Poland’s EU office wins praise as the only Polish embassy in the world to welcome pets

Poland’s permanent representation to the European Union has won praise for being the only Polish embassy in the world to allow staff to bring their pets to the office. Ambassador Andrzej Sadoś, who introduced the policy, said the animals help reduce workplace stress. While pets are not permitted in European Union institutions such as the commission, council and parliament, Poland’s permanent representation to the EU encourages its staff to bring their canine companies to work, especially if the animals would otherwise be left home alone. “Here you sometimes work several hours a day, seven days a week,” Sadoś told news…

‘Intense training’: Search and rescue dogs on track for takeoff

Barrie-based Georgian Bay Volunteer Search and Rescue partnering with Canadian Wings and Rescue on Tuesday to get dogs acclimatized to air travel As a dog handler with the Barrie-based Georgian Bay Volunteer Search and Rescue (GBVSAR) organization, Bruno Baker is part of a team that has a canine unit with two certified dogs and three more in training. Their role is to locate people or the clues they may have left behind. Baker explained the three main tracking disciplines that were involved. “(There’s) tracking a path, where a dog is asked to follow the footsteps of a person where they…

‘Lot of anxiety’ as Yellowknife animal shelter has no more room

The animal shelter in Yellowknife is facing a crisis as southern shelters continue to be over-capacity and overwhelmed. The situation down south directly affects the NWT SPCA as it means more animals north of 60 are staying in the Yellowknife shelter longer, making it impossible to take in more unwanted animals. The northern shelter used to be able to send out 10 to 12 dogs a month to shelters in Alberta and British Columbia, executive director Nicole Spencer said. That, along with regular adoptions, meant there was a “steady flow” of animals, but now there’s a “bottleneck” situation with fewer…

Meet the Canadians helping stray dogs and cats displaced by war in Ukraine

Open this photo in gallery: Duane Taylor and Deebo visit the Bruce Pit dog park in Ottawa. Mr. Taylor is the founder of Impact Express, an animal rescue organization in Eastern Europe.Blair Gable/The Globe and Mail When Canadian Duane Taylor first reached out to Elena Nicolescu last year to offer to drive dog food into Ukraine from the shelter where she volunteers in Romania, she thought he was joking. A couple of hours later, when the Ottawa resident messaged her that he had bought his plane ticket to Romania, Ms. Nicolescu and her co-workers at the Red Panda shelter in…

Pets at Home gets all warm and fuzzy with Nomad makeover

The UK’s biggest pet care brand Pets at Home has relaunched with an identity from design agency Nomad. The project brings together several creative perspectives, including illustrators Hannah Warren and Roo Lewis – the photographer whose personal projects range from documenting modern day druids to, more recently, Port Talbot’s UFO-sighting scene. The new design for Pets at Home attempts to unify the company’s various sub-brands under one new umbrella: pets. Nomad has warmed up the logo by adding calligraphic flourishes, which is mirrored in a wordmark typeface for sub brands that include tail-flick descenders and sloped-top ascenders. Elsewhere, the design…

Pets & Animals: Arthritis, what is it and what to do about it?

Dogs and cats might show it differently, but many (and maybe most) pets of a certain age develop joint problems. Here are some tips to help I have a geriatric dog, admitting this is the first step. Though I constantly refer to him as “my baby”, Einstein is a nine-year-old Australian Shepherd mix, who has been limping after exercise, and suffers intermittent pain in his right hip and occasionally drags his nails back when walking. Einstein has arthritis, like at least 25 per cent of dogs. The signs noted above are common things heard from owners in the exam room.…