DATES TO REMEMBER Sat Apr 15 - Hopewell Wheels Sale - 10- 11:30am, paved yard Tue Apr 18 - OSCA Board Mtg, 7:30pm The Old Fireball Tue Apr 18 - Municipal Transition Board Public meeting - City Sun Apr 30 - Ascent 1st Birthday Party, NAC Salon, 2:30-5pm OSCAR The Community Voice of Old Ottawa South YEAJR:26,, VOL. 28, No. 8 THE OTTAWA SOUTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION REVIEW APRIL 2000 BEFORE You BUY THAT BUNNY IN THE WINDOW... BY GAIL ANDERSON AND JO MARCHANT aster is just around the comer. means of curbing rabbit I Soon bouncing bunnies will overpopulation, costs over $ 100. In . J appear in a pet store near you. addition, a daily diet of fresh mixed “Baby Bunnies for Easter” ads will greens, timothy hay, and pellets, is pop up in newspapers. Many parents a necessity. will inevitably give in to a child’s • Are you prepared to care for the pleading for a ‘real, live Easter rabbit for up to 14 years? bunny’, without knowing the That is how long a rabbit will live, responsibility involved. if given the proper diet, exercise Sadly, the rabbit’s appeal usually and care. Many people are under Authors of The Healthy Boomer, Judy Turner PhD, left, Miroslava Lhotsky, MD, Peggy Edwards, lasts as long as a shiny new the impression that a rabbit will Christmas toy, wearing off as the live for only 2 or 3 years. THE HEALTHY BOOMER daily cleaning and feeding become a • Are you prepared to ‘bunny proof T his year, there are some 10 chore. After a few short weeks or your home? B alternative medicines and why you I million baby boomers (people months, the once adored family pet Like puppies, young rabbits will can't remember where you put your _Jage 40 to 55) in Canada and it keys. Local health professionals are sits in a cage, relegated to an isolated, chew household items. Your house seems like a lot of them live in Old enthusiastic about the book. existence in a basement room, garage must be bunny-proofed - block off Ottawa South! Suddenly, the or worse, in the backyard. dangerous areas, secure electrical "People should bring The Healthy generation whose motto was "never Boomer with them when they see Some will end up at overflowing cords, etc. - before you welcome a animal shelters; far too many are rabbit to your home. Many bunnies trust anyone over 30", is asking their doctor," says Dr. Edward Ragan, released to Tend for themselves. outgrow this behavior, but until questions about hormones, hair loss, a physician practising in Ottawa Easter should be a joyous time; they do, they must be offered safe heart disease and what to do with the South. "It will guide their discussions instead, it is the beginning of a tragic alternatives, such as chunk of white second half of their lives! and help men and women in midlife Peggy Edwards, a boomer and Old make more informed health annual cycle for these lovely animals. birch or untreated apple branches. 1 Before you adopt a rabbit into Only if you answered a Ottawa South resident, has some decisions." your family, it is important to do resounding yes to all of. these answers. Peggy a well-known Peggy lives on Osborne Street your research, just as you would questions, then you might just be Ottawa-based health writer and with her husband Jo and wiener dog when planning to adopt a dog or a ready to enjoy years of rewarding speaker has co-authored a Chelsea. She is a former cat. companionship with a wonderful pet comprehensive new book called The communications executive with Many falsely assume rabbitsÉiake rabbit! Healthy Boomer: A No-Nonsense Health Canada and is a principal in good starter pets that will teach The Ottawa Rabbit Fostering Midlife Health Guide for Women and the Aldèr Group, an Ottawa-based children responsibility. But rabbits Network (ORFN) tries to help Men, with family physician Miroslava company that promotes health and are delicate creatures and do not fare unwanted ‘Easter rabbits’, but there Lhotsky and psychologist, Judy innovation. well in the care of boisterous are far too many spur-of-the-moment Turner. - The Healthy Boomer, published by youngsters. Nor do rabbits conform pet purchasers for us to keep up with. The Healthy Boomer answers your McClelland and Stewart, is available to the cute and cuddly stereotype Many will die young from neglect or questions about male andropause and at the Glebe Bookshop and all major which makes them so appealing to meet death on city streets or parks. female menopause, sex and bookstores. For more information, children. In many cases, a toy stuffed Don’t be a part of. the Easter relationships in midlife, handling visit www.healthyboomer.com. rabbit might be more suitable. A cycle! Pets