeleens Path part of the East Coast Trail NL – June 15, 2016

Here as with my other brief stops on the island we found the usual suspects. Juncos are to Newfoundland as Song Sparrows are to Nova Scotia. Boreal Chickadees replace our NS Black-capped variety by far. Gray Jays, Woodpeckers, Thrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a myriad of Wood Warblers are all over at this time of the year but my target species of Mourning Warbler eluded me. The habitat in the CB highlands is very similar so I expect I will see them there at some point if I’m unable to return to the Rock on a suitable time-frame.

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal Chickadee

Two Fox Sparrows greeted us on the trail singing very loudly, which are another bird we don’t see as much of back home.

Fox Sparrow

My last day on the Rock was all about driving as I had a 7+ hour drive to the ferry and had to be there at 945PM. So I got up early and stopped for the morning in Terra Nova National Park before making the majority of the trek, and did manage to get ahead of the rain for the most part.

Hands down this is my favorite place to bird in Newfoundland and I’ve visited a good majority of the island over the past few years. It is one of the birdiest places for Wood Warblers I’ve ever been. This park is vast and serene, a Canadian treasure. One day I hope to be able to spend a week there on a strictly pleasure trip but for now I will savor my 4 brief hours.

We started off in South Broad Cove where Macy helped me find Spotted Sandpipers on the beach. In actuality she spend most of that time trying to mentally sort out reflections and seaweed but I digress.

Macy – South Broad Cove Terra Nova National Park, NL – June 15, 2016

But first we were greeted by a sweet little Woodpecker.

As we walked down towards the beach we had a learning experience when we startled 3 Pine Siskins and they sounded off like zippers! I had never heard them make that noise before and had no idea what kind of birds they even were. It took some forensic work to figure it out as the photos of them in the trees were sketchy but it all makes perfect sense now and we caught this one behaving in a more civilized fashion on the way out.

Pine Siskin

We enjoyed a variety of singing warblers including this handsome American Redstart. Again I must mention that photographing birds with an on leash dog is not the easiest so this was not a photography day but nice to at least capture the birds. Honestly it was mostly all about Macy as she had been on the road with me on ferries, in hotels, and in a bunch of pet stores and primarily way too much time in the car!

American Redstart

Alvan Buckley had suggested Ochre Hill and Sandy Pond as good birding spots. Thank you Alvan, Ochre Hill is amazing and was new to me. I will be honest I was afraid to encounter a bear or moose so didn’t spend enough time there were not many people around and the big critters are with young and a dog is unhelpful in these situations. Someday in early June I hope to be able to spend an entire day in this area the bog is wonderful. Much like the path to West Brook Pond in Gros Morne I thought. I wish I had the ability to bird the Warblers by ear better as there were many species singing I could not identify, but I did get a good show by the Wilson’s Warblers and we don’t see that many of them back in NS so that was fun.

Macy at Ochre Hill – Terra Nova National Park, NL – June 15, 2016

Macy at Ochre Hill – Terra Nova National Park, NL – June 15, 2016

Wilson’s Warbler

Next stop was Sandy Pond. I’d been there before so had an idea of what area I wanted to check out. Macy is not sure about water paths yet but is certain she likes to chase squirrels. The squirrels appreciated the fact she was on leash for sure!

Macy at Sandy Pond – Terra Nova National Park, NL – June 15, 2016

It was pretty quiet as the season hasn’t ramped up so we were greeted by birds flying across the access road and caught up with this Hermit Thrush early on.

Hermit Thrush

As we got out of the car at the parking area 6 Ring-necked ducks took off.

Ring-necked Ducks

The nosey Yellow-rumped Warblers were not so easily spooked.

We found a group of 4 White-throated Sparrows who seemed to be breeding there and I am pretty sure there were both tan morphs and black stripes but I can’t say for certain. I blame Macy sound reasonable?

White-throated Sparrow

We snuck up on this Hermit Thrush. I love it when the birds think if they stay still they will be invisible and have to say it works more often than not.

Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush

Our last stop, the South West Arm, was recommended by one of the staff at the Visitor Center as a great birding spot and it sure was but the rain finally caught up with us so we couldn’t take much in. All new boardwalks and paths that join up with the South West Brook Trail I highly recommend this area. It is both coastal and woodland with a marsh in between.

Macy at South West Arm – Terra Nova National Park, NL – June 15, 2016

We found this flycatcher which I believe could be Yellow-bellied but it was silent and I find them tough to tell apart so I could also be wrong.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

All over Terra Nova there were Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

We were sad to leave the rock, but happy to be back in Nova Scotia now. I think that is enough adventure for one girl and her dog for now 🙂

Happy birding,

Angela & Macy

spacey Macy one week adopted update

Barks, BEYOND, My Dogs

So my little spacey Macy has been with me for one full week now. I just love her to pieces she loves everyone and everything.

