Posted by Sandy Hutchens

Sewing machine for a family

Tailoring is an essential service for just about any community. And a sewing machine is a necessary tool of the trade. By giving a mom or dad with a disability a sewing machine, you’re giving that parent a steady and important income for the whole family. You’re stitching JOY into the fabric of a family’s life!

This past August and September, over 2000 participants (80 teams) took part in the Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick’s BIG BIKE RIDE FOR HEART making it our most successful Big Bike event in it’s 14-year history! Of course now you know the Big Bike is a fun, team-spirited event that raises money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick (HSFNB) and helps increase awareness of heart disease and stroke.

This year the Big Bike Ride For Heart created event days, so that many teams could gather in one place and take turns riding the Bike. This was successful in that it was an opportunity to share in the fun, spirit and excitement of the Big Bike. It allowed you to include your children, and raise even more vital funds through donations to a dunk tank, inflatables, face painting, car wash and much more! Some event days took place at East Point Shopping Center in Saint John, Corbett Center in Fredericton, and even a staff day event at McCain’s in Florenceville. Another highlight was the 3rd annual Leaders Ride For Heart in Moncton. Leaders in the community each raise $1000.00 each or couples raise $1500.00 to take part. The life saving funds are so important to our Big Bike season, but the awareness the leaders bring to the event is crucial.

Newmarket, ON The Ontario SPCA is honoured to receive the Distinguished Service Provider Award from the National Summit for Urban Animal Strategies, for their recently opened pilot Spay/Neuter clinics, in Newmarket and Barrie Ontario.

These clinics are a high volume, self sustaining operations, open to the public, shelters and rescue groups, regardless of geography or income level.

Research studies out of the United States have proven that Spay/Neutering your pet will directly help eliminate many of the problems shelters face everyday. Clinics utilizing this spay/neuter model in the US have reduced shelter admissions and euthanasia by up to 70%!

Kate MacDonald, CEO Ontario SPCA Says, “We have seen great success from our new Spay/Neuter clinics and are honoured to receive this recognition. We hope this pilot project will only lead to more spay/neuter services across the province.”

About the Clinics

* One and a half years in planning and construction
* Based on a business and operational model developed by Humane Alliance: high volume, self‐ sustaining
* Open to everyone regardless of geography or income level (the public, shelters and animal rescue groups)
* Hours: 8‐6 Monday through Friday, with one Saturday per month.
* Clients are encouraged to develop a regular relationship with their local full‐service veterinarian and to educate themselves about responsible pet ownership

Facts

* The pet overpopulation crisis is a direct result of animals left unaltered
* Local cat rescue organizations estimate that the number of homeless cats living in the streets of Toronto to be close to half a million
* Thousands of healthy animals are euthanized in the GTA annually due to lack of shelter space and funding
* Spaying and neutering is a straight-forward medical procedure with many health benefits, including the reduction in the risk of developing certain cancers and illnesses
* Data collected at these clinics shows that 86% of spay/neuter clients have no previous relationship with a veterinarian

The Ontario SPCA is both delighted and honoured to have received this award for Spay/Neuter services.

About the National Summit for Urban Animal Strategies

The National Summit for Urban Animal Strategies is a gathering of Executive Thought Leaders from all four sectors of North America’s Companion Animal Industry who advance the state of the art in urban animal strategies. Executive level delegates and world class speakers facilitate an intensive 42‐hour working session and networking opportunity.

Posted by Sandy Hutchens

Physical Description
Rhinoceroses (from the Greek, “nose horn”) are named for their most distinctive feature, the single or double horn on the end of the nose.

Of the five species of rhinoceros, the white (Ceratotherium simum) and black (Diceros bicornis) rhinoceroses of Africa, and the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) have two horns in tandem, while the Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis) and Javan (Dicerorhinus sondaicus) have only one.

In the black rhino, the larger front horn measures 0.5 – 1.3 meters (16 – 52 inches) in length. Rhinos are massive animals with a large head, short neck, broad chest, thick skin and short stout legs. Each foot has three toes, which leave a cloverleaf-shaped footprint.

The black rhino is actually gray, although the color varies from yellow-brown to dark-brown depending on the color of the local soil. Adult males and females are about the same size, weighing 800 – 1,350 kilograms (1,750 – 3,000 pounds) and measuring 1.4 –1.7 meters (4.5 – 5.5 feet) at the shoulder.

The black rhino has a prehensile (adapted for seizing or grasping) upper lip that it uses for grasping branch ends, and from which it gets the name “hooked-lipped rhino.”

Rhinos have a poor sense of sight but a good sense of hearing and a keen sense of smell. The testes of the male do not descend into the scrotum as with most mammals, and females have one pair of teats between their back legs.

Calves are born weighing about 40 kilograms (88 pounds) and have a pink hue to their color that fades to gray as they age.

Natural History
There are four subspecies of black rhinoceros; the southern-central black rhino (D.b. minor), the south-western black rhino (D.b. bicornis), the east African black rhino (D.b. michaeli) and the west African black rhino (D.b. longipes).

Historically, the four subspecies inhabited different areas throughout sub-Saharan Africa, except for the tropical forest of the Congo Basin.

Today, their distribution has been radically affected by hunting and habitat loss, and now only patchily distributed animals survive within guarded game reserves and private parks.

The black rhinoceros lacks incisors and canine teeth. Instead, it uses the upper lip to grasp woody plants, along with some forbs (herbs other than grass) and fruits.

Black rhinoceroses depend on water almost daily but can go for up to five days without a visit to the watering hole. They are often found wallowing in the water holes, coating themselves in mud to help protect against biting insects.