are for life. Before stress, weight control, prostate health, rabbit requires just as much care and adopting a rabbit, think twice. attention as a dog. Contact us to receive our free LOSE A POT? Before adopting, ask yourself brochure Before You Bring Your these few questions: First Rabbit Home. Adopt from the BY BETTY PAGE • Do you have several hours a day to Humane Society, the Ottawa Rabbit luring the early '60s I was an mine. However, a student claimed spend with a rabbit and allow him Fostering Network (ORFN) or a pet I aide to the teacher who taught that he had made it. But neither of us to run about the house for stores that only adopts out Humane Bprvtt^ry as part of the art had any way of knowing for sure. So exercise? Society animals. program at Hopewell School. I made I have had it for these many years. Rabbits need regular exercise to ORFN is a non-profit a small pinch pot along with the But, every time I touch it, I think stay healthy, just like other species. organization. To donate your time, grade seven class. My pot was sent of that student. One knows They are very sociable creatures supplies or become a foster member, off to be fired along with the rest. instinctively whether a piece is one's and suffer depression if left alone. contact Gail Anderson, 567-9166; e- When all the pots were returned own. And that pot was not made by • Do you have the extra money for mail: [email protected] or Jo the next week, the glaze had melted me! So if there is anyone to whom vet bills and a healthy diet? Marchant, 728-6289; e-mail: and run down, obscuring the owner's this sounds familiar, and he would Spaying and neutering, necessary buntales@cyberus. ca initials. I was given a pot and was like to reclaim his pot, please phone for the health of the animal and a assured by the teacher that it was me at 728-8357. — 1111 : INSIDE... OSCA Ottawa South Community Association APRIL ISSUE Coach’s Comer In & About My Garden Phone 247-4872 Fax 247-2114 Proto Law ECOS Update E-Mail: [email protected] DEADLINE Circle of Hatred Victims of Spring Fever Windsor Chronicles pt 2 Finance, Politics, Schools , Surf us on the Web: FRIDAY APR 20 Infant Massage Garden Club, Library... www.OldOttawaSouth.com -■ SH And much, much more... m-1 ■KV'- ' . / THE TH PAGE 2 OSCAR - OUR 26 YEAR APRIL 2000 ^The CONTRIBUTIONS OSCAR. Contributions should be, preferrably, less than 250 words in length and provided The OTTAWA SOUTH COMMUNITY in electronic format, either by e-mail to OSCAR(a),OldOttawaSouth.com or on ASSOCIATION REVIEW 314” diskette along with a clear, unformatted, printed copy, delivered to the Firehall Office. Diskettes will be returned only if labelled with your name. We 260 Sunnyside Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 0R7 cannot guarantee that phoned in submissions will be accepted. If e-mailing us, text (ASCII) is preferred, although we also accept attachments in other formats. PLEASE NOTE: The OSCAR Has No Fax No formatting is necessary. OSCAR PHONE LINE: 730-1045 Articles cannot be returned for review before publishing. We will edit only VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW. OldOttawaSouth. com sparingly for grammar, meaning and length. Pictures, drawings and photos will E-mail: [email protected] be used, if possible. Please label all photos. Standard color photos acceptable. We will make every effort to return diskettes and photos to the Firehall Office Editor: Peter Hecht 730-1045 within two week after publication. Items not picked up after 2 months may not Business Manager: Marim Moreland 730-3762 be returned. No attempt carfbe made to contact you. Distribution Manager: Lily Hecht 730-1045 Advertising Manager: Gayle Weitzman 730-1058 (not classy ads) SUBSCRIPTIONS MONTHLY DEADLINE: 2ND LAST FRIDAY OF MONTH Moving away from Ottawa South? Know someone who would like to receive OSCAR is an unfunded, community paper paid for entirely by advertising. All The OSCAR? We will send The OSCAR for 1 year for just $20 to Canadian staff are volunteers. It is published for die Ottawa South Community Association addresses (including Foreign Service) and $30 outside of Canada. Drop us a letter with name, address, postal code and country. Please include a cheque (OSCA) Inc. Distribution is free to all Ottawa South homes and businesses and made out to “The OSCAR”. selected locations in Old Ottawa South, the Glebe and Billings Bridge. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily of The OSCAR or OSCA. The Editor retains the right to edit or include articles submitted for publication, which become the property of The OSCAR. 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