I am very grateful to the following people for my new furkid:

Tanya MacAllister of Poet’s Vision Aussie Rescue (for having the faith in me to let her come to live in Nova Scotia)
Adina MacRae (one of the best dog trainers in Canada hand’s down) for helping me find her a ride to Nova Scotia and for all her help with my heart dog, Nelson over the years too)
Lauren Grant (Standard Poodle mom extraordinaire) for bringing her from Ontario directly to me

Now some of my friends think I’m crazy, but I did this on purpose you know and not just because I recently watched “a Dog Year”. I chose a herding breed because I felt at this stage in my life with the knowledge I’ve gained and the community that surrounds me for support I am up for the challenge.

Macy does have some challenging habits of course as a 15 month old rescued Border Collie / Australian Shepherd mix.

Well she only has one issue, that is a strong herding drive which makes her want to chase anything moving fast. Even if it’s a chickadee flying through the back yard. The funny thing is Nelson was an excellent bird dog and a friend of mine said “what if your new dog is bad with birds” and I said no worries it will be fine. Famous last words.

No problem we can do this thing. Early this morning I took her birding with me as I knew I would be a great distance from the birds I was seeking so she could not disturb then. So I tethered her to me using a Beyond Control Leash and a No Pull Harness from Canine Equipment (subdivision of RC Pets who I work for). This worked great as she still got to be with me for a few hours outdoors and I had my hands free for camera and binoculars. She met two of my birding friends and was sweet and just a little jumpy. She does win hearts with those ears I tell ya.

I think taking her birding today was not only good for me but good for her too as it seemed to desensitize her a bit to the birds. I’m sure it’s a bit of counter conditioning to work at a distance like this and have the reward be standing in a mud flat with your person. Good to know I can take her sometimes but later I did not take her because I wanted to get closer to a target species and didn’t want her to flush them. Sometimes it’s about Macy, sometimes me and Macy, and sometimes just about me.

So after sharing my home with a young herding dog for a week I have discovered that they have two speeds, asleep and zoom. They stick close to you and nap at your feet wherever you are and do what you do. So when we eat supper she eats too even though her food may have been sitting there for hours. This is very powerful as you can harness that to direct behavior. I’m sure that will be more challenging for me, but hold great reward. Upon reading and contemplating this behavior it makes complete sense if you think of the sheepdog and the master working the sheep together on long days. Not a dog for everyone, but a great dog for a lady that visits pet stores for a living.

I’ve also discovered that Macy is generally disinterested in food and quite a fussy eater but Erin at Global Pet Foods in Dartmouth (close to where I live and get my human groceries) gave me a bunch of samples to try and today we settled on Fromm and it was a great choice because she ate a double serving when we got the bag home! I’m not too concerned that a Border Collie mix would be willowy and not a chow hound but nice to know I can count on her getting some good nutrition in her to keep her healthy. Kibble is not the best thing you can feed necessarily but it’s easy and well balanced and I will supplement with healthy table scraps. Macy gets our leftover rice, broccoli, green beans, carrots, or other healthy things as long as they don’t have sauce or spice on them. For treats she gets a piece of my apple, melon, banana, and the like. She does not beg but she does like to have a bit of what we have to make her feel part of the family. We put in her bowl after we eat so as not to encourage begging as she is so good now.

Her water is Brita filtered as mine is too as there is a lot of chlorine in my city water. As I have little interested in brushing her teeth I will start treating her to raw meaty bones to keep her pearlies white. I am often asked about these things by friends so writing them here as my personal how to guide that might help some people. We did get a bag of soft treats that were expensive but will go a long way for backyard obedience training. Again, Macy is fussy and she picked out some Nutri Source at Global Pet Foods in Truro when we visited. Don’t worry, we’ll be visiting all your pet boutiques soon as she will be my “road dog”.

As a pet sales lady I believe very much in the products I represent. I am currently using 5 products from RC Pets and they are all fantastic.

All Webbing Training Collar (excellent as it pulls tighter so she can’t slip out of her collar and escape – don’t use all the time but for heeling work in the neighbourhood it’s great if she decides to give chase to a motorcycle for example…yup)
No Pull Harness (excellent so she doesn’t hurt her neck most of the time when we are walking as she does pull to try to get to birds and things…yup)
Beyond Control Leash (wonderful to tie her to me for hands free birding in combination with the harness)
Technika Utility Clip Collar (the best webbing collar on the market IMHO with a “lock robster” buckle – she wears this always outside so her tags are on – in house at night no collar)
6” Patterned Leash (to match her purdy “back to the wild” martingale of course and it matched her pink Technika collar too)

I wouldn’t dream of buying another brand even if I didn’t work for RC.

