THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

will be holding their 

 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

Tuesday, September  23rd, 2008

At the British Colonial Hilton Hotel

at 7:30 pm

All members in good financial standing are invited to attend

 In this photo is one of the 10 dogs neutered from the Chippingham area in the first week of the program. From left to right Mr Vernon Nairn and “Cloud”, Ambulance Driver Beulah and Insp. Percy Grant BHS Manager.           

The “Who Let The Dogs Out” Spay & Neuter Program has returned and reached Chippingham. Mr Stephen Turnquest Director of he Bahamas Humane Society said that residents of the Chippingham community can breathe a sigh of relief, this program will remain in chippingham for the month of June. All persons who have un-neutered dogs in Chippingham are welcome to come and have them spayed or neutered at the shelter. There will be walk a bouts through out the community by officers from the Humane Society and the Department of Agriculture’s K-9 Control Unit. Humane education falls under Insp. Percy Grant’s portfolio, he said and this program is also about educating the community about being responsible animal owners and for the public to be more community minded. Persons who do not want their dogs can have them removed by the Agriculture’s K-9 Control Unit, this way they will not be a nuisance to their neighbors, pedestrians or vehicular traffic. Mr Turnquest said there are too many roaming dogs on this Island and it is becoming common on the Family Islands, people are just  breeding dogs and there is no market for them, most of them end up on our streets. We need the government to seriously lookat and pass the new proposed “ Animal Control & Protection Act, as soon as possible, so we can regulate and control all the backyard dog breeding in this country. The Bahamas Humane Society is asking for your support and co-operation,please take this opportunity to have your dog spayed or neutered. Mr Turnquest said “Donations towards this ongoing program can be sent to The Bahamas Humane Society P.O.Box N-242 in care of “ Who LetThe Dogs Out” Spay & Neuter Program. ”                

The Animal Fun Day was a great sucess. Many thanks to everyone who helped we could not have done it without you. It was wonderful to see so many people out having fun with their dogs. Our thanks again to Pedigree for sponsoring this fun filled day.     

Animal Fun Day Video:

Images taken by Noel Tock (noel.tock at gmail.com)

Can your dog do a Hi Five?   Is your dog the prettiest or does it have the waggiest tail?

Then bring it to:

Bahamas Humane Society Fun Dog Show and Fair
Saturday May 3rd 2008
Botanical Gardens
10 am to 6pm

Food, Games, bouncy castle, Fun Classes like waggiest tail, best trick, best costume, best kisser, most unusual, prettiest, most handome etc…
 

Police Dog demo, Agility Demo and more….
 

Please come and support us, bring your whole family and don’t forget the DOG!!!!

PRESS RELEASE – 17 April 2008

“First ever Spay & Neuter Clinic in Inagua”

In 2007 a plea for help was received by The Bahamas Humane Society from the then Administrator of Inagua, Mr Charles King, as the population growth of dogs on the island was getting out of hand so BHS executive director Kevin Degenhard flew there to assess the situation. There were roaming dogs on virtually every street and there were dozens of dogs in the bush around the garbage dump just outside town. As no vet visits Inagua none of these animals had been sterilized.

The saddest, and most worrying, factor is that it has become common practice for many people with puppies to abandon them with the trash at garbage dump, adding to a growing population of feral dogs which survive through scavenging and by killing wildlife, including dog pack attacks on donkeys. Children were walking to school with rocks and sticks in their hands to fend off street dogs.

The BHS liaised with all Bahamian veterinarians and organized the first ever spay and neuter clinic in Matthew Town, Inagua last week. The logistics of the operation getting equipment and volunteer veterinarians to Inagua were challenging but with the support of Dr Grant from the Palmdale Veterinary Clinic and volunteer veterinarians from the Rural Area Veterinary Services a ‘M.A.S.H.’ style work force arrived on site.

“This was also a real community project” said Kevin Degenhard, “which would not have been possible without the tremendous hard work and energy of local residents who helped Senior Counsellor Ronald Roker and Counsellor Richard Ingraham carry out urgent repairs to make the old disused Inagua Hospital habitable to run our clinic. They did an amazing job reconnecting water and electricity, fixing doors and windows and providing lights”. The BHS team received the full support of the community who welcomed the project with open arms as residents lined up with their cats and dogs to benefit from this completely free spay & neuter service. Island Administrator Dr Cunningham was delighted with this generous contribution to the community and he gave it his full support.

Other key players who fundamentally helped this happen included Mr Glen Bannister and Ms Debbie Farquharson who organized accommodation for the team of fourteen animal experts, school principal Mr Jason Woodside who arranged for Dr Val Grant, Dr Susan Monger and Kevin Degenhard to run a PowerPoint presentation for every student in the Inagua All Age School on responsible animal ownership. This had also been presented to the Parents & Teachers Association the previous evening. The reason for this project was evident in the form of the nine dogs waiting in the street outside the school gates.

Thanks from the BHS go to the US Coast Guards who stored all the equipment awaiting the team’s arrival, to the police and local stores for spreading the word and the fliers, to Mr Orpheus Simms, the Environmental Health Officer for helping with logistics, to Director of Agriculture, Mr Simeon Pinder for administrating the paperwork and to the Inagua Airport team who helped us with a smooth passage on and off the island. This mission would not have happened without the support of the veterinary volunteers led by Dr Susan Monger, who is an acknowledged expert in this field, nor without the dedication of The Bahamas National Trust senior warden Mr Henry Nixon whose local knowledge and networking skills brought the whole project together.