Adult male black rhinos are usually solitary except during mating, and adult females are also found alone except for mothers with calves. Adults of both sexes, however, may join up to form pairs or larger groups for short periods of time. Adult males have vicious fights with each other for receptive females. They have the highest incidence of death from fighting of any mammal.

Female black rhinos reach sexual maturity between four and seven years of age. Males reach sexual maturity between seven and eight years of age but do not attain dominant status until closer to ten years.

A single calf is born every two to four years, although the calving interval may be as short as 22 months. Most calves are born during the dry season and are weaned at about one year of age. They are driven away by the mother between two and three years of age just prior to the birth of her next offspring.

Sea levels and temperatures are rising. Rainfall, drought and flood patterns are changing. Natural disasters – like hurricanes – are becoming more serious and more frequent. Climate change is real.

While we see the effects of climate change in our own day to day lives, it is the poor in developing nations who are most severely affected. They are already living on the edge, struggling to meet basic needs such as water, food, shelter and health care.

Changes to the climate that wreak devastation on their communities, diminish water supplies and jeopardize traditional livelihoods are threatening the way of life of millions around the globe.

CARE works with communities in almost 70 countries around the world to promote innovative solutions to overcoming poverty. New approaches are now required to take into account both the threats climate change pose to the ability of people to provide for themselves, and the opportunities to become part of a global solution.

There is hope. CARE is addressing climate change by:

* Increasing people’s capacity to cope with the effects of climate change and reduce the risk of natural disasters;
* Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable natural resource management and renewable energy technologies;
* Working with local governments to create environmentally sound policies and programmes;
* Incorporating all of the above objectives into every CARE programme, from health to agriculture, because we realize that climate change can affect every aspect of people’s lives.

Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada’s largest citizens’ organization, with members and chapters across the country. We work to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.

We develop creative campaigns to put some of the country’s most important issues into the spotlight. We work with a network of over 70 volunteer chapters to organize speaking tours, days of action, conferences and demonstrations. We also produce research reports, create popular materials, and work with individuals and organizations across the country and around the world. We do all of this to ensure that governments know the kind of Canada we want.

From printed publications to online video presentations to the Ask an Expert feature, there is a growing number of publications and resources to help people with arthritis, their caregivers, as well as their family and friends.

Thanks to the support of our donors and volunteers, The Arthritis Society is able to provide access to this varied collection of insightful information and useful resources of benefit to people living with arthritis.

Select and click on any of the resources on the left to learn more.

Researchers sought to examine whether obesity during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). Women in the Nurses’ Health Study (n = 121,700) and Nurses’ Health Study II (n = 116,671) provided information on weight at age 18 and weight and height at baseline, from which body mass index was derived. Women also selected silhouettes representing their body size at ages 5, 10, and 20. Over the total 40 years of follow-up in both cohorts combined, 593 cases of MS were confirmed. Results showed that obesity at age 18 (body mass index > or =30 kg/m(2)) was associated with a greater than twofold increased risk of MS. After adjusting for body size at age 20, having a large body size at ages 5 or 10 was not associated with risk of MS, whereas a large body size at age 20 was associated with a 96% increased risk of MS . No significant association was found between adult body mass and MS risk. Authors conclude that obese adolescents have an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Although the mechanisms of this association remain uncertain, this result suggests that prevention of adolescent obesity may contribute to reduced MS risk.

Posted by Sandy Hutchens

Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dr. Katherine Siminovitch has discovered a new genetic pathway (a gene “road map”) that could provide personalized treatment options for patients with a devastating liver disease. The study also offers great hope in treating other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

“This finding provides the very first clues into the causes of primary biliary cirrhosis and gives us new ideas for treating this and many other autoimmune diseases that affect so many Canadians,” says Dr. Siminovitch, Senior Investigator and Sherman Family Research Chair in Genomic Medicine at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, Director of the Fred A. Litwin & Family Centre in Genetic Medicine and Director of Genomic Medicine at the University Health Network.

“We are accelerating our ability to diagnose disease, apply leading-edge technology to discovery of the disease-causing genes and translate our findings into improved, personalized treatment,” says Dr. Siminovitch. “These advances give us hope for improving outcomes for affected patients in the very near future.”

Dr. Siminovitch and colleagues have identified three genes in one pathway that are involved in susceptibility to primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), an autoimmune disease that destroys the bile duct of the liver. The cause of this devastating disease has remained unknown; however, genetic factors may make a person prone to develop primary biliary cirrhosis.

has only been one available treatment for this potentially fatal disease, and patients who do not respond to medical treatment may require liver transplantation.

PBC usually strikes women between the ages of 40 and 60 years, and affects about one in 1,000 women over 40. Patients with PBC often have other autoimmune diseases as well, suggesting that these diseases may be caused by some of the same genetic factors as PBC.

“We can now pinpoint any gene for any disease,” says Dr. Jim Woodgett, Director of Research, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital. “Dr. Siminovitch’s work is an excellent example of how genetic findings are making a difference in patients’ lives.”

Joe Lopes knows that homeless kids can have the talent and potential to succeed. He knows from personal experience.

Twenty-four years ago, when Joe was 17, he found his way to Covenant House after leaving home when he ran into conflicts with his more traditional Portuguese parents.

He eventually got on his feet, into a career in property management, married and had a family. About two years ago, he decided to make a career change and pursue his life-long dream of opening his own restaurant.

Ironically, it was the same Portuguese heritage that had once been a source of conflict that provided a culinary inspiration. Even before he opened his east end Toronto Portuguese grill house, Joe contacted Covenant House to say he was interested in hiring our youth.

“I know that what Covenant House does works,” Joe says. “I didn’t’t have anywhere left to go and they really helped me.”

Joe is finally realizing his dream and taking the opportunity to give back by offering jobs to kids who are trying to turn their lives around today. He’s working with our Job Centre to find the staff he needs.