On May 6th, the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets (all Vancouver city council) unanimously approved the Animal Control Strategic Five Year Plan. Our hard work on behalf of yard dogs in Vancouver is finally paying off. For three years, starting with our report "IT'S TIME!" (at http://animaladvocates.com/ItsTime.htm), AAS has investigated and documented sixty yard dog complaints (at http://animaladvocates.com/ItsTIME-cruelty-reports.htm), sent reports to the SPCA and to the City, run hard-hitting ads in newspapers costing many thousands of dollars (at http://animaladvocates.com/Adverts.htm), supplied material for newspaper stories such as the one in the Vancouver Courier "Chained and Dangerous" (at http://www.animaladvocates.com/cgi-bin/admin.pl/read/4687 ) and have rehabilitated and rehomed many dogs.

Councillors Tim Stevenson and Tim Louis thanked us with these kind words...

Thanks in part to your good efforts and perseverance,
we can now take further action against the abuse of dogs.
Sincerely,
Tim Stevenson
Vancouver City Councillor

You are providing a desperately needed service. Your tireless efforts are
finally starting to bring about change. Keep up the great work. I look
forward to receiving your reports.

Tim Louis
Vancouver City Councillor

Our reply.... "Heartfelt thanks to all of you for voting for the plan. It will be nice one day, when the frantic phone calls to AAS begging for help for a suffering dog, stop. We're looking forward to getting our real lives back after more than almost ten years of helping these dogs (and not once killing one of them as a solution to their ruination, as the SPCA does). We would much rather the Vancouver pound seized these dogs than the SPCA, as we trust that (pound manager) Nancy Clay and AAS can work together to spare seized dogs the ignominy of a terrible life followed by a lonely, frightening death at the hands of strangers. "

Judy Stone