Today is the first day I felt that Macy was truly tired. We had several hours of birding to start the day and met new people and saw horses then played ball in the yard at the end of the day. Tired mind, tired body, good Border Collie.

Here are some photos of my new girl loving life. She’s a keeper.

Of birds and dogs and bird dogs (and Piping Plovers)

Atlantic Canada, Barks, BEYOND, Birds, Canada, My Dogs

Tomorrow my life is going to change a lot as I have adopted a 15 month old Border Collie / Australian Shepherd from Ontario and she will be arriving on Tuesday night.

casey

It has been a tough time living without Nelson since September and I still miss him dearly, but it is time for new pawsteps in the house.

I have done a lot of birding this year to fill the void and been able to be footloose and fancy free as far as my schedule goes and I know that is about to change.

So today I took the day off to spend it birding alone as it will be the last chance I get hands free for some time I think.

My plan of course is to take my new girl birding with me whenever possible. She really can’t be off the leash for some time anyway so I think I’ll hook up the hands free leash and get moving!

Honestly unless you have a dog with high prey drive, or have them off leash where they can step on birds by accident they are great birding companions and some of the best birders I know take their dogs with them. Well why wouldn’t you? Who wants to go for a 2 hour walk in the woods and leave their dog home?

Anyway, I digress.

(PS – For the dog people in general one very important thing to note is that it is now breeding season for shore birds like the Piping Plover and other small shorebirds. Make sure your dog stays off all dunes and dry areas of the beaches so he doesn’t squish the babies! Wouldn’t you be heartbroken to know this had happened? From May to September I would recommend very strongly your dog is only on the wet part of the beach. Humans too! We love our little shorebirds and some like the Piping Plovers are endangered and protected so you can be fined too. Although I know you love all animals and would never let your dog step on a baby birdie on purpose.)

Moving on to my last day of dog-free birding. My first stop was to watch my first goslings of the season in Lower Sackville. So cute, even rare birds have a tough time holding up against them.

Second stop was to look for one of my target birds for the day and voila….right where some local birding folk promised in their eBird reports they would be.

I was so delighted to have a nice sighting of a mated pair of Blue-winged Teal who were both lifers and Nova Scotia ticks for me so highly prized.

There were also so many Red-winged Blackbirds there I could not believe it, and a healthy number of Grackles in the mix too.

Then off to the Herbert River Trail which is a generally great spot to visit I found out, and known to have Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers who were my second target bird. I left empty handed but was entertained by a number of other woodland birds including this nosey Purple Finch. Perhaps she was nesting because she was quite agitated even though I did not pish her or make any other noise. I was simply too close for her liking. Well if she weren’t so noisy I would not have stopped to investigate what can I say.

I did also here many Northern Flickers and 4 of them in a group flew right in front of me it is fun to watch the yellow and red flash of them in a group. There was a loud drumming I would love to attribute to a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, but I would not be so bold.

But the who-cooks-for-you of the Barred Owl I am happy to record by ear.

I spent an immense amount of time on the mountain outside of Canaan looking for Sapsuckers but with no luck, although I did locate a good birding trail for the future.

The adventure ended with a little stop to Miners Marsh where it was difficult not to locate the Pied-bill Grebes noisy little things.

A great day of sunshine and quite reflection. It’s raining now and for most of the week they say, as well I have quite a bit of work to do.

And Spacey Macy arrives soon enough to really mix things up!

I hope she will be as good a bird dog as Nelson was, he was a king among bird dogs…my favorite memory of him and birds was when he casually tried to smell the Sanderlings here in Eastern Passage and the birds hardly noticed. Good times and more to come 🙂

Happy outdoor adventures,

Angela

how to rescue a dog

Barks, BEYOND

Well I’ve done this twice before so I’m an old pro right?

Nelson has been gone since September and I miss him very much but I’m ready to find a new furry friend.

Since I expect a dog to live around 15 years I want to ensure I get the right dog for my home and lifestyle. Since I’m going through the process and asking around I thought I’d share some tips for finding a rescue/shelter dog.

Number one rule is to shop for temperament and activity level. Never shop for a rescue dog for their looks. Never ever adopt a dog because you feel sorry for them or they will be put to sleep if you don’t take them home. And never go to the shelter and take home the first dog you meet, which is what I’m afraid I will do at this point. So I’m conducting extensive research online and asking experienced dog owning friends and dog trainers to keep an eye out for me for my perfect fit.