“By the time we left the island we had spayed and neutered over 130 dogs, euthanized 40 and treated numerous other animals including one dog with a collar imbedded in putrefying flesh around its neck for a year but nobody had been able to catch it until we arrived. It was gratifying to see so many dogs sporting their ‘I’ve been spayed’ fluorescent green collars and to see most of the island children wearing the ‘B humane’ turquoise wrist-bands when we left after a week of 12 hour working days.”

The BHS will be working with Dr Grant on a plan to get more Bahamian veterinarians around the Family Islands as a lack of veterinary services in the less wealthy communities contributes to the roaming dog problem and animal suffering. While we need to get back to Inagua to continue the job we have started we desperately need the Animal Protection & Control Act, drafted in 2005, on the statute books as one of the provisions in that Act is for animal control officers to be appointed in the Family Islands. Everyone in the veterinary team said their lingering memories will include the amazing enthusiasm of Inaguans for this project as well as their generosity and friendly hospitality.

To report cruelty to animals or to seek advice on animal care, contact the BHS:
Email b_humane@hotmail.com Fax 356 2659 Phone 323 5138

The winners for the Bahamas Humane Society 2008 Raffle were drawn on Saturday 25th May at the Mall at Marathon.

1st Prize a Kia Optima 2008 (donated in memory of Mr/Mrs T Kelly) Won By Ticket No. 5006 Denez Moss

2nd Prize a Kia Picanto 2008 (donated in memory of Mr/Mrs T Kelly) Won By Ticket No. 0990 Janette Smith

3rd Prize 2 return tickets to London (donated by British Airways)
Won by Ticket No. 1017 G. Strawbridge

4th Prize a $1000 gift certificate (donated by Super Value)
Won by Ticket No. 4984 Sharon Wallace

5th Prize a $500 gift certificate (donated by Cole’s of Nassau)
Won by Ticket No. 6845 Jake Grypma

6th Prize a $250 gift certificate (donated by The Gourmet Market)
Won by Ticket No. 3939 Steven Hoffer

A heartfelt Thankyou to everyone who supported the animals by buying tickets or helping us to sell them!!

PRESS RELEASE – 25 January 2008

“NEW PRESIDENT FOR HUMANE SOCIETY”
At the Annual General Meeting of The Bahamas Humane Society held at their Chippingham shelter on Tuesday 22 January Mrs Betty Kenning stood down as the society’s longest serving president, having committed some fifty years of continuous, dedicated service to animals throughout The Bahamas.
Executive Director Kevin Degenhard said, “Mrs Kenning’s commitment to speaking up for those who were, and are, unable to speak for themselves has been amazing. Mrs Kenning is an incredibly philanthropic Bahamian and her true love of animals is outstanding. This has been recognised in many ways, not least of which was when the Queen awarded her the Order of the British Empire and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the UK awarded her their rare Queen Victoria Silver Medal for services to animal welfare. Having been influenced by her parents, Mr & Mrs Trevor Kelly, but particularly by her mother, Mary, who helped establish our society, Mrs Kenning’s greatest contributions were through her ‘hands on’ support of the staff, volunteers and animals and her substantial contribution of our current shelter, which was opened by the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham in his previous term as Prime Minister. Nobody could ask for more from such a dedicated volunteer.”
He added, “We must recognize the faithful support which we have also received from Mr John Kenning, and we thank him most sincerely.” He added “The BHS Board is planning an emeritus role for Mrs Kenning in recognition of her service, and this will be announced in due course.”
The BHS Board elected Mrs Kim Aranha as their new President who said “I was very honoured to be nominated and I thought very seriously about the responsibility which goes with this role before I accepted. There is a lot of hard work which needs to be done and I am determined to continue improving standards of animal welfare in this country.”
Mr Stephen Turnquest, acting director of operations, said “We are really very fortunate to have Mrs Aranha leading the BHS into the twenty first century. The process of modernizing the society must continue and I know Mrs Aranha has the commitment, energy and determination to do it. Mrs Aranha, too, has a long association with our society and anyone who knows her knows she is forthright. She will say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done.”
Mr Dayne D’Aguilar will continue as vice president and Mrs Doreen Seymour-March will continue as treasurer. The resignation of outgoing Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson was accepted at the AGM and he was wished well in his new diplomatic career. Two new directors were voted on to the board, these being John ‘Peanuts’ Taylor and The Venerable Keith Cartwright, Archdeacon.

Remaining directors of the board are Mr Paul Cleare, Mrs Cheryl Bastian, Mrs Celpha Sands, Police Inspector Andrew Deveaux, Mrs Saskia D’Aguilar, Mr Clive Toomer and ex-officio director Kevin Degenhard.
Mr Turnquest added “The mission of the BHS continues to be to eliminate unnecessary animal suffering and to promote responsible animal ownership through education, encouragement and enforcement. We have a good team of staff and volunteers, and a strong, focused board of directors, so we are ready to face the challenges before us.”

The raffle is the Bahamas Humane Society’s main fund raiser.  All proceeds go towards helping Bahamian animals through our adoption program, our education program, our ambulance service and our veterinary clinic.

Please stop in and purchase a ticket at the Bahamas Humane Society or call Stephen Turnquest, Donna Kiriaze or Percy Grant at 323-5138 and we will drop of a book of tickets for you.

Tickets are $20 each or $100 for a book of 6 (ie. 1 free)

1st Prize is a Kia Optima 2008 (donated in memory of Mr/Mrs T Kelly)

2nd Prize is a Kia Picanto 2008 (donated in memory of Mr/Mrs T Kelly)

3rd Prize is 2 return tickets to London (donated by British Airways)

4th Prize is a $1000 gift certificate (donated by Super Value)

5th Prize is a $500 gift certificate (donated by Cole’s of Nassau)

6th Prize is a $250 gift certificate (donated by The Gourmet Market)

Please Please show your support for animals and buy a ticket or a book!!