We truly don't mean to do a disservice to our amazing cats and kittens by talking about dogs so often!  It's just that the fabulous felines make up 20% or less of our intake each year, and our dogs and pups are much more at risk, both in the shelter and in the community.

However, in honour of the ubiquitious kitten season, we thought it high time to feature some of our gorgeous cats and kittens. 

We would love to find homes for all these kittens before they have to grow up in the shelter.  For those who prefer a more mature pet, we have over 50 wonderful adult cats who would dearly love a home and family of their very own.

If you've been thinking about adding a four legged friend to your household, and have hesitated because of your busy schedule, we have the answer.  Cats are naturally a more independent than dogs, and don't require as much time for training. 

While cats do love affection and attention, they also can do just fine for hours on end without you. They also come pretty much automatically housetrained. 

All our cats and kittens are litter trained.  We are happy to advise you on the best spot to situate your litter box to be un-offensive to the humans in the house, and to provide the privacy that most cats prefer.  All you have to do is keep it clean; scooping twice per day (or as needed), and changing the litter once or twice weekly takes very little time.

The public is welcome to visit our cattery - even if you can't adopt, the cats enjoy the company, and you will be amazed at how quickly any stress and anxiety you might have, just melts away while watching these fascinating creatures. 

We didn't plan a trip to West End on Monday, but when we got a call that morning about someone killing puppies in a horrific manner, we had to go.

We could find no evidence or willing witnesses, but the police have promised to speak strongly to the supposed offender. (The only witnesses were children.)

We were determined to get every puppy in that area we could find.

Between Monday and Tuesday's two trips, we ended up with 21 puppies and 4 adults - pretty good for a two door Ford Explorer; currently our only duty-paid vehicle.

The puppies are all very young, but not much used to handling. There was a lot of pulling puppies out from under cars, boat trailers and other objects, in addition to some interesting scary dirty forays into very thick bush, with some very vehement objection on the part of some of the pups; but all were captured safely and with only minor injuries to the humans!

Thanks to everyone who supported our Car & Dog Wash & No Fleas Market last Saturday!  We were thrilled to have a plethora of volunteers - a group of Ross University students, and 20 police cadets came out to help, which meant that in addition to the paying customers, almost every puppy in the shelter got a nice bath!

We are grateful also to Caraline Holding, Tracy Jervis and Penny Richards for the great flea market. Barbara Stollery, Beth Hatfield, Vicki Stafford, Nancie Pollard, and Tip Burrows for the baked goods. Bahamian Brewery for the loan of the tent, and Crown Ice for ice and water.

Thanks to all the volunteers, and everyone who patronized the event. Almost $900 was raised for our animals!

Big thanks also to Madeleine Buzzi who makes amazing tote bags out of recycled materials.  To our delight and surprise on Saturday, she brought us a lovely donation of the proceeds of the bag sales!  

Thank you Madeleine, and thanks to everyone who has bought a tote and helped our animals in the process.  For more info on the tote bags, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we'll put you in touch.

Remember our 5th Pub Quiz is this Saturday at RedBeards Pub - registration starts at 7 p.m. and the quiz will start promptly at 8.  Teams of up to six are invited to play for bragging rights and their name on the plaque that resides at the pub for all to see.  It's a really fun night to test your intellect and trivia knowledge, don't miss it! See poster below.

We're focusing only on happy stories this week!  

Pictured here are a number of our potcakes adopted into loving homes both locally and abroad.  From 2002 to the present.  We are so grateful to every single potcake adopter both locally and abroad who have welcomed one or more potcakes into their hearts and homes.

Our potcakes now reside in so many places, and more and more people are discovering the special traits of our beloved "national dog".

In Canada, potcakes reside from Nova Scotia to Toronto to Montreal to Saskatchewan to British Columbia.  

By Tip Burrows / Humane Society of Grand Bahama

As usual, it's been a busy week at the shelter.  Also, as usual, full of highs and lows.  We are ever thankful for the high points; which help us stay motivated to keep fighting for those who have no voice.

Last week we finally got the results of the police investigation into the early January shooting death (by a police officer) of Grace Megan, a pit bull mix adopted from us as a puppy by one of our staff.  

The police investigators have determined the shooting was justified.  They did find the officer erred in not allowing us to remove the dog for medical attention.  

Most of our questions remain unanswered.  We do hope that the promises made to further officer training with regard to animal handling and dealing with animal complaints with HSGB's assistance, will be kept; and we look forward to working with the RBPF in this.  

As always, and as we would have been happy to back in January, we stand ready to assist whenever called upon with "animals at large" complaints.

Spring has arrived on Grand Bahama and with it, lots of baby birds are being born or about to be born.  This time of year, the HSGB typically receives numerous calls from residents about either nuisance birds, or baby birds that appear to be in distress.  We do appreciate the concern of compassionate people, who want to help but often don't know the correct way to do so. Here are a few basic guidelines to follow:

Nuisance birds

If a bird has already begun building a nest in your roof space, you can try to move the nest to a nearby tree or high bush but chances are the bird has chosen its spot and will simply start over in the undesirable location unless you are able to block it.

If you find a nest with eggs or baby birds, leave it alone.  It only takes a few weeks for the eggs to hatch and the babies to leave the nest, so we just ask that you be patient and let nature take its course.  Many of our local birds are endangered.  All birds are protected under The Wild Bird Act, and it is illegal to disturb a nest or harm a bird.

Once the nest has been abandoned remove it and repair the hole or opening, so the location can't be used again.