I sort of have my heart set on a herding breed, especially an Aussie, but honestly any 50 pound muffin will do. My brother and sister have young children so I need a dog that is good for family get togethers and also who likes other dogs and cats. Because I may end up with a cat someday as so many need homes, and I travel and need to leave my dog with friends sometimes who all have dogs. And I like to take my dog off leash on group outings with other dogs. Not everyone has the same needs. If you are sure your home will be cat free, who cares if the dog is not great with cats. Or if the kids are grown and you have a quiet home it doesn’t really matter if small children stress a dog out.

Anyway, you need to be sure and get lots of information from the rescue or shelter to make sure it’s going to be the best fit for you and your life possible.

All dogs require training. If you adopt a puppy (man I do not want a puppy…LOL) you need to give them a solid foundation with a trainer who uses positive and non-forceful methods. You also need to housebreak them. Also be prepared for them to chew things up and pee on the floor. You may even need to pay a pet sitter to give them potty breaks if you work during the day. But if you live alone like me an older dog may be a better choice.

Older dogs might come with baggage. I don’t particularly want to deal with any form of aggression as I have been down that road before and figure it’s not my turn this time. Some people with lots of dog experience are able to deal with that better in their lifestyle and experience and can be a home to a dog who needs a second chance. Separation anxiety can be okay for a family who has a person home at all times. For me, the dogs who end up at the shelter because they are too hyper/active but friendly are a great fit because I will be an active owner and can take a dog on some of my work trips and into the pet stores I visit and I work at home much of the time.

If your local shelter seems to only be posting pitbulls and other large breeds on their website then congratulations, your town may not be taking a lot of dogs into rescue. Pits are hard to place but can be very wonderful family dogs. I don’t have a thing against them and Nelson played with many in his younger years and I used to walk some back when I was a dog walker. They are just not the breed for me. But I digress. In rural towns and areas where not enough education and spay/neuter is being done shelters may be high volume and you will find a much greater mix of dogs available for adoption. So expand your search parameters and take some time, maybe even a few months, to find your friend who will be with you for many years to come.

On a somewhat related note there is a recent trend in the US to rescue pitbulls for K9 forces. Super cool!

Anyway, hand’s down the best place to conduct a search is Petfinder.

https://www.petfinder.com/

You may see dogs from neighbouring provinces or states in your search. Personally I’m leaning towards getting a dog from Maine as there seems to be a lot of nice all breed rescues there that foster their dogs and list a lot of information about them.

You know how when you go shopping a good tactic for an important purchase is to leave the money home and browse? Do that. Visit shelters meet dogs and sleep on it before you adopt one.

If you are dog savvy you might be able to go to a shelter and pick a dog without too much help. Sometimes the staff can help you dog test or cat test it under supervision if necessary, but ideally you deal with a shelter or rescue that has an excellent reputation for assessing dogs. And if you aren’t sure, check their references. And if you really need help, get a good dog trainer friend to come with you. Kind of like when you get a mechanic to look over that used car you are considering.

I have spent time volunteering in a high kill shelter back when the Cape Breton SPCA was a mess and I can tell you that you that you get a mix of breeds and temperaments and some of the nicest dogs I met got overlooked and put down because people are shopping for looks. My heart broke into pieces when a sweet little Shepherd mix who’d had multiple litters and was not much to look at was put down due to space constraints. I’ve never met a softer soul but nobody wanted her. Had I known they would put her down I would have done something, but you can’t save them all. She was the perfect dog for any home but the shelter did not know how to educate potential adopters at the time and it was a free for all. I also got in the cage with a large and not too friendly Rottweiler mix for some nice photos to see if we could give him a chance. At all times there was a steady stream of little cranky dogs from homes who did not bother to train their dogs, border collies that were simply not couch potatoes and would do fine in active homes, and for some reason a large number of large friendly “Benjis”. Of course there were also tons of “Cape Breton Specials” ie shep/lab/collie mixes that people gave up for silly reasons and not a thing wrong with the dogs. Big friendly mutts by the boatload.

So if you think you don’t have options for adopting, you are misinformed. Widen your search and take your time.

After all this, if you want to buy a puppy then please deal with a reputable breeder. If you can’t meet the litter with their mother, it’s a puppy mill simply put. The best way to start down that path is to visit a kennel club show and meet breeds and breeders and ask a ton of questions. Research, research, research because if you make a mistake, your puppy may end up in a shelter.

It is with great responsibility we share our homes with man’s best friend the noble canine.

Birds, Barks, Beyond

wildlife & portrait photography by Angela Granchelli

Barks

a birding trip to Cape Breton with my dog Macy

me and Macy birding the Rock

spacey Macy one week adopted update

Of birds and dogs and bird dogs (and Piping Plovers)

how to rescue a dog